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. Molecules of sugar sitting on the surface of cancer cells are keys to the development of a new vaccine aimed at both treating and stopping the spread of certain types of cancers called carcinomas, which include prostate, breast, ovarian and lung, among others. Armed with a new two-year grant for $600,000 from the Gateway for Cancer Research, an Illinois-based philanthropic foundation, immunologist Alessandra Franco, M.D., Ph.D., and her co-workers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego are hoping to develop a low-cost immunotherapy for prostate carcinoma that may also have use against a variety of other carcinomas as well. http://www.physorg.com/news150657878.html Medicine & Health Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:24:38 EST news150657878 Scientists have identified the structure of a key component of the bacteria behind such diseases as whooping cough, peptic stomach ulcers and Legionnaires' disease. The research, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), sheds light on how antibiotic resistance genes spread from one bacterium to another. The research may help scientists develop novel treatments for these diseases and novel ways to curtail the spread of antibiotic resistance. http://www.physorg.com/news150646319.html Medicine & Health Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:11:59 EST news150646319 Masses of immune cells that form as a hallmark of tuberculosis (TB) have long been thought to be the body's way of trying to protect itself by literally walling off the bacteria. But a new study in the January 9th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, offers evidence that the TB bacteria actually sends signals that encourage the growth of those organized granuloma structures, and for good reason: each granuloma serves as a kind of hub for the infectious bugs in the early stages of infection, allowing them to expand further and spread throughout the body. http://www.physorg.com/news150643255.html Biology Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:20:55 EST news150643255 As we begin 2009, let's take a look back at what 2008 brought us in technology. Here are four positive trends that I hope will continue. http://www.physorg.com/news150573187.html Technology Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:53:07 EST news150573187 (PhysOrg.com) -- Dartmouth engineering professor and entrepreneur Victor Petrenko -along with his colleagues at Dartmouth and at Ice Engineering LLC in Lebanon, N.H. -have invented a way to cheaply and effectively keep ice off power lines. http://www.physorg.com/news150566568.html Technology Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:02:48 EST news150566568 Asteroids are hunks of rock that orbit in the outer reaches of space, and scientists have generally assumed that their small size limited the types of rock that could form in their crusts. But two newly discovered meteorites may rewrite the book on how some asteroids form and evolve. Researchers from the Carnegie Institution, the University of Maryland, and the University of Tennessee report in the January 8th edition of Nature that these meteorites are ancient asteroid fragments consisting of feldspar-rich rock called andesite. Similar rocks were previously known only from Earth, making these samples the first of their kind from elsewhere in the Solar System. http://www.physorg.com/news150557683.html Space & Earth Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:34:43 EST news150557683 Could a concept from information technology familiar to online file sharers be exploited to reduce road congestion and even traffic accidents? That is the question answered in the affirmative by researchers in California, writing in the International Journal of Vehicle Information and Communication Systems. http://www.physorg.com/news150543157.html Technology Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:32:37 EST news150543157 (PhysOrg.com) -- High blood pressure can be a trial of patience for doctors and for sufferers, whose blood pressure often has to be monitored over a long time until it can be regulated. This will now be made easier by a pressure sensor that is inserted in the femoral artery. http://www.physorg.com/news150393796.html Technology Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:03:16 EST news150393796 Aquaculture production of seafood will probably remain the most rapidly increasing food production system worldwide through 2025, according to an assessment published in the January 2009 issue of BioScience. The assessment, by James S. Diana of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, notes that despite well-publicized concerns about some harmful effects of aquaculture, the technique may, when practiced well, be no more damaging to biodiversity than other food production systems. Moreover, it may be the only way to supply growing demand for seafood as the human population increases. http://www.physorg.com/news150115484.html Biology Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:44:44 EST news150115484 A research team from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has identified a protein produced by cancerous lung epithelial cells that enhances metastasis by stimulating the activity of inflammatory cells. Their findings, to be published in the January 1 issue of the journal Nature, explain how advanced cancer cells usurp components of the host innate immune system to generate an inflammatory microenvironment hospitable for the metastatic spread of lung cancer. The discovery could lead to a therapy to limit metastasis of this most common lethal form of cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news149951977.html Medicine & Health Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:19:37 EST news149951977 From troubled beginnings nearly 18 years ago, the Hubble Space Telescope has revolutionized astronomy and its stunning images have stirred the imaginations of people around the globe. http://www.physorg.com/news149951903.html Space & Earth Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:18:23 EST news149951903 (PhysOrg.com) -- Using tiny gold particles and infrared light, MIT researchers have developed a drug-delivery system that allows multiple drugs to be released in a controlled fashion. http://www.physorg.com/news149860678.html Nanotechnology Tue, 30 Dec 2008 11:57:58 EST news149860678 Eaton Corporation is using IBM modeling software to develop series hydraulic hybrid systems. Replacing a vehicle`s conventional drive train and transmission, the series hydraulic hybrid (SHH) system promises dramatic fuel savings and environmental benefits. The system uses hydraulic pumps and storage tanks to capture and store energy, similar to what is done with electric motors and batteries in a hybrid electric vehicle. http://www.physorg.com/news149349584.html Technology Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:59:44 EST news149349584 Montréal, December 24, 2008 - A study from a team of researchers including Dr. Artur Kania, Director of the Neural Circuit Development Research Unit at the IRCM, and Dr. Dayana Krawchuk, postdoctoral fellow, shows how a family of proteins present in the developing limb control nerve targeting from the spinal cord to the muscles of the limb. This discovery, co-authored by scientists from Columbia University in New York City, is published on December 26, 2008 in the journal Neuron. http://www.physorg.com/news149345294.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:48:14 EST news149345294 Dollar signs for eyes - cartoonists have been drawing them for years, and the artists, while whimsical, may have been onto something. According to new research from UC San Diego, areas of the brain responsible for vision respond more strongly to objects of value. http://www.physorg.com/news149344893.