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. Japan's Honda said Tuesday it had developed a robot steered by human thought, thanks to a helmet-like device that measures a person's brain activity and sends signals to the machine. http://www.physorg.com/news157703000.html Electronics Tue, 31 Mar 2009 07:24:12 EST news157703000 February's brutal chimpanzee attack, during which a pet chimp inflicted devastating injuries on a Connecticut woman, was a stark reminder that chimps are much stronger than humans -as much as four-times stronger, some researchers believe. But what is it that makes our closest primate cousins so much stronger than we are? One possible explanation is that great apes simply have more powerful muscles. Indeed, biologists have uncovered differences in muscle architecture between chimpanzees and humans. But evolutionary biologist Alan Walker, a professor at Penn State University, thinks muscles may only be part of the story. http://www.physorg.com/news157653323.html Biology Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:38:03 EST news157653323 Chemists at the University of Illinois have created a simple and inexpensive molecular technique that replaces an expensive atomic force microscope for studying what happens to small molecules when they are stretched or compressed. http://www.physorg.com/news157558598.html Nanotechnology Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:17:19 EST news157558598 A protein identified by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine helps maintain a critical balance between two types of neurons, preventing motor dysfunction in mammals. http://www.physorg.com/news157211471.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:51:52 EST news157211471 Learning through trial and error often requires subjects to establish new physiological links by using information about trial outcome to strengthen correct responses or modify incorrect responses. New findings, which appear in the latest issue of the journal Neuron, establish a physiological measure linking trial outcome and learning. http://www.physorg.com/news157210888.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:41:56 EST news157210888 Spartin, a protein linked to the neuronal disease Troyer syndrome, was thought to function in endocytosis. In the March 23, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, Eastman et al. identify an unexpected role for Spartin in regulating the cell's lipid storage depots. http://www.physorg.com/news157047047.html Biology Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:11:20 EST news157047047 Specialized motor proteins that transport cargo within cells could be turned into nanoscale machines for drug delivery, according to bioengineers. Chemical alteration of the proteins' function could also help inhibit the growth of cancerous tumors. http://www.physorg.com/news156775386.html Biology Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:43:45 EST news156775386 (PhysOrg.com) -- An Indiana University School of Optometry faculty member's company is nearing completion of a diagnostic camera that could aid in saving the vision of millions of people worldwide. http://www.physorg.com/news156528803.html Medicine & Health Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:13:47 EST news156528803 (PhysOrg.com) -- When the Human Genome Project was complete, DNA bowed out of the limelight and gave way to RNA as a major player in genetic regulation. Now, findings at Rockefeller University mirror this ideological shift, revealing that one of the most important physiological events in the body - the wiring of motor neurons and muscles - is regulated at the level of RNA. The findings upturn dogma in the field and further point to the increasingly indisputable role of RNA as the molecule behind biological complexity. http://www.physorg.com/news156444528.html Medicine & Health Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:50:00 EST news156444528 (PhysOrg.com) -- The final pieces of the Ares I-X flight test rocket left the Alliant Tech Systems manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, Thursday and began a 2,917-mile journey to its launch site at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. http://www.physorg.com/news156179269.html Space & Earth Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:08:59 EST news156179269 (PhysOrg.com) -- Tiny, ubiquitous particles in the atmosphere may play a profound role in regulating global climate. But the scientists who study these particles -- called aerosols -- have long struggled to accurately measure their composition, size, and global distribution. A new detection technique and a new satellite instrument developed by NASA scientists, the Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor (APS), should help ease the struggle. http://www.physorg.com/news156086477.html Space & Earth Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:22:26 EST news156086477 Truck crashes are a significant public health hazard causing thousands of deaths and injuries each year, with driver fatigue and sleepiness being major causes. A new study has confirmed previous findings that obesity-driven testing strategies identify commercial truck drivers with a high likelihood of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and suggests that mandating OSA screenings could reduce the risk of truck crashes. http://www.physorg.com/news155993856.html Medicine & Health Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:38:11 EST news155993856 (PhysOrg.com) -- NASA has completed a successful test firing of the igniter that will be used to start the Ares I rocket first stage motor. http://www.physorg.com/news155923882.html Space & Earth Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:12:21 EST news155923882 Diagnosing and treating obstructive sleep apnea may soon become much less expensive and arduous, thanks to new research showing that a simplified program using experienced nurses, home ambulatory diagnosis and auto-titrating continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines to titrate CPAP pressures is not inferior to the traditional model which relies on specialist physicians and sleep studies. http://www.physorg.com/news155559550.html Medicine & Health Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:59:40 EST news155559550 The Pima Association of Governments has voted to back creation of a network of electric-vehicle charging stations all around Tucson. http://www.physorg.com/news155482454.html Technology Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:34:46 EST news155482454 Older adults may be more affected by a couple of glasses of wine than their younger counterparts are -- yet they are less likely to be aware of it, a new study suggests. http://www.physorg.com/news155472452.html Medicine & Health Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:55:18 EST news155472452 Cell phones are a danger on the road in more ways than one. Two new studies show that talking on the phone while traveling, whether you're driving or on foot, is increasing both pedestrian deaths and those of drivers and