IT engineers have developed a mathematical model that could help energy companies produce natural gas more efficiently and ensure a more reliable supply of this valuable fuel. The researchers are now collaborating with experts at Shell to apply the model to a natural gas production system in Malaysia.
For two consecutive years, researchers examined measures of cardiovascular fitness and self-esteem in sophomore girls attending Trenton Central High School and found students are making better health choices with an intervention program. Low Density Lipoprotein levels — the unhealthy cholesterol — also decreased significantly. WHF Teen Esteem is a gender-specific approach to teen girls’ health and wellness and is meant to be a replacement for traditional gymnastics and health classes.
For two consecutive years, researchers examined measures of cardiovascular fitness and self-esteem in sophomore girls attending Trenton Central High School and found students are making better health choices with an intervention program. Low Density Lipoprotein levels — the unhealthy cholesterol — also decreased significantly. WHF Teen Esteem is a gender-specific approach to teen girls’ health and wellness and is meant to be a replacement for traditional gymnastics and health classes.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a simple “dipstick” test for detecting cocaine and other drugs in saliva, urine or blood serum. The test is based upon DNA-gold nanoparticle technology, and can be packaged in user-friendly kits similar to those used for home pregnancy tests.
University of Iowa scientists have made a discovery that broadens understanding of a rapidly developing area of biology known as functional genomics and sheds more light on the mysterious, so-called “junk DNA” that makes up the majority of the human genome.
A peptide known to play a role in anxiety is overly plentiful in a mouse model of the inherited neurological disorder Rett syndrome and appears to underlie the anxiety-like behavior in these mice, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The finding could provide a clue to treatment for this symptom.
Remember those kids who wanted to study only what was on the test? They may have cheated themselves. New research reveals that the simple act of taking a test helps you remember everything you learned, even if it isn?t tested. In three experiments, psychologists at Washington University in St. Louis determined that testing enhanced long-term recall for material that was not tested initially. Untested students recalled significantly less of what they?d studied ? even after having extra time to go over the material.
The science of cancer prevention has advanced to the point where researchers now say they can detect ?cancer genes? in the breath of smokers, and can test the presence of two proteins in men they say will predict development of prostate cancer a decade in advance. All of these novel findings need much more examination, of course, but scientists at the American Association for Cancer Research?s Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting, say these examples illustrate how it is becoming increasingly possible to use genes and their protein products to help predict and diagnose cancer, as well as choose therapy that offers the most potential for a good result. These researchers will also discuss a test that can pick out patients who have pancreatic cancer – an advance that offers hope the disease can be treated at earlier stages than it is now – and how several unique genes can predict which prostate cancer or lung cancer patients will develop aggressive tumors that need additional treatment. Cancer is a disease of genes, they say, so genes can be employed as a crystal ball to thwart the disease.
Using material similar to bathtub caulk, University of Utah engineers invented a tiny, inexpensive ?micropump? that could be used to move chemicals, blood or other samples through a card-sized medical laboratory known as a lab-on-a-chip.
Just as clouds block the sun, they interfere with laser communications systems, but Penn State researchers are using a combination of computational methods to find the silver lining and punch through the clouds.