Scientists develop worm EEG to test the effects of drugs

Scientists from the University of Southampton have developed a device which records the brain activity of worms to help test the effects of drugs.

Scientists announce top 10 new species

An amazing glow-in-the-dark cockroach, a harp-shaped carnivorous sponge and the smallest vertebrate on Earth are just three of the newly discovered top 10 species selected by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University.

Study details genes that control whether tumors adapt or die when faced with p53 activating drugs

When turned on, the gene p53 turns off cancer. However, when existing drugs boost p53, only a few tumors die - the rest resist the challenge.

Volcanoes Cause Climate Gas Concentrations to Vary

Trace gases and aerosols are major factors influencing the climate. With the help of highly complex installations, such as MIPAS on board of the ENVISAT satellite, researchers try to better understand the processes in the upper atmosphere.

Overcoming resistance to anti-cancer drugs by targeting cell 'powerhouses'

Re-routing anti-cancer drugs to the "power plants" that make energy to keep cells alive is a promising but long-neglected approach to preventing emergence of the drug-resistant forms of cancer - source of a serious medical problem, scientists are reporting.

Researchers Explain Magnetic Field Misbehavior in Solar Flares: The Culprit is Turbulence

When a solar flare filled with charged particles erupts from the sun, its magnetic fields sometime break a widely accepted rule of physics.

Brain Can Be Trained in Compassion, Study Shows

Until now, little was scientifically known about the human potential to cultivate compassion - the emotional state of caring for people who are suffering in a way that motivates altruistic behavior.

Research offers promising new approach to treatment of lung cancer

Researchers have developed a new drug delivery system that allows inhalation of chemotherapeutic drugs to help treat lung cancer, and in laboratory and animal tests it appears to reduce the systemic damage done to other organs while significantly improving the treatment of lung tumors.

Fast new, 1-step genetic engineering technology

A new, streamlined approach to genetic engineering drastically reduces the time and effort needed to insert new genes into bacteria, the workhorses of biotechnology, scientists are reporting.

Researchers eliminate schizophrenia symptoms in an animal model

Overexpression of a gene associated with schizophrenia causes classic symptoms of the disorder that are reversed when gene expression returns to normal, scientists report.

Calcium supplements linked to longer lifespans in women

Taking a calcium supplement of up to 1,000 mg per day can help women live longer, according to a study whose lead author was Lisa Langsetmo, a Ph.D. Research Associate at McGill University, and whose senior author was Prof. David Goltzman, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism in the Department of Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine and researcher in the Musculoskeletal Disorders axis at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC).

Novel Approach for Influenza Vaccination Shows Promise in Early Animal Testing

A new approach for immunizing against influenza elicited a more potent immune response and broader protection than the currently licensed seasonal influenza vaccines when tested in mice and ferrets.

Depression linked to telomere enzyme, aging, chronic disease

The first symptoms of major depression may be behavioral, but the common mental illness is based in biology - and not limited to the brain.

Homepage About PTB Structure Thematic tours What's new Publications Jobs/Training Services Contact Links Search Imprint Sitemap PTB > What's new > Press releases > Press release Magnetic fingerprints of superfluid helium-3

With their SQUIDs, low-temperature specialists of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) have made it possible for the magnetic moments of atoms of the rare isotope 3He (helium-3) to be measured with extreme sensitivity.

Drought makes Borneo's trees flower at the same time

Tropical plants flower at supra-annual irregular intervals. In addition, mass flowering is typical for the tropical forests in Borneo and elsewhere, where hundreds of different plant timber species from the Dipterocarpaceae family flower synchronously.

UAF researchers contribute to global glacier study

Alaska's melting glaciers remain one of the largest contributors to the world's rising sea levels, say two University of Alaska Fairbanks geophysicists.

The tropical upper atmosphere 'fingerprint' of global warming

In the tropics at heights more than 10 miles above the surface, the prevailing winds alternate between strong easterlies and strong westerlies roughly every other year.

NLST: CT detects twice as many lung cancers as X-ray at initial screening exam

National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) investigators also conclude that the 20 percent reduction in lung cancer mortality with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) versus chest X-ray (CXR) screening previously reported in the NLST primary paper is achievable at experienced screening centers in the United States.

Thinking 'big' may not be best approach to saving large-river fish

Large-river specialist fishes - from giant species like paddlefish and blue catfish, to tiny crystal darters and silver chub - are in danger, but researchers say there is greater hope to save them if major tributaries identified in a University of Wisconsin-Madison study become a focus of conservation efforts.

The dark side of respiration

Adventitious changes in cellular DNA can endanger the whole organism, as they may lead to life-threatening illnesses like cancer. Researchers at LMU now report how byproducts of respiration cause mispairing of subunits in the double helix.

Study shows that insomnia may cause dysfunction in emotional brain circuitry

A new study provides neurobiological evidence for dysfunction in the neural circuitry underlying emotion regulation in people with insomnia, which may have implications for the risk relationship between insomnia and depression.

Children of married parents less likely to be obese

Children living in households where the parents are married are less likely to be obese, according to new research from Rice University and the University of Houston.

