News Articles

A small clinical study showed promise for a new method of treating chronic wounds; an ultrasound applicator that can be worn like a band-aid.
The applicator delivers low-frequency, low-intensity ultrasound directly to wounds, and was found to significantly accelerate healing in five patients with venous ulcers, which are caused when valves in the veins malfunction, causing blood to pool in the leg instead of returning to the heart. This pooling, called venous stasis, can cause proteins and cells in the vein to leak into the surrounding tissue leading to inflammation and formation of an ulcer. 

True efficient wireless power transfer, not just giant machines in a lab or tiny mats under a cell phone, are what we all dream about. Getting rid of cords that force airport travelers to huddle around power outlets like cavemen around an Arctic fire has been the goal for a hundred years.
There are real-world obstacles to overcome, such as what happens to a resonant wireless power transfer system in the presence of complex electromagnetic environments, like metal plates.

If you live in an area where solar power is close to viable, you probably also do not get a lot of rain. Over time, dust and dirt build up on solar panels, leading to a loss of efficiency.
But not enough to warrant washing them, according to an analysis by the University of California, San Diego. 

In the beginning, there are embryonic stem cells, which divide and increasingly differentiate as they do so. The ensuing tissue cells remain in a stable state, a skin cell does not spontaneously change into a nerve cell or heart muscle cell.

The applications for embryonic stem cells
are many: When nerve tissue becomes diseased, for example, then doctors could take healthy cells from the patient's own skin. They could then reprogram these to develop into nerve cells. These healthy nerve cells would then be implanted into the diseased tissue or even replace it entirely. This would treat, and ideally heal, diseases such as Parkinson's disease. 

Up to 20 percent of infertile couples in America have unknown reasons for their infertility but researchers led by Catherine Racowsky, PhD, director of the Assisted Reproductive Technologies Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital, wants to fill in that blank, and hints that it could be exposure to Bisphenol-A (BPA). 

Oxytocin, called the 'love hormone' in popular accounts, affects men and women differently in social contexts, say a group of psychologists. In men it improves the ability to identify competitive relationships whereas in women it facilitates the ability to identify kinship.
Oxytocin is released in our bodies in various social situations. Our bodies release it at highwe levels during positive social interactions such as falling in love, experiencing an orgasm or giving birth and breastfeeding and in previous papers, 
Prof. Simone Shamay-Tsoory from the Dept. of Psychology at the University of Haifa

Raising fish in tanks  doesn't help them all that much when they are released into the wild - but there may be an easy fix: put in hiding places and obstacles. It makes fish smarter and improves their chances of survival in nature, according to a new paper.
Why does that matter? Because conservation fish hatcheries raise cod, salmon, trout and other types of fish and release them in places where their species may be threatened, or where their populations are declining.  

Astronomers have found a new way of measuring the spin in supermassive black holes. By viewing optical, ultra-violet and soft x-rays generated by heat as the black hole fed, they were able to measure how far the disc was from the black hole. 

Researchers have devised a way to measure the internal properties of stars, a method that offers more accurate assessments of their orbiting planets. 
The astronomers examined HD 52265, a star  nearly 20 percent more massive than our Sun
 that is approximately 92 light years away. More than a decade ago, scientists identified an exopanet in the star's orbit. HD 52265 became an ideal model for both measuring stars' properties and how such properties can shed light on planetary systems.
Previously, scientists inferred stars' properties, such as radius, mass, and age, by considering observations of their brightness and color. Often these stars' properties were not known to sufficient accuracy to further characterize the nearby planets.

A statistical model based on risk factors says it can predict the probability (absolute risk) of a woman developing breast, ovarian, and endometrial (womb) cancer using easily obtainable information on known risk factors for these cancers.

A computer model estimate says it might be easier than previously thought for a planet to overheat into the scorchingly uninhabitable "runaway greenhouse" stage. That may mean some planets thought to be habitable right now actually are not.

Fibromyalgia, widespread general muscle pain and fatigue, has no known causes or effective treatments but small-fiber polyneuropathy (SFPN) has a clear pathology and is known to be caused by specific medical conditions, some of which can be treated and sometimes cured.  
In a small group of patients with fibromyalgia, about half were found to have damage to nerve fibers in their skin and other evidence of small-fiber polyneuropathy.