http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- Like tiny Jedi knights, tunable fluidic micro lenses can focus and direct light at will to count cells, evaluate molecules or create on-chip optical tweezers, according to a team of Penn State engineers. They may also provide imaging in medical devices, eliminating the necessity and discomfort of moving the tip of a probe. http://www.physorg.com/news161277474.html Physics Mon, 11 May 2009 16:18:36 EST news161277474 (PhysOrg.com) -- MIT engineers and colleagues have built a new tissue scaffold that can stimulate bone and cartilage growth when transplanted into the knees and other joints. http://www.physorg.com/news161257258.html Medicine & Health Mon, 11 May 2009 10:41:38 EST news161257258 In a study that reveals the clearest picture to date of neuron death in Parkinson's disease, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have found that a trio of culprits acting in concert is responsible for killing the brain cells. http://www.physorg.com/news160228509.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:55:30 EST news160228509 When migraine strikes, because of severe pain, often accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light and sound, sufferers are effectively disabled for up to 72 hours. Since they are forced to stop what they are doing until the pain and other symptoms subside, migraine causes a significant loss in productivity at work and the personal lives of those affected. Migraineurs - especially the 25% of migraineurs who experience more than three migraine attacks per month - are looking to drug developers to provide new drugs to prevent migraine attacks before they start. In the U.S. alone, approximately 30 million people suffer from migraines and the cost to employers has been estimated at $13 billion annually in lost productivity. Currently, several types of drugs, like generic beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, tricyclic antidepressants and anti-epileptic drugs, some of which are used off-label, are given to prevent migraines. However, many patients have only a partial response to these products, many of which have troubling side effects. Nevertheless, many migraine patients use existing drugs, illustrating how badly new drugs are needed. http://www.physorg.com/news160212951.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:36:22 EST news160212951 A Purdue University study shows dairy has an advantage over calcium carbonate in promoting bone growth and strength. http://www.physorg.com/news160146304.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:05:34 EST news160146304 A discovery made by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine while studying mice may help explain how some people without a genetic predisposition to epilepsy can develop the disorder. http://www.physorg.com/news159694944.html Medicine & Health Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:42:59 EST news159694944 An international study led by Ohio State University neuroscience researchers describes one of the missing triggers that controls calcium inside cells, a process important for muscle contraction, nerve-cell transmission, insulin release and other essential functions. http://www.physorg.com/news159625171.html Medicine & Health Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:20:13 EST news159625171 A study comparing the bone health of 105 post-menopausal vegan Buddhist nuns and 105 non-vegetarian women, matched in every other physical respect, has produced a surprising result. Their bone density was identical. http://www.physorg.com/news159098801.html Medicine & Health Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:07:12 EST news159098801 (PhysOrg.com) -- For a decade, Alzheimer's disease researchers have been entrenched in debate about one of the mechanisms believed to be responsible for brain cell death and memory loss in the illness. http://www.physorg.com/news159031657.html Medicine & Health Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:28:27 EST news159031657 (PhysOrg.com) -- Gypsum was used as a building material in antiquity and is still widely used as a binder in plaster, drywall, and spackling paste. Known as dihydrate in construction chemistry, gypsum is a water-containing calcium sulfate (CaSO4• 2 H2O). In various calcination processes, some of the water of crystallization is removed, resulting in calcined gypsum, or hemihydrate (CaSO4• 0.5 H2O). When this material comes into contact with water, it reabsorbs it and sets up. The structure and exact water content of hemihydrate have remained a matter of speculation. http://www.physorg.com/news159012528.html Chemistry Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:09:54 EST news159012528 Dr. Kathleen Ward noticed something odd when she examined the mammogram of a patient who had recently undergone breast cancer surgery. http://www.physorg.com/news158951333.html Medicine & Health Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:09:31 EST news158951333 Deficiency in vitamin D has been widely regarded as contributing to autoimmune disease, but a review appearing in Autoimmunity Reviews explains that low levels of vitamin D in patients with autoimmune disease may be a result rather than a cause of disease and that supplementing with vitamin D may actually exacerbate autoimmune disease. http://www.physorg.com/news158425579.html Medicine & Health Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:06:48 EST news158425579 University of California, Berkeley, graduate student Alistair Boettiger has amassed a beautiful collection of seashells, but not by combing the beach. He created them in his computer. http://www.physorg.com/news157893715.html Physics Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:22:23 EST news157893715 A 12-year-old Dutch boy - bedridden for three years because of an inherited cardiac arrhythmia syndrome - can now join his friends on the soccer field thanks to a discovery made by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news157558715.html Medicine & Health Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:19:14 EST news157558715 The amount of calcium your body absorbs might depend, in part, on the amount of dietary fiber you consume. http://www.physorg.com/news157105385.