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• Individuals In Vegetative States Can Learn, Scientists Find
• New Way To Calculate Body's 'Maximum Weight Limit'
• Portable And Precise Gas Sensor Could Monitor Pollution And Detect Disease
• Pediatric Strokes More Than Twice As Common As Previously Reported
• Molecules On A String: Why Size Isn't The Only Thing That Matters For Data Storage
• Persistent Pain May Accelerate Signs Of Aging By Two To Three Decades In Middle-Aged Adults
• Scientists Make Paralyzed Rats Walk Again After Spinal-cord Injury
• New Blood Tests Promise Simple, Cost-effective Diagnosis Of Gastrointestinal Cancers
• Researchers Prolong Half-life Of Biopharmaceutical Proteins: Biotech Innovation Could Extend Dosing Intervals, Simplify Production
• Two Treatment Innovations Improve Heart Function After Heart Attack
• New Keys For Diffusion Of Information In Social Networks
• Possible Implications Of Daily Commute And Mosquito-borne Diseases
• World's River Deltas Sinking Due To Human Activity, Says New Study
• New Genetic Link Between Cardiac Arrhythmias And Thyroid Dysfunction Identified
• Invasive Species On The March: Variable Rates Of Spread Set Current Limits To Predictability
• Postmenopausal Women, Too, Reap Cardiovascular Benefits From Endurance Training
• A Recipe For Controlling Carbon Nanotubes
• Classroom Behavior: Why It's Hard To Be Good
• New Transient Radiation Belt Discovered Around Saturn
• A Chip For The Eye? Artificial Vision Enhancers Being Put To The Test
• How To Make A Lung
• Study Details Pathways To Flu Virus Exposure, Validates Preventative Measures
• Students Navigating The Hudson River With Hydrogen Fuel Cells
• Too Many Bars In Rural America Linked To High Suicide Rates Instead Of Idyllic Life
• New Drake Equation To Quantify Habitability?
• Scientists Discover Key Factor In Regulating Placenta And Fetal Growth
• Plant Essential Oil Eyed As Mosquito, Ant Repellent
• New Assessment Quantifies Risks And Benefits Of Warfarin Treatment For Atrial Fibrillation
• Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer Success To Provide New Understanding Of Lunar Surface
• Breast Cancer Intervention Reduces Depression, Inflammation

Individuals In Vegetative States Can Learn, Scientists Find Posted: 21 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT Scientists have found that some individuals in the vegetative and minimally conscious states, despite lacking the means of reporting awareness themselves, can learn and thereby demonstrate at least a partial consciousness.

New Way To Calculate Body's 'Maximum Weight Limit' Posted: 21 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT Body Mass Index, or BMI, is an index used to determine healthy body weight. But, calculating BMI involves a complex formula, and then charts or online calculators are needed to convert the BMI information to a "healthy weight range." Researchers have now found a much simpler way of calculating a "Maximum Weight Limit," which closely corresponds to weight recommendations listed on BMI charts.

Portable And Precise Gas Sensor Could Monitor Pollution And Detect Disease Posted: 21 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated a method for identifying nitric oxide gas using lasers and sensors that are inexpensive, compact and highly sensitive. Such a portable device could be of great value to atmospheric science, pollution control, biology and medicine.

Pediatric Strokes More Than Twice As Common As Previously Reported Posted: 21 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT Stroke in infants and children may be two to four times more common than previously reported. Most studies rely on diagnostic codes for billing data to assess stroke rates, but this study also considered records of head imaging -- which revealed additional strokes. Researchers say stroke in children is still rare and parents need not be alarmed.

Molecules On A String: Why Size Isn't The Only Thing That Matters For Data Storage Posted: 21 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT Molecules of hydrogen are difficult to steer with electric fields because of the symmetrical way that charges are distributed within them. But now researchers in Switzerland have found a clever technique to get a grip on the molecules.

Persistent Pain May Accelerate Signs Of Aging By Two To Three Decades In Middle-Aged Adults Posted: 21 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT Younger people with pain look similar in terms of their disability to people who are two to three decades older without pain, according to a new study. The results of the study uncovered that people with pain develop the functional limitations classically associated with aging at much earlier ages.

