Tech

Scientists at Queen's University Belfast have shown that they can deliver a gene directly into breast cancer cells causing them to self-destruct, using an innovative, miniscule gene transport system, according to research published today (28 February) in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics.

A new analysis has found that supplementing the diet with fish oil may prevent muscle and weight loss that commonly occurs in cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that fish oil may help combat cancer-related malnutrition.

Chemotherapy can cause cancer patients to lose muscle mass and become malnourished, leading to fatigue, a decreased quality of life, an inability to receive necessary treatments, and shorter survival.

Cambridge, Mass. - February 28, 2011 - There was a time when a laptop could weigh 10 pounds and still sell—a time when a cell phone was larger than a pocket—and a time when an iPod only played music.

Today's consumers expect mobile devices that are increasingly small, yet ever-more powerful. All the bells and whistles, however, suck up energy, and a phone that lasts only 4 hours because it's also a GPS device is only so much use.

DALLAS – Feb. 28, 2011 – Children who are placed with a relative because of mistreatment at home fare better in some areas than those placed in foster care, but they may have a higher risk of substance use and teenage pregnancy.

The findings by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center, which appear in the February issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, also show that relatives – also known as kinship caregivers – receive fewer support services than foster parents.

Rice University scientists and their colleagues have found that when growing corn crops for ethanol, more means less.

A new paper in today's online edition of the American Chemical Society's journal Environmental Science and Technology shows how farmers can save money on fertilizer while they improve their production of feedstock for ethanol and alleviate damage to the environment.

The research has implications for an industry that has grown dramatically in recent years to satisfy America's need for energy while trying to cut the nation's reliance on fossil fuels.

February 25, 2011 -- Nearly one in eleven (8.6%) preschool children in the U.S. has been diagnosed with asthma and in some inner city neighborhoods, the figure is closer to one in seven. But, few asthma management programs are designed for parents of preschool children.

A team of scientists led by John Badding, a professor of chemistry at Penn State University, has developed the very first optical fiber made with a core of zinc selenide -- a light-yellow compound that can be used as a semiconductor. The new class of optical fiber, which allows for a more effective and liberal manipulation of light, promises to open the door to more versatile laser-radar technology.

Being a 'happy' teenager is linked to increased well-being in adulthood, new research finds.

Much is known about the associations between a troubled childhood and mental health problems, but little research has examined the affect of a positive childhood. For the first time, researchers from the University of Cambridge and the MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing have analysed the link between a positive adolescence and well-being in midlife.

MOAB, Utah — Drier conditions projected to result from climate change in the Southwest will likely reduce perennial vegetation cover and result in increased dust storm activity in the future, according to a new study by scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Patients who suffer an adverse medical event arising from the use or misuse of medications are more costly to the health care system than other emergency department (ED) patients, say physicians and research scientists at Vancouver General Hospital and UBC. Their research, the first to examine the health outcomes and cost of patient care for patients presenting to the ED with adverse drug events, is published today in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

The quality of stroke care in the UK is improving, but significant inequalities still exist, warns a new study published on bmj.com today.

Previous reports have suggested that the quality of UK stroke care is improving, but there is limited information on trends of care from population-based studies. So a team of researchers in London assessed the provision of acute stroke care for 3,800 patients registered on the south London stroke register between 1995 and 2009.

ARLINGTON, Va. - One Sailor's request to replace humming fluorescent bulbs with a quiet alternative inspired the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to create the Solid State Lighting (SSL) project, currently being evaluated aboard several ships and submarines across the U.S. Navy.

A product of ONR's TechSolutions program, SSL is one of several rapid-response technologies created using recommendations and suggestions from Navy and Marine Corps personnel. (Watch TechSolutions products in action via YouTube.)

Cambridge, MA- Adding particles to liquids to make currents visible is a common practice in the study of fluid mechanics. The approach was adopted and perfected by artist Paul Matisse in sculptures he calls Kalliroscopes. Matisse's glass-enclosed liquid sculptures contain an object whose movement through the liquid creates whorls that can be seen only because elongated particles trailing the object align with the direction of the current; light reflects off the particles, making the current visible to the viewer.

From the very first moments of life, hatchling loggerhead sea turtles have an arduous task. They must embark on a transoceanic migration, swimming from the Florida coast eastward to the North Atlantic and then gradually migrating over the course of several years before returning again to North American shores. Now, researchers reporting online on February 24 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, have figured out how the young turtles find their way.

Conversion of biomass to fuel requires several steps: chemical pretreatment to break up the biomass – often dilute (sulfuric) acid, detoxification to remove the toxic chemicals required in pretreatment, and microbial fermentation to convert the soluble sugars to fuels.