Tech

Boston, Mass. – In a large six-year review of emergency department (ED) data, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston, in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital, found that many children with severe food-related allergic reactions need a second dose of epinephrine, suggesting that patients carrying EpiPens should carry two doses instead of one.

KINGSTON, R.I. – March 24, 2010 – Want to know what kinds of foods prevent disease? Then watch what migratory birds eat during their stopovers on Block Island.

Two University of Rhode Island scientists believe that birds choose certain berries because they offer protection against oxidative stress that occurs during long flights. Oxidative stress can lead to inflammation and a variety of diseases in birds and humans.

Researchers at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, have discovered a key to embryonic stem (ES) cell rejuvenation in a gene—Zscan4—as reported in the March 24, 2010, online issue of Nature. This breakthrough finding could have major implications for aging research, stem cell biology, regenerative medicine and cancer biology.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Twenty years of field studies reveal that as the Earth has gotten warmer, plants and microbes in the soil have given off more carbon dioxide. So-called soil respiration has increased about one-tenth of 1 percent per year since 1989, according to an analysis of past studies in today's issue of Nature.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 24, 2010 — Relatives of ingredients in hair-conditioning shampoos and fabric softeners show promise as a long-sought material to fight global warming by "scrubbing" carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the flue gases from coal-burning electric power generating stations, scientists reported today at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Like playing a game of scissors-paper-rock, a team of scientists led by Thornton E. (Ernie) Glover of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Advanced Light Source (ALS), Linda Young of Argonne National Laboratory, and Ali Belkacem of Berkeley Lab's Chemical Sciences Division has used laser light to control x-ray beams – by first changing the material medium through which the x-rays pass.

As a new generation of powerful light sources comes online, intense x-ray beams may be able to control matter directly and allow one beam of x-rays to control another.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 24, 2010 — The popular dietary supplement vitamin E, loaded into special medicated contact lenses, can keep glaucoma medicine near the eye — where it can treat that common disease— almost 100 times longer than possible with current commercial lenses, scientists reported here today.

In a presentation at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), they described use of vitamin E to develop contact lenses that may deliver more medication for glaucoma and perhaps other diseases to the eye.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Grocery shoppers face hefty price increases if bad weather withers a U.S. corn crop that is now tethered to grain-intensive renewable fuel mandates, a new University of Illinois study warns.

A corn shortage, coupled with surging demand to meet government-ordered ethanol standards, could push cash prices to $7 a bushel, the study found, squeezing livestock producers and driving up prices for meat, milk, eggs and other farm staples.

CHICAGO — Flip-flops and sneakers with flexible soles are easier on the knees than clogs or even special walking shoes, a study by Rush University Medical Center has found. And that's important, because loading on the knee joints is a key factor in the development of osteoarthritis.

The study has been published online in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.

The lighter, the better. Mountains are easier to conquer with mountain bikes that weigh less. Cars with less weight bearing down on the axles save on gas. Design engineers are doing their best to whittle down airplanes, satellites and wind turbines, too, gram by gram. Fiber-reinforced thermoplastics are ideal for use in sporting equipment – and in the automotive industry, as well as in aerospace. They are fifty to seventy percent lighter than steel and fifteen to twenty percent lighter than aluminum; their stability and breaking strength are impressive.

Mrs Miller is happy. Since she moved to the new apartment building she has not had any nasty surprises on her heating bills. This is because the building is insulated with a new material which exhibits particularly low thermal conductivity and therefore high energy efficiency.

A study by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists shows that sugarcane can tolerate flooded conditions for up to two weeks. That's good news for growers who are using best management practices for controlling phosphorous runoff into the Everglades.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 23, 2010 — As you stroll down restaurant row and catch the wonderful aroma of food — steaks, burgers, and grilled veggies — keep this in mind: You may be in an air pollution zone. Scientists in Minnesota are reporting that commercial cooking is a surprisingly large source of a range of air pollutants that could pose risks to human health and the environment. They discussed the topic here today at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.