Scientists Make Paralyzed Rats Walk Again After Spinal-cord Injury Posted: 21 Sep 2009 08:00 AM PDT Researchers have found that drugs, electrical stimulation and regular exercise can enable paralyzed rats to walk and even run again. The finding may hold implications for human rehabilitation after spinal cord injuries.

New Blood Tests Promise Simple, Cost-effective Diagnosis Of Gastrointestinal Cancers Posted: 21 Sep 2009 08:00 AM PDT Researchers are reporting promising results from two new blood tests that can aid in the early identification of patients with gastrointestinal cancers. The tests will make GI cancer detection simpler, cost-effective, and more acceptable to patients than current methods, the researchers say.

Researchers Prolong Half-life Of Biopharmaceutical Proteins: Biotech Innovation Could Extend Dosing Intervals, Simplify Production Posted: 21 Sep 2009 08:00 AM PDT To prolong the "half-life" of biopharmaceuticals such as interferon, biochemists in Germany are combining these small proteins with a molecular "balloon" that swells in the presence of water -- keeping them from being quickly filtered from the blood. The "balloon" itself consists of a biological polymer and can be produced together with the pharmaceutical protein by bacteria. In animal trials, this technology has prolonged interferon's half-life by a factor of 60.

Two Treatment Innovations Improve Heart Function After Heart Attack Posted: 21 Sep 2009 08:00 AM PDT Results of a clinical trial demonstrate that an infusion of blood that is "supersaturated" with oxygen (SS02) can reduce the amount of damaged heart muscle immediately following a life-threatening heart attack.

New Keys For Diffusion Of Information In Social Networks Posted: 21 Sep 2009 08:00 AM PDT Information in social networks moves at an unexpectedly slow pace, with the exception of some mass events. This is one of the main conclusions of a study carried out by researchers in Spain and IBM, who analyze how the behaviour of online users influences the spread of information through the Internet.

Possible Implications Of Daily Commute And Mosquito-borne Diseases Posted: 21 Sep 2009 08:00 AM PDT New research highlights how daily commuting patterns in mega-cities may be a critically overlooked factor in understanding the resurgence of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever, infecting 50-100 million people annually.

World's River Deltas Sinking Due To Human Activity, Says New Study Posted: 21 Sep 2009 05:00 AM PDT A new study indicates most of the world's low-lying river deltas are sinking from human activity, making them increasingly vulnerable to flooding from rivers and ocean storms and putting tens of millions of people at risk.

New Genetic Link Between Cardiac Arrhythmias And Thyroid Dysfunction Identified Posted: 21 Sep 2009 05:00 AM PDT Genes previously known to be essential to the coordinated, rhythmic electrical activity of cardiac muscle -- a healthy heartbeat -- have now also been found to play a key role in thyroid hormone (TH) biosynthesis, according to researchers.

Invasive Species On The March: Variable Rates Of Spread Set Current Limits To Predictability Posted: 21 Sep 2009 05:00 AM PDT Whether for introduced muskrats in Europe or oak trees in the United Kingdom, zebra mussels in United States lakes or agricultural pests around the world, scientists have tried to find new ways of controlling invasive species by learning how these animals and plants take over in new environs.

Postmenopausal Women, Too, Reap Cardiovascular Benefits From Endurance Training Posted: 21 Sep 2009 05:00 AM PDT After menopause, decreased estrogen and changes in body composition affect women's metabolism. But does this affect women's response to exercise? A new study shows that postmenopausal women benefit as much as younger women do from endurance training, improving both cardiovascular and respiratory fitness. On average, women raised their maximum lung volume to that of women 16 years younger.

A Recipe For Controlling Carbon Nanotubes Posted: 21 Sep 2009 05:00 AM PDT The promise of carbon nanotubes to revolutionize everything from drug delivey to energy efficiency is thwarted by the difficulties of producing the right nanotubes for each job. Scientists have found that the right mix of metal catalysts can control the atomic-level structures that give the nanotubes desired properties.

