news 2011

Scientists at Warwick Medical School have made an important discovery about the mechanism controlling the body's 'fat switch', shedding new light on our understanding of how proteins regulate appetite control and insulin secretion. This research, led by Professor Victor Zammit, Head of Metabolic and Vascular Health at Warwick Medical School, found that the enzyme known as 'Carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A' (CPT1) has a switch which is thrown depending on the composition and curvature of its cellular membrane.

by Morgan Kelly Normally used to spot where people live, satellite images of nighttime lights can help keep tabs on the diseases festering among them, too, according to new research. Princeton University-led researchers report Dec. 9 that nighttime-lights imagery presents a new tool for pinpointing disease hotspots in developing nations by revealing the population boom that typically coincides with seasonal epidemics.

A quick, inexpensive and highly sensitive test that identifies disease markers or other molecules in low-concentration solutions could be the result of a Cornell-developed nanomechanical biosensor, which could potentially help with early stage disease detection. The biosensor, based on a photonic crystal nanowire array, was developed by Yuerui Lu, a graduate student in the lab of Amit Lal, professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Swarms of bees and brains made up of neurons make decisions using strikingly similar mechanisms, reports a new study in the Dec. 9 issue of Science. In previous work, Cornell biologist Thomas Seeley clarified how scout bees in a honeybee swarm perform "waggle dances" to prompt other scout bees to inspect a promising site that has been found.

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a universal technique for stripping nanocrystals of tether-like molecules that until now have posed as obstacles for their integration into devices. These findings could provide scientists with a clean slate for developing new nanocrystal-based technologies for energy storage, photovoltaics, smart windows, solar fuels and light-emitting diodes.

A new method for measuring narrowing in the arteries of the heart may allow patients to be assessed for a stent without having to take a drug with unpleasant side effects. In England, it is estimated that one in seven men and one in 12 women over the age of 65 experience chest pain called angina caused by narrowing of the arteries in the heart.

Only 71 per cent of babies born between 32 and 36 weeks are successful in key stage 1 (KS1) tests (defined as achieving at least level 2 in reading, writing and maths), compared to 79 per cent of babies born at full term (37-41 weeks). Babies born between 32 and 36 weeks ('late-preterm') make up 82 per cent of all premature births and six per cent of all live births in the UK and are generally considered to be in the 'safe zone' of premature births.

Scientists have made a new discovery about how old stars called 'red giants' rotate, giving an insight into what our sun will look like in five billion years. The international team of scientists, including University of Sydney astronomers Professor Tim Bedding and Dennis Stello, has discovered red giants have slowed down on the outside, while their cores spin at least 10 times faster than their outer layers.

A world-first research project into people's usage of household air-conditioners is now recruiting participants who live in Sydney's inner west. The ARC-funded study is to be led by the eminent Professor Richard de Dear from the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning. The project aims to determine the threshold living room temperature that triggers people to switch on air-conditioning.

An international team of astronomers, including scientists from the University of Birmingham, has looked deep inside some old stars and discovered that their cores spin at least ten times as fast as their surfaces. The research, led by Leuven University in Belgium, is published today (7 December 2011) .

Why some people need more sleep is in our genes, a new study suggests. A new study by University researchers finds that one in five Europeans carry a variation of a gene known as ABCC9, which is involved in sensing energy levels of cells in the body. People with the gene need almost 30 minutes more sleep each night than those who do not have it.

Discovery is of a fundamental interest for the development of future electronics A team of scientists, led by Guillaume Gervais from McGill's Physics Department and Mike Lilly from Sandia National Laboratories, has engineered one of the world's smallest electronic circuits. It is formed by two wires separated by only about 150 atoms or 15 nanometers (nm).

Scientists at the Universities of Bristol and Southampton have developed important new insight into climate sensitivity - the sensitivity of global temperature to changes in the Earth's radiation balance - over the last half million years. Climate sensitivity is a key parameter for understanding past natural climate changes as well as potential future climate change.

University of Warwick economics professor Christopher Woodruff will oversee a new initiative that plans to invest £15 million into research on private enterprise development in low-income countries. The initiative, the largest research endeavour undertaken on the subject, is a joint venture co-ordinated by the Centre for Economic Policy Research in partnership with the Department for International Development.

NASA has announced the discovery of the first planet located in the "habitable zone" around a star - the "just-right" orbit that's not too hot or too cold for water to exist in liquid form, making life as we know it possible. Astronomers from The University of Texas at Austin's McDonald Observatory involved in this and other Kepler research will present their findings at the first Kepler Science Conference this week at NASA's Ames Research Center.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.-It's no surprise that TV viewing has an effect on our eating habits, but a new study shows that even pre-schoolers planted in front of the set are more prone to eating sweets and salty foods instead of fruits and vegetables. University of Michigan and University of Illinois researchers conducted a three-year study using data from 423 parents and 354 children-ages two to four-in the Midwest.

Researchers simulated a variety of rainbows. Here, their simulations, bounded by black boxes, are inserted into photographs of real rainbows. Computer scientists at UC San Diego, who set out to simulate all rainbows found in nature, wound up answering questions about the physics of rainbows as well.

Yale is sponsoring the December issue of the journal Health Services Research (HSR) which is dedicated to global health issues. Elizabeth Bradley, faculty director of the Yale Global Health Leadership Institute, and Mary Fennell, professor at Brown University, reviewed and selected all articles, along with the HSR editorial board.

A message from President Rodney Erickson: The days ahead. Campus community and friends attend candlelight vigil Town Hall Forum video posted Board executive committee reaffirms, ratifies earlier decisions Campus and community show support for child abuse victims UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Testing athletes for concussions may induce mental fatigue in subjects whether or not they have a head injury, according to Penn State researchers.

Glass fiber cables are indispensable for the internet - now they can also be used as a quantum physics lab. The Vienna University of Technology is the only research facility in the world, where single atoms can be controllably coupled to the light in ultra-thin fiber glass. Specially prepared light waves interact with very small numbers of atoms, which makes it possible to build detectors that are extremely sensitive to tiny trace amounts of a substance.