Fish oil may help the heart beat mental stress

The omega 3 fatty acids in fish oil have long been thought to protect against cardiovascular disease-so much so that the American Heart Association currently recommends eating at least two servings of fish a week, particularly fatty varieties rich in omega 3s.

Good marriage can buffer effects of dad's depression on young children

What effect does a father's depression have on his young son or daughter? When fathers report a high level of emotional intimacy in their marriage, their children benefit, said a University of Illinois study.

"Boys will be boys" in U.S., but not in Asia

A new study shows there is a gender gap when it comes to behavior and self-control in American young children - one that does not appear to exist in children in Asia.

Study shows people can be trained to be more compassionate

Until now, little was scientifically known about the human potential to cultivate compassion - the emotional state of caring for people who are suffering in a way that motivates altruistic behavior.

SADC and aid donors influencing the civil society regionalization in southern Africa

Aid donors and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are restricting the autonomy of civil society organisations (CSOs) in southern Africa, affecting regionalisation processes within the civil society.

Pay attention: How we focus and concentrate

Publishing in Neuron, the team reveal the interplay of brain chemicals which help us pay attention in work funded by the Wellcome Trust and BBSRC.

Small, speedy plant-eater extends knowledge of dinosaur ecosystems

Dinosaurs are often thought of as large, fierce animals, but new research highlights a previously overlooked diversity of small dinosaurs.

Alleviating hunger in the US -- researcher says, it's a SNAP

A University of Illinois researcher says that the cornerstone of our efforts to alleviate food insecurity should be to encourage more people to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) "because it works."

Innovation could bring flexible solar cells, transistors, displays

Researchers have created a new type of transparent electrode that might find uses in solar cells, flexible displays for computers and consumer electronics and future "optoelectronic" circuits for sensors and information processing.

Survey points out deficiencies in addictions training for medical residents

A 2012 survey of internal medicine residents at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) - one of the nation's leading teaching hospitals - found that more than half rated the training they had received in addiction and other substance use disorders as fair or poor.

Mechanism discovered which aids Legionella to camouflage itself in the organism

The feared Legionella pneumophila bacteria is responsible for legionellosis, an infectious disease that can lead to pneumonia.

More emphasis needed on recycling and reuse of Li-ion batteries

The discovery of potential environmental and human health effects from disposal of millions of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries each year has led scientists to recommend stronger government policies to encourage recovery, recycling and reuse of lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery materials.

ESO's Very Large Telescope celebrates 15 years of success

With this new view of a spectacular stellar nursery ESO is celebrating 15 years of the Very Large Telescope - the world's most advanced optical instrument.

Rate of bicycle-related fatalities significantly lower in states with helmet laws

Existing research shows that bicyclists who wear helmets have an 88 percent lower risk of brain injury, but researchers at Boston Children's Hospital found that simply having bicycle helmet laws in place showed a 20 percent decrease in deaths and injuries for children younger than 16 who were in bicycle-motor vehicle collisions.

Study finds new pneumococcal vaccine appears to be as safe as previously used vaccine

The new 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) appears to be as safe as the previous version used prior to 2010, the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7), according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in Vaccine.

New Technique May Open Up an Era of Atomic-scale Semiconductor Devices

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for creating high-quality semiconductor thin films at the atomic scale - meaning the films are only one atom thick. The technique can be used to create these thin films on a large scale, sufficient to coat wafers that are two inches wide, or larger.

Parent and teacher support protects teens from sleep problems and depression

A new study suggests that disturbed sleep in adolescents is associated with more symptoms of depression and greater uncertainly about future success. However, perceived support and acceptance from parents and teachers appears to have a protective effect.

Hospitals profit when patients develop bloodstream infections

Johns Hopkins researchers report that hospitals may be reaping enormous income for patients whose hospital stays are complicated by preventable bloodstream infections contracted in their intensive care units.

Tests lead to doubling of fuel cell life

Researchers working to improve durability in fuel cell powered buses, including a team from Simon Fraser University, have discovered links between electrode degradation processes and bus membrane durability.

2 miniature spider species discovered in giant panda sanctuaries of China

Two new minute spider species have been discovered from the Sichuan and Chongqing, China. The tiny new spiders are both less than 2 mm in length, with Trogloneta yuensis being as little as 1.01 mm and Mysmena wawuensis measured to be the even tinier 0.75 mm, which classes it among the smallest spiders known.

Mosquito behavior may be immune response, not parasite manipulation

Malaria-carrying mosquitos appear to be manipulated by the parasites they carry, but this manipulation may simply be part of the mosquitos' immune response, according to Penn State entomologists.

Johns Hopkins rewrites obsolete blood-ordering rules

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed new guidelines - the first in more than 35 years - to govern the amount of blood ordered for surgical patients.

University of Wisconsin chemists find new compounds to curb staph infection

In an age when microbial pathogens are growing increasingly resistant to the conventional antibiotics used to tamp down infection, a team of Wisconsin scientists has synthesized a potent new class of compounds capable of curbing the bacteria that cause staph infections.

U-M study challenges notion that umpires call more strikes for pitchers of same race

A University of Michigan study challenges previous research that suggests umpire discrimination exists in Major League Baseball.