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) -- Mike Gibson, chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Michigan Technological University, has spent most of his professional life trying to better understand genetic metabolic disorders that arise in children. With that knowledge, he is working to develop treatments in mice--including liver-cell transplants--that could one day be used to treat a variety of liver-based illnesses in people. http://www.physorg.com/news174291354.html Medicine & Health Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:40:01 EST news174291354 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in collaboration with private industry and other government agencies, have produced a new reference material for beryllium. Beryllium, an exotic rare-earth metal used as a hardener in high-performance alloys and ceramics, can cause berylliosis -a chronic, incurable and sometimes fatal illness. The new reference material is expected to dramatically improve methods used to monitor workers' exposure and aid in contamination control as well as toxicological research. http://www.physorg.com/news172862285.html Physics Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:20:20 EST news172862285 Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research, University of California, San Diego, The Scripps Research Institute, Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation and other institutions have constructed a complete model, including three dimensional protein structures, of the central metabolic network of the bacterium Thermotoga maritima (T. maritima). http://www.physorg.com/news172419921.html Biology Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:28:15 EST news172419921 The polyclonality of BRAF mutations in melanocytic nevi suggests that mutation of BRAF may not be an initial event in melanocyte transformation, according to a new brief communication published online September 14 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. http://www.physorg.com/news172166610.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:10:02 EST news172166610 In a world filled with dogma, doctrine and discipline, it is accurate to say most of us strive to do what we believe is "right." These convictions and beliefs permeate every aspect of our lives, including education, ethics and even common law. http://www.physorg.com/news172152407.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:07:14 EST news172152407 When the first cases of H1N1 Influenza (swine flu) were reported in Mexico in April, UQ researchers got to work developing a test to diagnose the virus. http://www.physorg.com/news171193543.html Medicine & Health Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:20:03 EST news171193543 As the nation's nuclear weapons are aging (think the beginning of the Cold War), the U.S. government is turning to researchers and scientists at universities such as UC San Diego to figure out safe and reliable ways to estimate their longevity and to understand the physics of thermonuclear reactions in the absence of underground testing currently prohibited under law. One of them is Hoanh Vu, a research scientist in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering. http://www.physorg.com/news170941950.html Physics Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:53:08 EST news170941950 (PhysOrg.com) -- When it comes to love and money, opposites really do attract, says a University of Michigan researcher. http://www.physorg.com/news170607685.html Other Sciences Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:02:04 EST news170607685 Researchers in Singapore are reporting development of a new electronic sensor that shows promise as a faster, less expensive, and more practical alternative than tests now used to detect DNA. Such tests are done for criminal investigation, disease diagnosis, and other purposes. The new lab-on-a-chip test could lead to wider, more convenient use of DNA testing, the researchers say. Their study is scheduled for the Sept. 2 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. http://www.physorg.com/news170502528.html Chemistry Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:49:15 EST news170502528 (PhysOrg.com) -- Sometimes inspiration comes from the strangest of places. For Sheree Kwong See, it happened during a testing session with a subject while conducting a study on language and cognitive changes in the elderly. Kwong See was explaining the test to the research participant who reacted to the instructions in a quite unexpected manner. http://www.physorg.com/news169912987.html Other Sciences Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:20:01 EST news169912987 Chemists are preparing to play an important but often unheralded role in determining the success of one of the largest and most important scientific experiments in history - next year's initial attempts at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to produce the world's first controlled nuclear fusion reaction. If successful in taming the energy source of the sun, stars, and of the hydrogen bomb, scientists could develop a limitless new source of producing electricity for homes, factories, and businesses. The experiment could also lead to new insights into the origins of the universe. http://www.physorg.com/news169893112.html Physics Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:50:04 EST news169893112 (PhysOrg.com) -- Many drivers over age 70 realize that their reaction time is slower so they naturally compensate by driving more carefully, says Matthew Romoser, who studies age-related physical and cognitive function and driving skills at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The problem, according to his latest research, is that many older drivers don`t realize that danger is coming at them sideways, not from head-on as they assumed. http://www.physorg.com/news169834951.html Other Sciences Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:40:02 EST news169834951 Cancer remains a deadly threat despite the best efforts of science. New hopes were raised a few years ago with the discovery that the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells could be thwarted by blocking the action of proteasomes. Biochemists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM, Germany) have illuminated a reaction pathway that does just that, in collaboration with researchers from Nereus Pharmaceuticals, based in San Diego, California. In the current issue of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, they report insights that could potentially lead to the development of custom-tailored anti-cancer drugs. http://www.physorg.com/news169808643.html Chemistry Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:07:10 EST news169808643 Scientists from the Department of Biological Sciences and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech have developed a quantitative, mathematical model of DNA replication and cell division for the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus. C. crescentus, an alpha-proteobacterium that inhabits freshwater, seawater and soils, is an ideal organism for genetic and computational