Tech

A pioneering world first robotics system operation is to be conducted at Glenfield Hospital Leicester thanks to expertise at the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester.

Dr André Ng, Senior Lecturer in Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Leicester and Consultant Cardiologist and Electrophysiologist, Glenfield Hospital, University Hospitals of Leicester, is the first person in the world to carry out the operation remotely on patients using this system.

Using a pair of exotic techniques including a molecular-scale version of ice fishing, a team of researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed methods to measure accurately the length of "nanopores," the miniscule channels found in cell membranes. The "molecular rulers" they describe in a recent paper* could serve as a way to calibrate tailor-made nanopores—whose diameters on average are nearly 10,000 times smaller than that of a human hair—for a variety of applications such as rapid DNA analysis.

Scientists have discovered that changes in the amount of ice floating in the polar oceans are causing sea levels to rise.

The research, published this week in Geophysical Research Letters, is the first assessment of how quickly floating ice is being lost today.

According to Archimedes' principle, any floating object displaces its own weight of fluid. For example, an ice cube in a glass of water does not cause the glass to overflow as it melts.

Pop a bubble while washing the dishes and you're likely to release a few drops of water trapped when the soapy sphere formed. A few years ago, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) pioneered a method* using a microscopic fluidic (microfluidic) device that exploits the same principle to create liquid-filled vesicles called liposomes from phospholipids, the fat complexes that are the building blocks for animal cell membranes.

The promise of switchgrass, the challenges for forests and the costs of corn-based ethanol production: Ecological scientists review the many factors surrounding biofuel crop production and its implications on ecosystem health in three new Biofuels and Sustainability Reports. Produced by the Ecological Society of America (ESA), the nation's largest organization of ecological scientists, and sponsored by the Energy Foundation, these reports explore the production and use of biofuels from an ecological perspective.

A researcher at North Carolina State University has developed a computer chip that can store an unprecedented amount of data – enough to hold an entire library's worth of information on a single chip. The new chip stems from a breakthrough in the use of nanodots, or nanoscale magnets, and represents a significant advance in computer-memory technology.

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed the first "dimmer switch" for a superconducting circuit linking a quantum bit (qubit) and a quantum bus—promising technologies for storing and transporting information in future quantum computers. The NIST switch is a new type of control device that can "tune" interactions between these components and potentially could speed up the development of a practical quantum computer.

Developing countries will be producing at least twice as much electronic waste (e-waste) as developed countries within the next 6-8 years, according to a new study published in ACS' semi-monthly journal Environmental Science & Technology. It foresees in 2030 developing countries discarding 400 million - 700 million obsolete personal computers per year compared to 200 million - 300 million in developed countries.

PROVIDENCE, RI – Nearly all U.S. states offer the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to adolescent girls who have been arrested or detained, according to a new report from The Miriam Hospital and Brown University. The study, published in the May issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, offers the first nationwide review of HPV vaccination practices among juvenile justice facilities.

Among the general U.S. population, people who are uninsured are about half as likely to receive critical care services as those with insurance, according to systematic review of the literature by the American Thoracic Society's Health Disparities Group. They also found that once admitted to the hospital intensive care unit, uninsured patients are less likely to have invasive procedures or pulmonary artery catheterizations and more likely to have life support withdrawn.

Researchers from the University of Granada have developed new farmland afforestation techniques based on the relationship between land and plant that enhance young plant survival and development in Mediterranean environments. Their work will ensure successful implementation of the farmland afforestation program within the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (PAC).

It was her love of ballet that led her to work with children who have motor disabilities. The retired dancer, now an occupational therapist, is pioneering a new "virtual" method to analyze movement patterns in children and more effectively treat those with debilitating motor disorders.

From 1999 through 2006 the use of diagnostic imaging for Medicare patients with cancer increased, with use of positron emission tomography (PET) increasing the most significantly, according to a study in the April 28 issue of JAMA. Imaging costs for these patients also increased, outpacing the rate of increase in total costs among Medicare beneficiaries with cancer.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Just months after the soybean genome was sequenced, a Purdue University scientist has discovered a long-sought gene that controls the plant's main stem growth and could lead to the creation of new types of soybean plants that will allow producers to incorporate desired characteristics into their local varieties.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA–A nationwide, government-sponsored study finds that people with a common form of diabetic retinopathy can benefit from a medication first developed to combat another potentially blinding disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD).