Tech

New Orleans, LA – Dr. Howard Osofsky, Professor and Chair of Psychiatry at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine, is an author of a review article published in the April 7, 2011 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that urgently calls for the development of protocols to deal with the health effects of disasters – before the next one occurs.

ROCKVILLE, April 6, Maryland, 2011 – Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: CUR) announced that the Phase I safety trial of its human spinal cord stem cells (HSSCs) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) is the subject of three presentations at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting, April 9-16th, in Honolulu, HI (http://www.aan.com/go/am11).

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Communication researchers at four major universities have found that if you receive a lot of email, habitually respond to a good portion of it, maintain a lot of online relationships and conduct a large number of transactions online, you are more susceptible to email phishing expeditions than those who limit their online activity.

The study, "Why Do People Get Phished?" forthcoming in the journal Decision Support Systems and Electronic Commerce, uses an integrated information processing model to test individual differences in vulnerability to phishing.

Higher concentrations of the AIDS virus in genital secretions are linked to a greater risk of virus transmission between opposite-sex couples. The effect is independent of blood level of the virus.

These findings will be reported in the April 7 edition of Science Translational Medicine, a publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

LIVERMORE, Calif. --Unlike many conventional chemical detectors that require an external power source, Lawrence Livermore researchers have developed a nanosensor that relies on semiconductor nanowires, rather than traditional batteries.

The device overcomes the power requirement of traditional sensors and is simple, highly sensitive and can detect various molecules quickly. Its development could be the first step in making an easily deployable chemical sensor for the battlefield.

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA — Delivering quality health care rather than health care sustainability is a key issue for Canada's federal election, and Canadians need a vision from federal leaders to radically transform our health care system, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/doi/10.1503/cmaj.110540.

While health care delivery is a provincial and territorial jurisdiction, renegotiation of Canada's health accord is a federal responsibility.

COLUMBIA, Mo. - More than 40 percent of Americans have at least one step relative, according to a recent Pew Center study. Relationships between stepchildren and stepparents can be complicated, especially for children. University of Missouri experts have found that stepchildren relate with stepparents based on the stepparents' treatment of them and their evaluations, or judgments, of the stepparents' behaviors.

Queen's researchers have discovered that nanoparticles, which are now present in everything from socks to salad dressing and suntan lotion, may have irreparably damaging effects on soil systems and the environment.

"Millions of tonnes of nanoparticles are now manufactured every year, including silver nanoparticles which are popular as antibacterial agents," says Virginia Walker, a professor in the Department of Biology. "We started to wonder what the impact of all these nanoparticles might be on the environment, particularly on soil."

A novel test aircraft of the TU Muenchen successfully completed its maiden flight yesterday at the airfield of the MFC Red Baron near Heimstetten. The micro aircraft christened "IMPULLS" (Innovative Modular Payload UAV – TUM LLS) will facilitate testing aviation sensors and systems. It was jointly developed by postgraduate students at the Institute of Aircraft Design and the Institute of Flight System Dynamics in Garching. Propelled by a compact electric motor, the aircraft flies quietly and free of emissions.

"We were not expecting to find such high levels of PCBs, highly toxic compounds that are considered as priority compounds by European legislation, in a region such as the western coast of Africa", Ailette Prieto, a researcher at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU-Spain) and co-author of a study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, tells SINC.

Li-air batteries are a promising opportunity for electric cars. "If we succeed in developing this technology, we are facing the ultimate breakthrough for electric cars, because in practice, the energy density of Li-air batteries will be comparable to that of petrol and diesel, if you take into account that a combustion engine only has an efficiency of around 30 percent," says Tejs Vegge, senior scientist in the Materials Research Division at Risø DTU. If batteries with an energy density this great become a reality, one could easily imagine electrically powered trucks.

ORLANDO, Fla. — April 5, 2011 — A new drug is effective in preventing new basal cell carcinomas in patients with an inherited predisposition to the disease.

These patients with basal cell nevus syndrome develop large numbers of basal cells, which can become locally invasive or metastatic, according to a discussion presented by renowned oncologist Dr. Daniel D. Von Hoff at the 102nd annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

ORLANDO, Fla. — Breast cancer survivors with poor physical health scores had an elevated risk of poorer cancer outcomes, including recurrence and death, according to the results of an observational study presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6.

Survivors of breast cancer who had poor health scores were 27 percent more likely to experience either a recurrence of their cancer or a new breast cancer. Physical health also impacted survival quite strongly; risk of death from any cause was 65 percent greater among those with poorer health scores.

ORLANDO, FL (April 6, 2011) – Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women, with more than 200,000 women diagnosed each year. Being exposed to estrogen over a long period of time is one factor that can increase a woman's risk of developing the disease. One way a woman can combat this risk factor is by taking the breast cancer drug tamoxifen, which interferes with the activity of estrogen. Now, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have found that omega-3 fatty acids—abundant in fish—could be a safe and beneficial booster for tamoxifen therapy.

New York, NY, April 6, 2011—Seven of 10 adults think the U.S. health care system needs to be fundamentally changed or completely rebuilt, according to a Commonwealth Fund survey released today. The concerns reflect widespread experiences with access barriers, poorly coordinated care and growing costs. The survey also reveals strong support for more patient-centered care systems and innovative use of teams and information systems.