passengers, and recommend crackdowns on cell use by both pedestrians and drivers. The new studies, lead-authored by Rutgers University, Newark, Economics Professor Peter D. Loeb, relate the impact of cell phones on accident fatalities to the number of cell phones in use, showing that the current increase in deaths attributed to cell phone use follows a period when cell phones actually helped to reduce pedestrian and traffic fatalities. However, this reduction in fatalities disappeared once the numbers of phones in use reached a "critical mass" of 100 million, the study found. http://www.physorg.com/news155404929.html Other Sciences Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:02:53 EST news155404929 Researchers at the University of Leeds have made a significant step forward in understanding the causes of some forms of deafness. http://www.physorg.com/news155383453.html Medicine & Health Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:04:49 EST news155383453 (PhysOrg.com) -- NASA and industry engineers successfully completed the second drop test of a drogue parachute for the Ares I rocket. The test took place Feb. 28 at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground near Yuma, Ariz. http://www.physorg.com/news155234526.html Space & Earth Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:43:22 EST news155234526 A longitudinal study of infants from birth to age 3 showed TV viewing before the age of 2 does not improve a child's language and visual motor skills, according to research conducted at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School. The findings, published in the March issue of Pediatrics, reaffirm current guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that recommend no television under the age of 2, and suggest that maternal, child, and household characteristics are more influential in a child's cognitive development. http://www.physorg.com/news155188381.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:53:34 EST news155188381 A collaborative research project involving Professor Christopher Shaw of the Institute of Psychiatry, King`s College London (KCL), Dr Tom Kwiatkowski at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Professor Robert H Brown at University of Massachusetts, has revealed that mutations in a gene called FUS (fused in sarcoma) cause familial Motor Neuron Disease (also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). This is the second gene to be discovered for ALS in just one year and is an important step towards understanding disease mechanisms. The research was published on line in two back-to-back papers in the journal Science today. http://www.physorg.com/news154880306.html Medicine & Health Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:19:08 EST news154880306 Japan's Honda Motor Co., seeking a boost in the race to build greener automobiles, said Thursday it would open a research centre to develop and produce bio-ethanol fuel from non-edible plant matter. http://www.physorg.com/news154875058.html Technology Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:51:26 EST news154875058 In a new study, researchers were able to generate functionally mature motor neurons from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which are engineered from adult somatic cells and can differentiate into most other cell types. A potential new source of motor neurons that does not require human eggs or embryos could be an enormous boon to research into conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal cord injury and could open the door to eventual treatments. The study is published in Stem Cells. http://www.physorg.com/news154698681.html Biology Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:51:47 EST news154698681 (PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of scientists led by the University of Leeds has shed new light on the little-understood motor protein called dynein, thought to be involved in progressive neurological disorders such as motor neurone disease. http://www.physorg.com/news153059833.html Biology Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:37:49 EST news153059833 University of Massachusetts Amherst biologists have discovered a secret of how cells organize chromosomes to prepare for dividing. Their unexpected finding is reported in this week`s issue of the journal, Current Biology. http://www.physorg.com/news152807696.html Biology Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:35:32 EST news152807696 (PhysOrg.com) -- Anyone who has ever battled a stuck zipper knows it's a good idea to see what's stuck, where and how badly -- and then to pull hard. A Cornell research team's experiments involve the "unzipping" of single DNA molecules. By mapping the hiccups, stoppages and forces along the way, they have gained new insight into how genes are packed and expressed within cells. http://www.physorg.com/news152382840.html Biology Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:34:20 EST news152382840 Motor control exercises, when performed in conjunction with other forms of therapy, can significantly reduce pain and disability in patients with persistent low back pain, according to a new systematic review published in the January issue of Physical Therapy (PTJ), the scientific journal of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). In addition to feeling less pain, patients performing these types of exercises are able to be more physically active and experience positive effects over a longer period of time than those who receive other treatments, according to researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news152378747.html Medicine & Health Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:26:16 EST news152378747 A new area of the cerebral cortex has evolved to enable man and higher primates to pick up small objects and deftly use tools, according to neuroscientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Pittsburgh's Veterans Affairs Medical Center. http://www.physorg.com/news151002730.html Medicine & Health Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:12:10 EST news151002730 A group of Dartmouth researchers has found a new function for one of the proteins involved with chromosome segregation during cell division. Their finding adds to the growing knowledge about the fundamental workings of cells, and contributes to understanding how cell function can go wrong, as it does with cancerous cells. http://www.physorg.com/news150722564.html Biology Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:22:44 EST news150722564 is no cure for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic disorder that causes the weakening of muscles and is the leading genetic cause of infant death, but University of Missouri researchers have discovered a new therapeutic target that improves deteriorating skeletal muscle tissue caused by SMA. The new therapy enhanced muscle strength, improved gross motor skills and increased the lifespan in a SMA model. http://www.physorg.com/news150556755.html Medicine & Health Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:19:15 EST news150556755