Classroom Behavior: Why It's Hard To Be Good Posted: 21 Sep 2009 05:00 AM PDT Being seen as either well behaved or naughty at school is never entirely in the hands of the individual child, a new study shows.

New Transient Radiation Belt Discovered Around Saturn Posted: 21 Sep 2009 02:00 AM PDT Scientists using the Cassini spacecraft's Magnetospheric Imaging instrument (MIMI) have detected a new, temporary radiation belt at Saturn, located around the orbit of its moon Dione at about 377,000 km from the center of the planet.

A Chip For The Eye? Artificial Vision Enhancers Being Put To The Test Posted: 21 Sep 2009 02:00 AM PDT A chip in the eye instead of a white stick? In the early 1990s this still seemed to be a utopian vision. But now clinical studies of electronic retina prostheses have reached the key final stage prior to approval. "We're in the final run-up to the market launch of the first systems," experts explained at a press conference held in advance of the international symposium "Artificial Vision," on 18 September 2009 in Bonn.

How To Make A Lung Posted: 21 Sep 2009 02:00 AM PDT A tissue-repair-and-regeneration pathway in the human body, including wound healing, is essential for the early lung to develop properly. Genetically engineered mice fail to develop lungs when two molecules in this pathway, Wnt2 and Wnt2b, are knocked out.

Study Details Pathways To Flu Virus Exposure, Validates Preventative Measures Posted: 21 Sep 2009 02:00 AM PDT With estimates that half the population of the United States could be infected with the 2009 H1N1 flu virus this fall and winter, a new study examines four flu exposure pathways and quantifies the risk posed by each pathway, which, the analysis found, varies based on changes in viral concentrations.

Students Navigating The Hudson River With Hydrogen Fuel Cells Posted: 21 Sep 2009 02:00 AM PDT A group of ambitious students will soon sail up the Hudson River, propelled by pollution-free hydrogen fuel cells and a clear vision for a cleaner, greener future.

Too Many Bars In Rural America Linked To High Suicide Rates Instead Of Idyllic Life Posted: 21 Sep 2009 02:00 AM PDT A new study has examined the relationship between suicide and number of alcohol outlets. Results show that suicides -- both completed and attempted -- occurred at greater rates in rural community areas with greater bar densities. Completed suicide rates were lower among blacks and Hispanics, and higher among low-income, older whites living in rural areas.

New Drake Equation To Quantify Habitability? Posted: 20 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT Researchers are laying the groundwork for a new equation that could mathematically quantify a habitat's potential for hosting life, in a similar way to how the Drake equation estimates the number of intelligent extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way.

Scientists Discover Key Factor In Regulating Placenta And Fetal Growth Posted: 20 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT Scientists have shown that a common biological protein molecule called SHP-2 is crucial for encouraging placenta growth.

Plant Essential Oil Eyed As Mosquito, Ant Repellent Posted: 20 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT Scientists are investigating the chemical makeup of a mosquito- and ant-repellent essential oil from a native Samoan plant.

New Assessment Quantifies Risks And Benefits Of Warfarin Treatment For Atrial Fibrillation Posted: 20 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT Warfarin therapy for patients with atrial fibrillation -- the most common type of significant heart rhythm disorder -- appears to be most beneficial for the oldest patients, those who have had a prior stroke and for patients with multiple risk factors for stroke.

Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer Success To Provide New Understanding Of Lunar Surface Posted: 20 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT Over its ten months of operation, the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) has gathered data for a total of 30 solar flares, giving the most accurate measurements to date of magnesium, aluminium, silicon, calcium and iron in the lunar surface.

Breast Cancer Intervention Reduces Depression, Inflammation Posted: 20 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT A psychological intervention for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients with symptoms of depression both relieves patients' depression and lowers indicators of inflammation in the blood. The new study involves patients with stage II or III breast cancer. Patients who received a psychological therapy that reduced stress and enhanced their ability to cope experienced significant relief of depressive symptoms, followed by a reduction in markers of inflammation.

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