Body

Physicists at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado at Boulder, have demonstrated a powerful new technique that reveals hidden properties of ultracold atomic gases.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — By combining stretchable optoelectronics and biologically inspired design, scientists have created a remarkable imaging device, with a layout based on the human eye.

As reported in the Aug. 7 issue of the journal Nature, researchers at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University have developed a high-performance, hemispherical "eye" camera using an array of single-crystalline silicon detectors and electronics, configured in a stretchable, interconnected mesh.

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Digital cameras have transformed the world of photography. Now new technology inspired by the human eye could push the photographic image forward even more by producing improved images with a wider field of view.

Black girls who undergo gender and culturally tailored HIV interventions are significantly less likely to contract a sexually transmitted disease.

The study by Emory University public health researchers is being presented at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. It analyzed the self-reported sexual behavior and condom usage among 439 sexually active black female girls between the ages of 15 and 21.

ALEXANDRIA, VA, August 6, 2008---The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) is urging parents and caregivers to ensure that babies get enough "tummy time" throughout the day while they are awake and supervised, in light of a recent survey of therapists who say they've noticed an increase in motor delays in infants who spend too much time on their backs while awake.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — According to new research, old ideas about water behavior are all wet.

Ubiquitous on Earth, water also has been found in comets, on Mars and in molecular clouds in interstellar space. Now, scientists say this common fluid is not as well understood as we thought.

Aphids are emerging as sentinels of climate change, researchers at BBSRC-supported Rothamsted Research have shown. One of the UK's most damaging aphids – the peach-potato aphid (Myzus persicae) – has been found to be flying two weeks earlier for every 1°C rise in mean temperature for January and February combined. This year, the first aphid was caught on 25 April, which is almost four weeks ahead of the 42-year average. This work is reported in BBSRC Business, the quarterly research highlights magazine of BBSRC (the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council).

A Johns Hopkins expert in HIV and how the AIDS virus hides in the body says antiretroviral drugs have stopped HIV from replicating, the first of three key steps needed to rid people of the virus.

In an address to be delivered Aug. 6 at the XVII International Conference on AIDS, taking place in Mexico City, infectious disease specialist Robert Siliciano, M.D., Ph.D., says current drug-combination therapies can stop HIV in its tracks, with some combos suppressing its ability to make copies to less than one in a billion.

Rosemont, Ill. – August 5, 2008 – Times are tough for many families and schools – so those food dollars need to work hard by providing plenty of nutrition. Many nutrient-rich foods such as milk, are a good economic and nutritional value because they pack in many essential nutrients at a low cost per serving.

Scientists at the University of York have helped to reveal more about the way bacteria can attach to human tissues.

The study could help in the development of new treatments for serious heart conditions such as infective endocarditis.

The researchers studied the way a protein found on the surface of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus binds to a human protein called fibronectin. Their discovery is an important step in understanding how bacteria attach to the surface of blood vessels during infection.

Children who are given antibiotics in their first three months often wheeze at 15 months of age. However, this wheezing is probably more due to the presence of chest infections than to the use of antibiotics.

University of Manchester researchers are investigating exactly how chemotherapy drugs kill cancerous tumours in a bid to reduce side effects and test the effectiveness of safer new agents.

Dr Stephen Taylor and Karen Gascoigne at the University of Manchester's Faculty of Life Sciences have taken a new systematic approach to studying anti-mitotic drugs, which are used extensively for breast or ovarian cancer in the UK.

New York, August 6, 2008 – Although maternal suicide after giving birth is a relatively rare occurrence, suicide attempts often have long-lasting effects on the family and the infant. In a study published in the August 2008 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, researchers compared two populations of mothers and found that a history of psychiatric disorders or substance abuse was a strong predictor of post-partum suicide attempts.

Mps1 belongs to the family of proteins called kinases. When subsets of these enzymes become deregulated, cancer can be one of the outcomes – making them a critical target for research by oncologists. Over 100 of the 500 or so kinases have been shown to be associated with cancer, but so far scientists only know the 3D structure of a handful. Knowing the structure is critical for the design of new kinase inhibitors as therapeutic agents, an area of enormous importance to the pharmaceutical industry.

New York, August 6, 2008 – Overall alcohol use—particularly consumption of beer—is declining in the US, according to a new study published in the August 2008 issue of The American Journal of Medicine. Researchers examined 50 years of data and found several changes in alcohol intake but no change in alcohol use disorders. Americans are drinking significantly less beer and more wine, while hard liquor use has remained fairly constant. More people now report that they are non-drinkers. People born later in the 20th century drink more moderately than older people.