Tech

In the photoacoustic method, a tabletop device scans a lymph node biopsy with laser pulses. About 95 percent of melanoma cells contain melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color, so they react to the laser's beam, absorbing the light. The laser causes the cells to heat and cool rapidly, which makes them expand and contract. This produces a popping noise that special sensors can detect. This method would examine the entire biopsy and identify the general area of the node that has cancer, giving pathologists a better idea of where to look for the cancer.

Tropical cyclone 17P has had a brief life. After becoming a tropical storm yesterday, atmospheric conditions have weakened the cyclone back down to tropical depression status today, February 23 and it is expected to dissipate in the next couple of days.

Focusing on a controversial hypothesis that ice existed at the equator some 300 million years ago during the late Paleozoic Period, two University of Oklahoma researchers originated a project in search of clues to the Earth's climate system.

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University's Lorrie F. Cranor will discuss the risk and benefits of online services that collect and use location information to joint meetings of the U.S. Congressional Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection and the Subcommittee on Communication and Technology at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 24 in room 2141 of the Rayburn Office building in Washington, D.C.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The lack of affordable, high-quality on-campus day care programs that cater to undergraduate students who double as parents is a stealth issue that has the potential to harm both the student-parent and the child, says a University of Illinois expert in early childhood education.

In less than four months since launch, the first calibrated images are being delivered by ESA's SMOS mission. These images of 'brightness temperature' translate into clear information on global variations of soil moisture and ocean salinity to advance our understanding of the water cycle.

Researchers from the University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR) have calculated the energy and economic potential of urban solid waste, sludge from water treatment plants and livestock slurry for generating electricity in Spain. These residues are alternative sources of renewable energy, which are more environmentally friendly and, in the case of solid urban waste, more cost effective.

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Annual breast cancer screening with both mammography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is likely to be a cost-effective way to improve life expectancy in women with an increased risk of breast cancer, according to a new study published in the March issue of Radiology. The findings support current American Cancer Society screening recommendations.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Using a treadmill could help infants with prenatal complications or who were injured at birth walk earlier and better, according to a University of Michigan researcher.

Prenatal injuries can often result in self-correcting or fixable neuromotor delays, but sometimes toddlers get a more serious diagnosis, such as cerebral palsy, says Rosa Angulo-Barroso, associate professor of movement science at the U-M School of Kinesiology. Some of those diagnoses may come much later, or in mild cases, never, she says.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology recommends that the drug quinine, although effective, should be avoided for treatment of routine muscle cramps due to uncommon but serious side effects. The guideline is published in the February 23, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

STANFORD, Calif. — Most cases of muscle cramps never get reported to public health authorities, so it's difficult to say how common they are. But you probably know someone who's had them. You've probably had them, too. And the older you get, the more likely you're having one right now.

Philadelphia – The severe shortage of specially-trained intensivist physicians has hospital intensive care units (ICUs) nationwide struggling to staff units with critical care teams led by intensivists, even though the presence of these specially trained physicians reduces the risk of death for patients in the ICU. A new Penn Medicine report found that replacing intensivist-led teams with multidisciplinary care teams can also reduce the risk of dying in intensive care units. The study appears in the February 22 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Computer scientists at Rutgers University have shown how a familiar type of personal computer security threat can now attack new generations of smart mobile phones, with the potential to cause more serious consequences.

Researchers have found that non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a good diagnostic tool for the evaluation and staging of testicular cancer and may improve patient care by sparing some men unnecessary surgery, according to a study in the March issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org).

Why are there so few black coaches in big-time college football? New research from North Carolina State University shows that it really does come down to who you know, and how well you know them. But the findings go against conventional wisdom, showing that black assistant coaches may be better served by making connections with a diverse group of acquaintances rather than forming a close-knit circle of friends.