biology studies due to the wealth of molecular information that has been accumulated by researchers. It also plays a key role in global carbon cycling in its natural environment. http://www.physorg.com/news169448410.html Biology Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:00:42 EST news169448410 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of MIT chemists has devised a new way to add fluorine to a variety of compounds used in many drugs and agricultural chemicals, an advance that could offer more flexibility and potential cost-savings in designing new drugs. http://www.physorg.com/news169391963.html Chemistry Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:50:03 EST news169391963 Bone cells known as osteoblasts were recently shown to have a role in controlling the biochemical reactions that generate energy via secretion of the molecule osteocalcin. Gerard Karsenty and colleagues, at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, therefore hypothesized that osteoblasts express a regulatory gene(s) that controls this osteoblast function and then identified Atf4 as this regulatory gene in mice. http://www.physorg.com/news169146469.html Medicine & Health Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:10:01 EST news169146469 Service quality beliefs are usually positively related to customer satisfaction - the higher the perceived service quality, the higher the customer's satisfaction. However, an article published in the August issue of the Journal of Service Research finds this relationship may be more complicated in "negative service environments" (i.e., services that consumers would prefer not to have to use), such as health screening, diagnostic tests, or even auto repair. http://www.physorg.com/news168863703.html Other Sciences Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:50:01 EST news168863703 Years of research suggest that the promises organizations make to employees matter in establishing and maintaining a "psychological contract" between the two parties. However, new research by Samantha Montes and co-author David Zweig, professors at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management and the University of Toronto Scarborough, suggests that what an organization promises to employees (e.g., training opportunities, benefits, compensation) don't matter nearly as much as what the organization actually delivers. http://www.physorg.com/news168608148.html Other Sciences Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:00:01 EST news168608148 Similarities in brain activity during lucid dreaming and psychosis suggest that dream therapy may be useful in psychiatric treatment, a European Science Foundation (ESF) workshop has found. This is strengthened by the potential evolutionary relationship between dreams and psychosis. http://www.physorg.com/news168024914.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:10:01 EST news168024914 One of the earliest events that changes a normal cell into a malignant one is known as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) hypermethylation, a biochemical alteration that inactivates critical tumor-suppressor genes. A team of investigators at Johns Hopkins University has developed a quantum dot-based method that can quantify DNA methylation in premalignant cells harvested from human patients. http://www.physorg.com/news167412363.html Nanotechnology Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:30:02 EST news167412363 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers outline today a new approach in the potential development of drugs to counter a cellular defect that triggers Parkinson`s and other diseases. http://www.physorg.com/news166808908.html Chemistry Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:00:12 EST news166808908 Scientists in Japan are reporting development of a faster, less expensive version of the fabled polymerase chain reaction (PCR) a DNA test widely used in criminal investigations, disease diagnosis, biological research and other applications. The new method could lead to expanded use of PCR in medicine, the criminal justice system and elsewhere, the researchers say. Their study is scheduled for the July 15 issue of Analytical Chemistry, a semi-monthly journal. http://www.physorg.com/news166267753.html Chemistry Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:40:01 EST news166267753 The world's first piloted aircraft capable of taking to the air using only power from fuel cells took off in Germany Tuesday, producing zero carbon dioxide emissions, its makers said. http://www.physorg.com/news166191289.html Technology Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:15:33 EST news166191289 (PhysOrg.com) -- A Vanderbilt chemist and a biomedical engineer have teamed up to develop a respiratory virus detector that is sensitive enough to detect an infection at an early stage, takes only a few minutes to return a result and is simple enough to be performed in a pediatrician's office. http://www.physorg.com/news165489614.html Chemistry Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:21:01 EST news165489614 Retirement from some occupations may not provide relief from the potentially devastating health effects of work-related hypertension, according to a new study from UC Davis. http://www.physorg.com/news163773881.html Medicine & Health Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:45:07 EST news163773881 Genome Institute of Singapore scientists, led by Christopher Wong, Ph.D., have developed a novel approach to uncover the complete sequence of any influenza A virus, including H1NI, with just a quick nasal swab or nasal pharyngeal wash from patients. http://www.physorg.com/news162730865.html Medicine & Health Thu, 28 May 2009 13:00:54 EST news162730865 An NSERC-funded lab at the University Of Waterloo has laid the groundwork for a lithium battery that can store and deliver more than three times the power of conventional lithium ion batteries. http://www.physorg.com/news161863249.html Nanotechnology Mon, 18 May 2009 11:01:59 EST news161863249 (PhysOrg.com) -- The technique well known from its use in MRI scanning - actually based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) - can now also be applied to extremely small samples thanks to an ingenious combination of a compact coil and micro-scale fluidic channels. The sensitivity of this technique had hitherto been insufficient. http://www.physorg.com/news161359221.html Chemistry Tue, 12 May 2009 15:00:55 EST news161359221 (PhysOrg.com) -- Countless times a day people judge their confidence in a choice they are about to make -- that they now can safely turn left at this intersection, that they aren't sure of their answer on a quiz, that their hot coffee has cooled enough to drink. http://www.physorg.com/news160925013.html Medicine & Health Thu, 07 May 2009 14:23:56 EST news160925013 (PhysOrg.com) -- An online photo-rating system developed at Penn State is the first publicly available tool for automatically determining the aesthetic value of an image, according to a Penn State researcher involved with the project. http://www.physorg.com/news160762943.html Technology Tue, 05 May 2009 17:23:41 EST news160762943