Tech

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers at Purdue University have created a magnetic "ferropaper" that might be used to make low-cost "micromotors" for surgical instruments, tiny tweezers to study cells and miniature speakers.

The material is made by impregnating ordinary paper - even newsprint - with a mixture of mineral oil and "magnetic nanoparticles" of iron oxide. The nanoparticle-laden paper can then be moved using a magnetic field.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The western corn rootworm beetle, a pest that feasts on corn roots and corn silk and costs growers more than $1 billion annually in the U.S., also can survive on the perennial grass Miscanthus x giganteus, a potential biofuels crop that would likely be grown alongside corn, researchers report.

VERNON – Short grazing periods on multiple paddocks within a pasture can not only restore forage conditions, but also profit margins, according to a Texas AgriLife Research scientist. Dr. Richard Teague, AgriLife Research range ecologist in Vernon, has been studying the benefits of multi-paddock grazing for the past eight years.Ranchers need to know answers to practical questions such as: how good is this management option, where is it successful, and what does it take to make it work as well as possible, Teague said.

Scott & White's Cancer Research Institute (CRI) has launched two clinical trials targeting cancers that affect both adults and children.

"These studies may lead to eventual development of agents that we hope will improve quality and duration of life," said Arthur Frankel, M.D., director of the CRI, and director of Scott & White's Cancer Center and division of hematology/oncology.

Researchers from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) determined that patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) who consumed more than 308 mg of caffeine daily had milder liver fibrosis. The daily amount of caffeine intake found to be beneficial is equivalent to 2.25 cups of regular coffee. Other sources of caffeine beyond coffee did not have the same therapeutic effect.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Hispanic senior citizens are living in nursing homes in ever-increasing numbers, but they face a gap in their quality of care compared to white residents, according to new research from Brown University.

A team led by Mary Fennell, professor of sociology and community health, found that Hispanic elderly are more likely than whites to live in nursing homes of poor quality. These residences are often faced with structural problems, staffing issues and financial trouble.

After nearly 5 years of concurrent operations with the Afternoon Constellation, known as the "A-Train," the PARASOL satellite is going on another orbit "track." The A-Train includes a number of NASA satellites that orbit the Earth one behind the other on the same track and until this month, PARASOL has been part of that train.

A national survey of 15,762 households by UCLA/Wayne State University researchers found that only 21 percent of Americans suffering from clinical depression receive medical care consistent with American Psychiatric Association guidelines. Half receive no treatment at all.

Solar-powered drip irrigation systems significantly enhance household incomes and nutritional intake of villagers in arid sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new Stanford University study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The two-year study found that solar-powered pumps installed in remote villages in the West African nation of Benin were a cost-effective way of delivering much-needed irrigation water, particularly during the long dry season. The results are published in the Jan. 4, 2010, online edition of PNAS.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Millions of Americans with significant or chronic pain associated with their medical problems are being under-treated as physicians increasingly fail to provide comprehensive pain treatment – either due to inadequate training, personal biases or fear of prescription drug abuse.

A team of researchers in California and Massachusetts has developed a "cocktail" of different nanometer-sized particles that work in concert within the bloodstream to locate, adhere to and kill cancerous tumors.

NEW YORK, N.Y. (January 4, 2010) – Autism Speaks applauds the consensus statement and recommendations for the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) released online in Pediatrics as one step in advancing physician awareness of unique challenges in the medical management of children with autism. "We are pleased to see the publication of these consensus recommendations. Autism Speaks' current efforts will take this further by creating evidence-based guidelines for physicians.

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The fourth annual Extremity War Injuries Symposium was held in Washington, D.C., last January to bring together military and civilian orthopaedic surgeons, researchers, experts from governmental agencies, and others to discuss challenges faced by U.S. medical personnel working in Iraq and Afghanistan and to discuss ways to synergize resources and improve care for wounded warriors. A paper summarizing the findings from the symposium is published in the January 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS).

(PHILADELPHIA) Researchers from the Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories at Thomas Jefferson University have identified a way to increase the oil in tobacco plant leaves, which may be the next step in using the plants for biofuel. Their paper was published online in Plant Biotechnology Journal.

DALLAS – Dec. 30, 2009 – A vascular surgical technique pioneered at UT Southwestern Medical Center and designed to replace infected aortic grafts with the body's own veins has proved more durable and less prone to new infection than similar procedures using synthetic and cadaver grafts.