One of astronomy's big questions is why galaxies forming as recently as 1 billion years after the Big Bang contain so much dust. The leading hypothesis is that supernovae, stars that explode at the end of their lives, contain large amounts of metal-enriched material that, in turn, harbors key ingredients of dust, like silicon, iron and carbon.
Waltham, MA—A new report, LIVING LONGER ON LESS IN MASSACHUSETTS: The New Economic (In)Security of Seniors, issued today by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University finds that Massachusetts seniors face widespread financial insecurity. Almost 7 in 10 senior households in Massachusetts lack sufficient resources for long-term economic security, according to the study. Economic risk is especially pronounced for single senior households—with 82 percent among them facing financial insecurity.
Considerably more people than previously believed are allergic to the most common fragrance ingredient used in shampoos, conditioners and soap. A thesis presented at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden found that over 5% of those who underwent patch testing were allergic to the air oxidized form of the fragrance ingredient linalool.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Modern manufacturing methods are spectacularly inefficient in their use of energy and materials, according to a detailed MIT analysis of the energy use of 20 major manufacturing processes.
Overall, new manufacturing systems are anywhere from 1,000 to one million times bigger consumers of energy, per pound of output, than more traditional industries. In short, pound for pound, making microchips uses up orders of magnitude more energy than making manhole covers.
What possible connection could there be between an eighteenth century British Presbyterian minister and preventing road traffic accidents in Hartford, Connecticut. Everything, according to a report in the International Journal of Intelligent Systems Technologies and Applications.
Thomas Bayes (1702-1761) was not only a church minister but also the mathematician who formulated a probability theorem that can be used to solve problems that stymie conventional statistics. The crux of his theorem can be stated as follows:
"The probability of any event is the ratio between the value at which an expectation depending on the happening of the event ought to be computed, and the value of the thing expected upon its happening."
When tiny semipalmated sandpipers embark on their annual odyssey from the Canadian Arctic to their winter residences in South America, they set out on one of the world's longest migrations. On the way, the tiny birds stop off at the Bay of Fundy on the Canadian east coast, where they spend two weeks gorging on a superfood, Corophium volutator (mud shrimps), which have some of the highest levels of n-3 fatty acids (better known as omega-3 fatty acids) of any marine animal.
Genes taken from fireflies and jellyfish are literally shedding light on possible causes of infertility and autoimmune diseases in humans.
Scientists are using the luminescent and florescent genes to illuminate cells that produce a hormone linked to conditions, which include rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
The technique will help scientists track the production of the hormone prolactin, which is crucial in ensuring supplies of breast milk in nursing mothers but can be overproduced by some pituitary tumours, causing infertility.
Prolactin has been linked to more than 300 biological functions. It is believed to play a role in autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as in the inflammation of cells and tissues.
The impact fish stocking has on aquatic insects in mountain lakes can be rapidly reversed by removing non-native trout, according to a study completed by U.S. Forest Service and University of California, Davis, scientists.
Their findings appear in a current online issue of the journal Freshwater Biology where they describe experiments that examined some effects of fisheries management practices now in use in California mountain lakes where fish do not naturally occur.
The research has value because the vast majority of mountain lakes in the western United States have been stocked with trout for several decades. Studies following lake restoration to fishless conditions will help scientists and wildlife managers understand the impact of past actions and future decisions.
Blacksburg, Va. – Researchers have unveiled the evolutionary origin of the different chromosomal architectures found in three species of Agrobacterium. A comprehensive comparison of the Agrobacterium sequence information with the genome sequences of other bacteria suggests a general model for how second chromosomes are formed in bacteria.*
Agrobacteria are members of the Rhizobiaceae family, which also includes the benign, nitrogen-fixing organisms Rhizobium and Sinorhizobium. Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 is the workhorse of the plant biotechnology science and industry, thanks to its ability to insert its own DNA into host plants.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Sleep disordered breathing, also known as sleep apnea, is highly prevalent among retired National Football League (NFL) players, and particularly in linemen, according to Mayo Clinic research. This study, involving 167 players, adds to the growing body of research examining the relationship between sleep apnea and heart disease, the investigators say.
The study will be presented Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. EDT at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session in Orlando (1048-86). The research was conducted in collaboration with the Living Heart Foundation.
March 26, 2009 -- Climate change will seriously impact public health, but the United States has yet to allocate adequate research funding to understand and prepare for these impacts, according to a report published in Environmental Health Perspectives, the journal of the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The report suggests that the current knowledge gap regarding climate change and public health is putting multitudes at risk and calls for a major expansion of research to tackle this problem.
Say goodbye to Italian-Americans and German-Americans and say hello to Vietnamese-Americans, Salvadoran-Americans and a bunch of other hyphenated Americans.
The way people identify themselves in the United States is changing, and the way the federal census classifies them by race or ethnicity isn't painting a clear portrait of America, according to new research.
NEW YORK, NY (March 25, 2009) – Transdermal delivery of estrogen therapy available by prescription "seems not to alter" the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), or blood clotting, in postmenopausal patients when compared to oral delivery, a new study suggests. The study was conducted by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and was published in the latest issue of Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society.
Prescription transdermal estrogen therapy is bioidentical to estrogen produced by a woman's ovaries before menopause and delivered through the skin. Transdermal estrogen is available in a variety of formulations which have been quality controlled and approved safe and effective by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
