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With the rising demand for low-cost, small-size, high-speed, highly functional and high volume wireless communications, the development of highly-integrated 60 GHz radio chipsets in semiconductor technology have received much attention in recent years. The current circuit board solutions are not able to meet the rising demand, especially for unlicensed 57 – 64 GHz frequency band, while the conventional antenna designs have been too large, expensive and difficult to integrate with 60-GHz radio chipsets.

Rare corals may be smarter than we thought. Faced with a dire shortage of mates of their own kind, new research suggests they may be able to cross-breed with certain other coral species to breed themselves out of a one-way trip to extinction.

This finding, released by scientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, has raised hopes for the ability of the world's corals to withstand the rigors of changing climates and human impacts, says lead author Zoe Richards.

In a potential breakthrough for the performance horse industry (such as racing and polo), Melbourne scientists are aiming to harness stem cells to repair tendon, ligament, cartilage and bone damage in horses.

Dr Paul Verma, from the Monash Institute of Medical Research, is working with US company, ViaGen Inc, to develop equine embryonic stem cell lines, with the aim of creating a 'bank' of genetically matched stem cells preserved for individual horses.

Damage to tendons, ligaments, cartilage and bone are common in performance horses such as race horses and polo horses.

Do mothers purposely expose their offspring to their own stress? If so, why?

The question arises because it is widely accepted that exposure to maternal stress during pre-natal development can have negative impacts on offspring following birth. To examine why a stressed mother would allow this to happen, evolutionary physiologists Oliver Love and Tony Williams examined how offspring exposure to the maternally-derived stress hormone corticosterone affect maternal fitness in free-living European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).

"The history of all past society has consisted in the development of class antagonisms…the exploitation of one part of society by the other". – Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, The Communist Manifesto.

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a special vaginal coil, a technique to measure the movement of water within tissue, researchers may be able to identify cervical cancer in its early stages, according to a new study being published in the November issue of Radiology.

The new technique offers better imaging of smaller tumors and may also improve surgical options when fertility-sparing procedures are being considered.

New York, NY, October 21, 2008—Private fee-for-service (PFFS) Medicare Advantage plans will be paid an average 16.6 percent more in 2008 compared to what the same enrollees would have cost in the traditional Medicare fee-for-service program, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund. Although Congress made significant revisions to policies that affect how PFFS plans operate in 2011 and thereafter, the legislation is expected to slow enrollment in PFFS plans but not stop the overpayment for each enrollee.

In an analysis of deaths occurring during a large international trial of treatments for HIV-positive patients, researchers have found a strong association between markers of inflammation and coagulation and increased risk of death from non-AIDS diseases, including cardiovascular problems. The research, published in the open access journal PLoS Medicine, may explain why interrupting antiretroviral therapy (ART) was found to increase the risk of death from non-AIDS diseases for people living with HIV.

Markers of kidney dysfunction such as proteinuria or albuminuria have been reported to be associated with coronary heart disease, but the consistency and strength of any such relationship has not been clearly defined. In a paper published by PLoS Medicine, Vlado Perkovic and colleagues from the George Institute for International Health, Sydney, Australia show, in a systematic review and meta-analysis of previously published cohort studies, that there is a strong and continuous association between proteinuria and subsequent risk of coronary heart disease.

Murder of women by strangulation is a serious problem in South Africa. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health compared four South African cities for the period 2001 to 2005, and report information about the prevalence and timing of attacks, and give details about the victims.

Methylmercury (MeHg), the predominant form of mercury found in the blood of marine mammals and fish-eating communities, could be more damaging to seals than has previously been thought. Research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Environmental Health shows that MeHg harms T-lymphocytes, key cells in a seal's immune system. Similar results were also found for human lymphocytes.

Due to their underground habitats, moles' eyes have been modified by natural selection in ways very different from those of surface-dwelling animals. New research, published in the open access journal BMC Biology, features a detailed anatomical and genetic examination of the changes that result from living life in the dark.

A revolutionary heart operation technique using cutting edge technology will be performed on Monday 20 October and broadcast live to delegates at the Heart Rhythm Congress 2008 taking place in Birmingham.

The procedure to tackle heart rhythm disorder will be performed by Dr Andre Ng, Senior Lecturer in Cardiology at the University of Leicester and a Consultant Cardiologist at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– The Earth is in the midst of the sixth mass extinction of both plants and animals, with nearly 50 percent of all species disappearing, scientists say.

Because of the current crisis, biologists at UC Santa Barbara are working day and night to determine which species must be saved. Their international study of grassland ecosystems, with flowering plants, is published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Patients who received treatment from noncardiologists and physicians with 29 or more years of experience had significantly lower use of evidence-based drug therapies compared with cardiologists and physicians with fewer than 14 years of experience, found a retrospective, population-based cohort study of heart attack patients.