Tech

(Washington, DC • Nov. 3, 2009) – Launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., aboard an United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle, Oct. 18, 2009, the Special Sensor Ultraviolet Limb Imager (SSULI) developed by NRL's Space Science Division and Spacecraft Engineering Department offers a first of its kind technique for remote sensing of the ionosphere and thermosphere from space.

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Frogs are croaking in clear-cut forests, but not exactly in their traditional manner. University of Missouri researchers found that removing all of the trees from a section of the forest had a negative effect on amphibians during their later life cycles, but had some positive effects during amphibians' aquatic larva stages at the beginning of their lives. To lessen the negative effects during the later life stage, Semlitsch recommends partial or selection cuts to forests rather than completely removing trees from an area.

Marking a significant bench to bedside research milestone in Singapore, the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), the world's first bioengineering and nanotechnology research institute, and the National University Hospital (NUH) launched the IBN iCare and the NUH Eye Centre @ Biopolis at an official opening ceremony officiated by the Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education, S. Iswaran, at the Biopolis on Nov. 3, 2009.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – When searching for basketball videos online, a long list of websites appears, which may contain a picture or a word describing a basketball. But what if the computer could search inside videos for a basketball? Researchers at the University of Missouri are developing software that would enable computers to search inside videos, detect humans and specific objects, and perform other video analysis tasks.

CHICAGO (November 3, 2009)––Standard adjuvant treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer patients, following primary surgery for their cancer, is Trastuzumab (Herceptin)––typically used in combination with chemotherapy. However, a new study by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center reports that it may be safe to treat these patients with both Trastuzumab and adjuvant radiation therapy. The study will be presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

A recent review in Faculty of 1000 Medicine Reports, a publication in which clinicians highlight advances in medical practice, suggests regional pain relief could be used during abdominal surgery. In this review, Michael Schaefer recommends a new approach that can be performed without the need for general anaesthetics.

The spread of malicious software, also known as malware or computer viruses, is a growing problem that can lead to crashed computer systems, stolen personal information, and billions of dollars in lost productivity every year. One of the most insidious types of malware is a "rootkit," which can effectively hide the presence of other spyware or viruses from the user – allowing third parties to steal information from your computer without your knowledge.

Holidays and tables full of delicious food usually go hand in hand, but for nearly half of the children in the United States, this is not guaranteed.

"49 percent of all U.S. children will be in a household that uses food stamps at some point during their childhood," says Mark R. Rank, Ph.D., poverty expert at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. "Food stamp use is a clear sign of poverty and food insecurity, two of the most detrimental economic conditions affecting a child's health."

A fire aboard a Navy ship can quickly become a deadly cauldron. The grim reminders of this would be the deadly fires that took place aboard the USS Forrestal in 1967 or the USS Enterprise in 1969.

Washington, November 2, 2009 – The American College of Physicians (ACP) today sent a letter to House leaders voicing the College's support for key policies in the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

Nearly half of American children – including 90 percent of black children and 90 percent of children who spend their childhoods in single-parent households – will eat meals paid for by food stamps at some point during childhood, reports a Cornell researcher.

Healthy pregnant women mount a robust immune response following just one dose of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine, according to initial results from an ongoing clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health.

The legendary "man-eating lions of Tsavo" that terrorized a railroad camp in Kenya more than a century ago likely consumed about 35 people--far fewer than popular estimates of 135 victims, according to a new analysis led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The study also yields surprises about the predatory behavior of lions.

La Jolla, CA—The search for the holy grail of regenerative medicine—the ability to "grow back" a perfect body part when one is lost to injury or disease—has been under way for years, yet the steps involved in this seemingly magic process are still poorly understood.

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center and Argonne National Laboratory are collaborating on a study to determine if an imaging technique used by NASA to inspect the space shuttle can be used to predict tissue damage often experienced by breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. The study is examining the utility of three-dimensional thermal tomography in radiation oncology.

Preliminary results from the study are being displayed during the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting in Chicago, being held from November 1 – 5, 2009.