news 2013

Following cardiac surgery, patients with elevated levels of kidney injury biomarkers are at a significantly higher risk of dying during the next three years, a Yale study has found. The results appear in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. An earlier Yale study identified specific blood and urine markers that can predict which patients will suffer acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery.

Scientists have used supporting cells of the central nervous system, glial cells, to regenerate from damaged cells the healthy and functional neurons that are critical for transmitting signals in the brain, shown in green in this image in the brain of a mouse with Alzheimer's disease. The red areas are the red-stained nuclei of neuron cells.

A small band of particle-seeking scientists at Yale and Harvard has established a new benchmark for the electron's almost perfect roundness, raising doubts about certain theories that predict what lies beyond physics' reigning model of fundamental forces and particles, the Standard Model.

University of Washington TB-causing bacteria appear to mask their identity to avoid recognition by infection-killing cells in the upper airways. The bacteria call up more permissive white blood cells in the deeper regions of the lungs and hitch a ride inside them to get into the host's body. These findings are reported Dec.

Researchers map cell's complex genetic interactions to fix damaged DNA Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in The Netherlands and United Kingdom, have produced the first map detailing the network of genetic interactions underlying the cellular response to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

International team including UAlberta physicist discovers double star that could prove a prediction of Einstein's theory of gravity. In this illustration of an AM CvN binary star system, a small, heavy white dwarf star pulls material from its larger but less dense companion star. This week, astronomers announced the first observation of one of these rare double-star systems in its developing stages.

Mating is the kiss of death for certain female worms Posted December 19, 2013; 02:00 p.m. by Catherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research The presence of male sperm and seminal fluid causes female worms to shrivel and die after giving birth, Princeton University researchers reported this week .

Method will help scientists determine the mass of exoplanets that are not measurable in any other way. To date, scientists have confirmed the existence of more than 900 exoplanets circulating outside our solar system. To determine if any of these far-off worlds are habitable requires knowing an exoplanet's mass - which can help tell scientists whether the planet is made of gas or rock and other life-supporting materials.

Scientists have used supporting cells of the central nervous system, glial cells, to regenerate from damaged cells the healthy and functional neurons that are critical for transmitting signals in the brain, shown in green in this image in the brain of a mouse with Alzheimer's disease. The red areas are the red-stained nuclei of neuron cells.

Video and computer games have seen a huge rise in popularity worldwide. The fact that such games provide an immersive virtual experience has led to public concerns, often articulated in the media, about a possible link between gaming and real world aggression. However, a new study by the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University has found that although the general population has a diverse set of attitudes towards gaming, our belief in whether there is a link between video and computer games and aggressive behaviour is often influenced by whether we have actual experience of gaming.

Metabolism was lost in the shadows of cancer research for decades but has recently been reclaiming some of the spotlight. Now, Mina Bissell, Distinguished Scientist with Berkeley Lab's Life Sciences Division and a leading authority on breast cancer, has shown that aerobic glycolysis – glucose metabolism in the presence of oxygen - is not the consequence of the cancerous activity of malignant cells but is itself a cancerous event.

18 December 2013 HPV self-testing is as effective as tests done by doctors, according to a Lund University study. Simple HPV home tests could therefore complement existing screening programmes, and identify more women at risk for cervical cancer. Sweden has a system of regular gynaecological smear tests, which has halved the number of cases of cervical cancer.

A team of material scientists, chemical engineers and physicists from the University of Pennsylvania has made another advance in their effort to use liquid crystals as a medium for assembling structures. In their earlier studies, the team produced patterns of "defects," useful disruptions in the repeating patterns found in liquid crystals, in nanoscale grids and rings.

The most complete sequence to date of the Neanderthal genome, using DNA extracted from a woman's toe bone that dates back 50,000 years, reveals a long history of interbreeding among at least four different types of early humans living in Europe and Asia at that time, according to University of California, Berkeley, scientists.

Researcher finds trees and soil are adapting to mining emissions so far, but says careful monitoring needed over long term. Scott Chang studied tree rings from 60-year-old aspen and pine stands to find out how oilsands development is affecting tree growth. (Photo: Richard Siemens) Ongoing work by University of Alberta researcher Scott Chang is providing cautious optimism about how forest soil and trees are coping with oilsands development in Northern Alberta.

A new gene mutation which will help doctors give a more accurate diagnosis of a type of brain and muscle disease in children has been discovered for the first time by University of Leeds experts. Mitochondrial myopathy, as it is known, causes muscle weakness, movement problems and learning difficulties and affects more than 70,000 people in the UK.

o Study by psychologists suggests that we're motivated to ignore our goals over the festive period o People intentionally bury their head in the sand and avoid information that can help them to monitor their progress o Ignorance is bliss and few people watch their weight, monitor household energy consumption or check bank balances It's the festive season, time for eating, drinking and being merry, and any thoughts of reaching goals like losing weight or keeping on top of finances go out of the window.

AUSTIN, Texas — Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have proposed the first design of a cloaking device that uses an external source of energy to significantly broaden its bandwidth of operation. Andrea Alù, associate professor at the Cockrell School of Engineering , and his team have proposed a design for an active cloak that draws energy from a battery, allowing objects to become undetectable to radio sensors over a greater range of frequencies.

A group of researchers from the UK have used inkjet printing technology to successfully print cells taken from the eye for the very first time.

The 150-year-old proverb 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away' stands the test of time, say Oxford University researchers. Writing in the more light-hearted Christmas edition of the BMJ medical journal, the scientists estimated how effective this Victorian health advice would be today in preventing heart disease among people over 50.