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:24:04 EST news157105385 Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (The Netherlands) have for the first time made high-resolution images of the earliest stages of bone formation. They used the world's most advanced electron microscope to make three-dimensional images of the nano-particles that are at the heart of the process. The results provide improved understanding of bone, tooth and shell formation. For industrial applications, they promise better materials and processes based on nature itself. The findings form the cover story of Science magazine's Friday 13 March edition. http://www.physorg.com/news156089519.html Nanotechnology Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:12:43 EST news156089519 Boosting calcium consumption spurs weight loss, according to a study published in the most recent issue of the British Journal of Nutrition, but only in people whose diets are calcium deficient. http://www.physorg.com/news156076519.html Medicine & Health Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:35:53 EST news156076519 New research is unraveling the complex brain mechanisms associated with disabling migraine headaches. The study, published by Cell Press in the March 12th issue of the journal Neuron, reveals that perturbation of the delicate balance between excitation and inhibition may make the brain more vulnerable to migraine attacks. http://www.physorg.com/news156007151.html Medicine & Health Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:20:00 EST news156007151 Micronutrients such as calcium, magnesium, potassium and vitamin C play essential roles in maintaining health. As older adults tend to reduce their food intake as they age, there is concern that deficits in these micronutrients lead to medical problems. In a study published in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers examined how well different ethnic groups met the recommended daily allowances (RDAs) through food intake and supplement consumption. The study determined that many middle-aged and older Americans are not getting adequate nutrition. http://www.physorg.com/news155132289.html Medicine & Health Sun, 01 Mar 2009 12:18:42 EST news155132289 The impact of the amyloid plaques that appear in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease may extend beyond the deposits' effects on neurons - the cells that transmit electrochemical signals throughout the nervous system. In an article in the Feb. 27 issue of Science, researchers from the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MGH-MIND) report that amyloid plaques may also increase the activity of astrocytes, star-shaped nervous system cells traditionally considered to provide a supporting role in normal brain function. They also show that amyloid-induced astrocyte hyperactivity extends throughout the brain rather than being confined to regions directly adjacent to plaques. http://www.physorg.com/news154881070.html Medicine & Health Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:32:52 EST news154881070 Scientists have discovered the secrets of a sophisticated molecule that plays a role in many aspects of human health from fertility to blood pressure; digestion to mental health. This has opened up the potential for discovery of new drugs to treat an enormous variety of conditions. http://www.physorg.com/news154790736.html Biology Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:26:00 EST news154790736 Arab-American women living in southeast Detroit whose conservative dress limits their exposure to sun should be taking a vitamin D supplement to boost their dangerously low serum levels, according to a study published by Henry Ford Hospital researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news153993030.html Medicine & Health Mon, 16 Feb 2009 07:51:14 EST news153993030 New research findings out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin may help provide some direction for men diagnosed with prostate cancer about whether their cancer is likely to be life-threatening. http://www.physorg.com/news153738140.html Medicine & Health Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:03:24 EST news153738140 Risk stratification has become central to strategies for the prevention of coronary heart disease, with the implication that priority is given to those at highest risk (ie, those with established heart disease). However, such stratification using the conventional risk estimation models may not be accurately achieved in individuals without symptoms, especially those in younger age groups whose 10-year "short-term" estimated risk seems low. http://www.physorg.com/news152281464.html Medicine & Health Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:24:59 EST news152281464 Actor and pancreatic cancer patient Patrick Swayze's recent hospitalization with pneumonia as a result of his compromised immune system underscores the sensitivity of the lungs: many patients die from lung complications of a disease, rather than the disease itself. http://www.physorg.com/news151931051.html Medicine & Health Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:05:11 EST news151931051 (PhysOrg.com) -- It has a beautiful, but also an unpleasant side: crystallization determines the shape of precious stones, but also causes the lime scale in washing machines. How this comes about, has been known for a long time - or has it? Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces are now whittling away at the established theory, which is unable to explain numerous phenomena. The researchers investigated the crystallization of calcium carbonate, known commonly as chalk, and found that stable nanoclusters form in water with a small quantity of dissolved calcium carbonate - not how it was assumed to happen in the past. The lime scale deposits that will eventually bring a washing machine to a standstill are created from these tiny chalk particles. http://www.physorg.com/news151930674.html Physics Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:58:50 EST news151930674 Abnormal heart rhythms - arrhythmias - are killers. They strike without warning, causing sudden cardiac death, which accounts for about 10 percent of all deaths in the United States. http://www.physorg.com/news151775019.html Medicine & Health Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:45:24 EST news151775019 Research published today reveals the major influence of fish on maintaining the delicate pH balance of our oceans, vital for the health of coral reefs and other marine life. http://www.physorg.com/news151251557.html Space & Earth Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:19:17 EST news151251557 Are there really plenty of fish in the sea? University of British Columbia fisheries researcher Villy Christensen gives the first-ever estimate of total fish biomass in our oceans: Two billion tonnes. http://www.physorg.com/news151251277.html Space & Earth Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:14:37 EST news151251277 (PhysOrg.com) -- It has a beautiful, but also an unpleasant side: crystallization determines the shape of precious stones, but also causes the lime scale in washing machines. How this comes about, has been known for a long time - or has it? http://www.physorg.com/news150998079.html Chemistry Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:54:39 EST news150998079