Applied Physics

Neurotransmitters Don't Ride Electric Currents Between Cells

In studying how neurotransmitters travel between cells-- by analysis of events in the dimensions of nanometers-- Cornell researchers have discovered that an electrical current thought to be present during that process does not, in fact, exist. These result ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 30 2007 - 10:29am

The Bailey Affair, Again

Mr. Hank Campbell, founder of Scientific Blogging, requested that I respond to a recent posting by Seth Roberts, a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley. Roberts attacks me as part of his continuing defense of another psychology professor, Michael Bailey ...

Article - Joan Roughgarden - Aug 31 2007 - 9:38pm

The Evolution Of Schizophrenia

Several genes with strong associations to schizophrenia have evolved rapidly due to selection during human evolution, according to researchers who found a higher prevalence of the influence of so-called positive selection on genes or gene regions known to ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 5 2007 - 12:28am

Embryonic Stem Cells Yield Cartilage-Like Cells

Rice University biomedical engineers have developed a new technique for growing cartilage from human embryonic stem cells, a method that could be used to grow replacement cartilage for the surgical repair of knee, jaw, hip, and other joints. "Because ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 6 2007 - 10:59am

Genomic Expression Of Both Prochlorococcus And Infecting Virus Gives Evolutionary Clue

Scientists at MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology have for the first time recorded the entire genomic expression of both a host bacterium and an infecting virus over the eight-hour course ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 8 2007 - 5:04am

Another Reason The Air Is Bad On Planes: Skin Oil

Airline passengers and crews who gripe about poor cabin air quality could have a new culprit to blame: the oils on their skin, hair and clothing. A new study suggests interactions between body oils and ozone found in airplane cabins could lead to the forma ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 8 2007 - 7:39am

Simulated Womb Environment Helps Embryonic Stem Cells Develop Better, Say Researchers

In the September issue of the journal Stem Cells, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University write that moderate physical movement of embryonic stem cells in fluid environments, similar to shaking that occurs in the womb, imp ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 10 2007 - 4:30pm

The Lake Boiling With Methane

Last month, University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher Katey Walter brought a National Public Radio crew to Alaska’s North Slope (actually, the NPR story is a lot better and has video, so you can probablly just go there and read it, but please come back whe ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 11 2007 - 5:46pm

Discovery: How To Isolate Stem Cells In Womb Tissue

Scientists in Australia have found a way of identifying probable stem cells in the lining of women’s wombs. The finding opens up the possibility of using the stem cells for tissue engineering applications such as building up natural tissue to repair prolap ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 12 2007 - 10:01pm

Self-Waxing Skis Could Debut Next Season

Skis equipped with an ingenious new self-waxing device that enables them to travel quicker could make a dramatic entry onto the skiing scene in the 2008/09 World Cup season. The device continuously applies fresh wax to the bottom of the ski during a race. ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 4 2009 - 12:29pm