Tech

Computers are increasingly used in daily life: 56 percent of workers use one on the job and 62 percent of households own one. Arthritis is a leading cause of work disability, and those with the disesase may have difficulty performing physically demanding jobs, and may select jobs that appear less strenuous but require intensive computer use. Computer use is a risk factor for pain and musculoskeletal disorders in the general population; arthritis patients are more at risk because of difficulties performing tasks due to pain, restricted movement, muscle weakness, or fatigue.

LIVERMORE, Calif. — Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have created the first carbon nanotube device that can detect the entire visible spectrum of light, a feat that could soon allow scientists to probe single molecule transformations, study how those molecules respond to light, observe how the molecules change shapes, and understand other fundamental interactions between molecules and nanotubes.

In the last decade, Asian farmers have cleared tens of thousands of square miles of forests to accommodate the world's growing demand for palm oil, an increasingly popular food ingredient. Ancient peatlands have been drained and lush tropical forests have been cut down. As a result, the landscape of equatorial Asia now lies vulnerable to fires, which are growing more frequent and having a serious impact on the air as well as the land.

SEATTLE, WA – April 30, 2009 – Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) today announced data results from the CHAMPIONS (Controlled High-Risk AVONEX® (interferon beta-1a) Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Prevention Study In Ongoing Neurologic Surveillance) study, an open label follow-up to CHAMPS (Controlled High Risk Subjects AVONEX MS Prevention Study). Based on the CHAMPS study, AVONEX was granted approval for use in patients who experienced their first clinical MS episode with MRI findings.

SEATTLE, WA – April 30, 2009 – Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) today announced data results from the CHAMPIONS (Controlled High-Risk AVONEX® (interferon beta-1a) Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Prevention Study In Ongoing Neurologic Surveillance) study, an open label follow-up to CHAMPS (Controlled High Risk Subjects AVONEX MS Prevention Study). Based on the CHAMPS study, AVONEX was granted approval for use in patients who experienced their first clinical MS episode with MRI findings.

A forensics toolkit for the Xbox gaming console is described by US researchers in the latest issue of the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics. The toolkit could allow law enforcement agencies to scour the inbuilt hard disk of such devices and find illicit hidden materials easily.

Ultrafast, light-sensitive video cameras are needed for observing high-speed events such as shockwaves, communication between living cells, neural activity, laser surgery and elements of blood analysis. To catch such elusive moments, a camera must be able to capture millions or billions of images continuously with a very high frame rate. Conventional cameras are simply not up to the task.

RICHLAND, Wash. -- Researchers have detected common plant toxins that affect human health and ecosystems in smoke from forest fires. The results from the new study also suggest that smoldering fires may produce more toxins than wildfires - a reason to keep human exposures to a minimum during controlled burns.

Quantum cryptography, a completely secure means of communication, is much closer to being used practically as researchers from Toshiba and Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory have now developed high speed detectors capable of receiving information with much higher key rates, thereby able to receive more information faster.

(Toronto – April 30, 2009) – A unique mother-daughter study that used magnetic resonance to measure breast density in younger women shows that percent of breast water could be linked to the risk of breast cancer in middle age and older.

AMES, Iowa – Physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory have experimentally demonstrated that the superconductivity mechanism in the recently-discovered iron-arsenide superconductors is unique compared to all other known classes of superconductors. These findings – combined with iron-arsenide's potential good ability to carry current due to their low anisotropy – may open a door to exciting possible applications in zero-resistance power transmission.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When a jet is flying faster than the speed of sound, one small mistake can tear it apart.

And when the jet is so experimental that it must fly unmanned, only a computer control system can pilot it.

Ohio State University engineers have designed control system software that can do just that -- by adapting to changing conditions during a flight.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A Purdue University study shows dairy has an advantage over calcium carbonate in promoting bone growth and strength.

Connie Weaver, distinguished professor and head of the food and nutrition department, found that the bones of rats fed nonfat dry milk were longer, wider, more dense and stronger than those of rats fed a diet with calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is the most common form of calcium used in calcium-fortified foods and supplements.

A new study, carried out in primary care units in Zanzibar and published in this week's issue of PLoS Medicine, evaluates the impact of rapid malaria tests on prescribing practice and clinical outcomes. The findings suggest that routine use of such tests may reduce the number of people who are inappropriately given antimalarial drugs.

The UN Millennium Development Goals, a blueprint for development agreed to by all the world's countries and leading development institutions, includes the goal of reducing the under-five child mortality rate by two-thirds by 2015. While this goal is laudable, says a team of public health researchers in this week's PLoS Medicine, this reduction could still leave the children of the poor worse off.