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:41:33 EST news149344893 (PhysOrg.com) -- European researchers are pushing online culture and heritage research way beyond Google by using a smart search system that is multilingual, multimedia and optimised for cultural heritage. Better yet, this promising system has wide application in other fields. http://www.physorg.com/news149182429.html Technology Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:33:49 EST news149182429 Rube Goldberg -the cartoonist who devised complex machines for simple tasks -would have smiled at one of leptin's mechanisms for curbing insulin release. As Hinoi et al. show, the fat-derived hormone enlists the sympathetic nervous system to prevent bone-making cells from releasing a molecule that prods the pancreas to discharge insulin. http://www.physorg.com/news149168086.html Biology Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:34:46 EST news149168086 A system that can recognize human gestures could provide a new way for people with physical disabilities to interact with computers. A related system for the able bodied could also be used to make virtual worlds more realistic. The system is described in detail in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Arts and Technology. http://www.physorg.com/news148832053.html Technology Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:14:13 EST news148832053 When you first notice a door handle, your brain has already been hard at work. Your visual system first sees the handle, then it sends information to various parts of the brain, which go on to decipher out the details, such as color and the direction the handle is pointing. As the information about an object is sent further along the various brain pathways, more and more details are noticed -- in that way, a simple door handle turns into a silver-plated-antique-style-door-handle-facing-right. Information about the handle also reaches the part of your brain responsible for planning movements (known as the pre-motor area), and it comes up with a set of motions, allowing you to turn the handle with your right hand and open the door. http://www.physorg.com/news148828835.html Medicine & Health Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:20:35 EST news148828835 A biological tit for tat may hold clues to improving the success of islet cell transplants intended to cure type 1 diabetes, according to a Medical College of Georgia scientist. http://www.physorg.com/news148753181.html Medicine & Health Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:19:41 EST news148753181 New Rochelle, NY, December 16, 2008 -Once believed to be important only for bone health, vitamin D is now seen as having a critical function in maintaining the immune system throughout life. The newly recognized disease risks associated with vitamin D deficiency are clearly documented in a report in the December issue (Volume 3, Number 4) of Breastfeeding Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., and the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news148661965.html Medicine & Health Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:59:25 EST news148661965 Plants come in all shapes and sizes, from grand Redwood trees to the common Snowdrop. Although we cannot see them, under the ground plants rely on a complex network of roots. What determines the pattern of root growth has been a mystery, but a new paper published this week in PLoS Biology shows that the shape of the existing root can determine how further roots branch from it - because shape determines hormone concentration. The work also suggests that the root-patterning system shares a deep evolutionary relationship to the patterning system of plant shoots, something that had not been realized previously. http://www.physorg.com/news148624736.html Biology Tue, 16 Dec 2008 04:38:56 EST news148624736 Research led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center scientists has figured out why a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine used in 1966 to inoculate children against the infection instead caused severe respiratory disease and effectively stopped efforts to make a better one. The findings, published online on Dec. 14 in Nature Medicine, could restart work on effective killed-virus vaccines not only for RSV but other respiratory viruses, researchers say. The new findings also debunk a popular theory that the 1966 vaccine was ineffective because the formalin used to inactivate the virus disrupted critical antigens, the substances that stimulate the production of protective antibodies. http://www.physorg.com/news148577725.html Medicine & Health Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:35:25 EST news148577725 HIV is so deadly largely because it evolves so rapidly. With a single virus as the origin of an infection, most patients will quickly come to harbor thousands of different versions of HIV, all a little bit different and all competing with one another to most efficiently infect that person's cells. Its rapid and unique evolution in every patient is what allows HIV to evade the body's defenses and gives the virus great skill at developing resistance to a pantheon of antiviral drugs. http://www.physorg.com/news148278749.html Medicine & Health Fri, 12 Dec 2008 04:32:29 EST news148278749 Moons outside our Solar System with the potential to support life have just become much easier to detect, thanks to research by an astronomer at University College London (UCL). http://www.physorg.com/news148224530.html Space & Earth Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:28:50 EST news148224530 Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes and celiac disease appear to share a common genetic origin, scientists at the University of Cambridge and Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, have confirmed. http://www.physorg.com/news148152103.html Medicine & Health Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:21:43 EST news148152103 (PhysOrg.com) -- Bloodstream infections frequently occur and commonly cause death among critically ill patients. Scientists at the University of Maine may have unlocked the answer to treating one of these infections that kills more than 30 percent of the patients it infects. http://www.physorg.com/news148151948.html Medicine & Health Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:19:08 EST news148151948 Researchers may have identified one of the body's earliest responses to a group of parasites that causes illness in developing nations. http://www.physorg.com/news148148414.html Medicine & Health Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:20:14 EST news148148414 An international coalition of pediatric cancer physicians and researchers has developed new systems to standardize studies of neuroblastomas across the world. In the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group (INRG) presents three sets of papers outlining a: standard classification system; pre-treatment staging system; and an analysis of a rare group of patients. http://www.physorg.com/news148057220.html Medicine & Health Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:00:20 EST news148057220 Clinicians using an electronic prescribing system appear more likely to prescribe lower-cost medications, reducing drug spending, according to a report in the December 8/22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://www.physorg.com/news147979630.html Medicine & Health Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:27:10 EST news147979630