NASA :: NASA sees into the eye of a monster storm on Saturn
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has seen something never before seen on another planet — a hurricane-like storm at Saturn’s south pole with a well-developed eye, ringed by towering clouds.
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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome :: Mayo Clinic researchers find evidence for traumatic cause of carpal tunnel syndrome
New Mayo Clinic research suggests that a shearing injury of the tissue that lines the tendons within the carpal tunnel may cause carpal tunnel syndrome, a debilitating condition of the wrist and hand.
FDA :: Actions Program for Medical Devices – Enhancing Patient Safety
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced its action plan for strengthening the way it monitors the safety of medical devices after they reach the marketplace.
Protein :: Manmade protein shows promise for cancer, macular degeneration
Potentially blinding blood vessel growth in the cornea resulting from eye injury or even surgery can be reduced by more than 50 percent with a new manmade protein, researchers say.
Brain :: RNA map provides first comprehensive understanding of alternative splicing
A new RNA map, created by a team of researchers at Rockefeller University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, shows for the first time how the specific location of short snippets of RNA affects the way that alternative splicing is controlled in the brain.
Life :: Scientists find new way to search for origin of life – DNA microarray technology
Over the last half century, researchers have found that mineral surfaces may have played critical roles organizing, or activating, molecules that would become essential ingredients to all life–such as amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and nucleic acids (the essence of DNA). But which of the countless possible combinations of biomolecules and mineral surfaces were key to this evolution? This vexing question has stumped scientists for years because of the sheer volume of possibilities.
Biotechnology :: Nature’s process for nitrogen fixation caught in action – PNAS
A research team from Utah State University, Virginia Tech, and Northwestern University asked whether the biological process for nitrogen fixation, carried out by microbes that contain the enzyme nitrogenase, follows the same pathway as recently reported chemical methods. Their research method resulted in the ability to witness steps in the biological process that enables some microorganisms to convert atmospheric nitrogen to nutrients.
Shower :: ‘Air shower’ set to cut water use by 30 percent – CSIRO Australia
As Australians become increasingly alert to the importance of using water wisely in the home, CSIRO researchers have found a way to use a third less water when you shower — by adding air.
Kidney Cancer :: Systemic treatment before surgery for kidney cancer prolongs patients’ survival
Preliminary results from a phase II clinical trial have provided the first evidence that treating people with kidney cancer with bevacizumab and erlotinib before surgery is safe, effective and may prolong patients’ survival, the 18th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics heard on Thursday.
Cancer :: Blocking stomach acid doesn’t raise cancer risk
Overall, the use of drugs that reduce stomach acid, such as H2 blockers and proton pump inhibitors, do not increase the risk of cancer of the esophagus or stomach, but it is informed that cancer risk is probably due to underlying conditions.