Newswise: SciNews

Understanding the Past and Predicting the Future by Looking Across Space and Time

University of Wisconsin-Madison — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:00:00 EST

In a new paper published this week (May 20) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and elsewhere validate a fundamental assumption at the very heart of a popular way to predict relationships between complex variables.

Ways to Change Bridge Fabrication and Inspection Practices

Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:00:00 EST

Newly Understood Circuits Add Finesse to Nerve Signals

University of Alabama at Birmingham — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:00:00 EST

An unusual kind of circuit fine-tunes the brain's control over movement and incoming sensory information, and without relying on conventional nerve pathways. The work may provide insight into the design of drugs for autism and movement disorders.

Infrastructure Experts: Engineers Who Can Speak About Bridge Collapse

University of Washington — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:00:00 EST

Researcher Evaluates How Playing Surfaces Affect Athletic Performance, Injury Potential

University of Rhode Island — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:00:00 EST

A group of University of Rhode Island students have been jumping up and down for weeks on a variety of playing surfaces in a study to evaluate how each affects athletic performance and injury potential.

Research Effort Deep Underground Could Sort Out Cosmic-Scale Mysteries

Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:00:00 EST

The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has begun delivery of germanium-76 detectors to an underground laboratory in South Dakota in a team research effort that might explain the puzzling imbalance between matter and antimatter generated by the Big Bang.

Auburn Professor Robbie Barnes Can Speak on Structural Engineering and Bridge Design Following Wash. Bridge Collapse

Auburn University — Fri, 24 May 2013 11:00:00 EST

WUSTL Engineer Works to Strengthen Infrastructure to Prevent Incidents Like Recent Wa Bridge Collapse

Washington University in St. Louis — Fri, 24 May 2013 11:00:00 EST

BGSU Dean of College of Technology, Concrete Expert Available to Comment on Washington Bridge Collapse

Bowling Green State University — Fri, 24 May 2013 10:00:00 EST

Research Aims for Insecticide That Targets Malaria Mosquitoes

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences — Fri, 24 May 2013 09:55:00 EST

A University of Florida scientist is part of team working toward an insecticide that would target malaria-carrying mosquitoes but do no harm to other organisms.

Eight New Distinguished Visiting Research Chairs Appointed at Perimeter Institute

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics — Fri, 24 May 2013 09:30:00 EST

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is pleased to announce the appointment of eight more outstanding international scientists as part of its Distinguished Visiting Research Chairs (DVRC) program.

When Oxygen Is Short, EGFR Prevents Maturation of Cancer-Fighting miRNAs

University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:00:00 EST

With tumor suppressors frozen in adolescence, resistant cancer cells cheat death, a team of researchers led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports in Nature.

Atomic-Scale Investigations Solve Key Puzzle of LED Efficiency

Brookhaven National Laboratory — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:00:00 EST

MIT and Brookhaven Lab scientists use electron microscopy imaging techniques to settle a solid-state controversy and raise new experimental possibilities

Technion Scientists Develop Advanced Biological Computer

American Technion Society — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:00:00 EST

Using only biomolecules, Israeli scientists have developed and constructed an advanced biological transducer, a computing machine capable of manipulating genetic codes, and using the output as new input for subsequent computations.

Fastest Measurements Ever Made of Ion Channel Proteins

Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:00:00 EST

Columbia Engineering researchers have used miniaturized electronics to measure the activity of individual ion-channel proteins with temporal resolution as fine as one microsecond, producing the fastest recordings of single ion channels ever performed.

Accurate Distance Measurement Resolves Major Astronomical Mystery

National Radio Astronomy Observatory — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:00:00 EST

Astronomers have resolved a major problem in their understanding of a class of stars that undergo regular outbursts by accurately measuring the distance to a famous example of the type.

Multiple Research Teams Unable to Confirm High-Profile Alzheimer's Study

University of Chicago Medical Center — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:00:00 EST

Teams of highly respected Alzheimer's researchers failed to replicate what appeared to be breakthrough results for the treatment of this brain disease when they were published last year in the journal Science.

Bittersweet: Bait-Averse Cockroaches Shudder at Sugar

North Carolina State University — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:00:00 EST

Sugar isn't always sweet to German cockroaches. In a new NC State study published in Science, researchers show that glucose sets off bitter receptors in roach taste buds, causing roaches to avoid foods that bring on this taste-bud reaction.

Reforestation Study Shows Trade-Offs Between Water, Carbon and Timbe

Arizona State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:00:00 EST

More than 13,000 ships per year transit the Panama Canal each year. Each time a ship passes through, more than 55 million gallons of water are used. The advent of large "super" cargo ships has demanded expansion of the canal, leaving the authority to consider how meet increased demand for water. One proposed measure is the reforestation of the watershed, which has been studied by ASU scientists Silvio Simonit and Charles Perrings to aid planners.

Expert: Climate Change an Unlikely Culprit in Oklahoma Tornado Disaster

Cornell University — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:30:00 EST

Powerful New Method IDs Therapeutic Antibodies

Scripps Research Institute — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:00:00 EST

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have devised a powerful new technique for finding antibodies that have a desired biological effect. The newly reported technique should greatly speed the process of discovering medicines, diagnostics and laboratory reagents.

Slow and Steady, Turtles Gain Ground

Wildlife Conservation Society — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:00:00 EST

WCS builds assurance colonies in its zoos and in the field to help restore endangered turtles.

Bacterium From Canadian High Arctic Offers Clues to Possible Life on Mars

McGill University — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:00:00 EST

The recent discovery by a McGill University led team of scientists of a bacterium that is able to thrive at -15(o)C, the coldest temperature ever reported for bacterial growth, is exciting because it offers clues about some of the necessary preconditions for microbial life on Mars.

Stitching Defects Into World's Thinnest Semiconductor

Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:00:00 EST

Columbia University researchers have grown high-quality crystals of molybdenum disulfide, the world's thinnest semiconductor, and studied how these crystals stitch together at the atomic scale to form continuous sheets, gaining key insights into the optical and electronic properties of this new "wonder" material.

A Hidden Population of Exotic Neutron Stars

Chandra X-ray Observatory — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:00:00 EST

Magnetars - the dense remains of dead stars that erupt sporadically with bursts of high-energy radiation - are some of the most extreme objects known in the Universe. A major campaign using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and several other satellites shows magnetars may be more diverse - and common - than previously thought.