Tech

For years, a widely held assumption was that women of childbearing age fell neatly into two camps: those trying to have children, and those not trying to have children.

A new nationwide study suggests, however, that nearly a fourth of women consider themselves "OK either way" about getting pregnant – a wide swath of ambivalence that surprised researchers, and that could reshape how doctors approach many aspects of women's health care.

Preoperative prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can help urologic surgeons spare the neurovascular bundle (NVB) (which controls a man's erectile function and continence) during a robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) for the treatment of prostate cancer, according to a study to be presented at the ARRS 2010 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA.

High resolution ultrasound should be the imaging test of choice when evaluating patients with foot drop (an inability or difficulty in moving the ankle and toes causing uncontrolled slapping of the foot while taking a step), according to a study to be presented at the ARRS 2010 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA. Ultrasound imaging is non-invasive and involves exposing part of the body to high-frequency ultrasound waves to produce pictures of inside the body.

HOUSTON, May 5, 2010 – Two University of Houston professors are working to help keep your heart beating stronger and longer simply by monitoring the temperature of your fingertip.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., May 5, 2010 -- Automated Medical Diagnostics, a startup company based in Memphis, envisions its product helping to preserve the sight of millions of people at risk of vision loss from diabetic retinopathy.

LIVERMORE--Law enforcement authorities seeking to detect bioterrorism attacks, doctors diagnosing diseases and regulatory agencies checking product safety may find a new ally in a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) detection technology.

The advance, known as the Lawrence Livermore Microbial Detection Array (LLMDA), could enable law enforcement, medical professionals and others to detect within 24 hours any virus or bacteria that has been sequenced and included among the array's probes.

"This will give our clinicians better video documentation for analyzing the gait of our kids," said Irby, who had been thinking about a video trolley for gait analysis to replace a hand-operated, tripod-based system that doesn't approach the Trek Tracker's accuracy.

As fears grow that the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico could soon catch the oil slick and drag it south towards coral reefs in the Florida Keys, scientists are monitoring the situation closely with ESA's Envisat radar data.

The portable packages of food called the Meal, Ready to Eat (MRE) that sustain military personnel in combat or field conditions without regular food facilities are getting tastier and more sophisticated thanks to innovations in food technology. That's the focus of an article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS' weekly newsmagazine.

A new nanocoating ensures a perfectly non-reflecting view on displays and through eyeglasses. The necessary surface structure is applied to the polymeric parts during manufacture, obviating the need for a separate process step. The hybrid coating has further advantages: the components are scratch-proof and easy to clean.

Plant roots enmeshed in layers of discarded materials inside upright pipes can purify dirty water from a washing machine, making it fit for growing vegetables and flushing toilets, according to Penn State horticulturists.

A Commission of national health care experts convened by the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC) has unveiled a roadmap and integrated approach that will put "health" back into our nation's health care system as well as address key opportunities following passage of health care reform legislation.

Durable paint, water purification, faster computers, tougher shoe soles, and lighter and cheaper televisions are all possibilities now that a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) scientist has discovered a way to disperse gold nanoparticles evenly through plastic.

Adrian Fuchs, from QUT's School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, said the technique he had developed was a model for dispersing metals in nanoparticle form throughout polymers or plastic materials.

The use of combined positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) can confirm a suspected colorectal cancer recurrence at an early stage, helping significantly in treatment planning and improved targeted patient care, according to a study to be presented at the ARRS 2010 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA. PET/CT is a type of nuclear medicine imaging that uses traces of radioactive material to diagnose or treat many types of cancers.