Technical structures may soon have their own nervous system. Developers and users expect this to bring greater safety, maintenance activities only when required, and a more efficient use of material and energy. Sophisticated systems of sensors, actuators and signal processing devices detect cracks, rust and other defects at an early stage in order to prevent damage – especially in critical places that are difficult to reach.
Boys benefit a great deal from having girls in the classroom. And there are benefits for both genders. A higher percentage of girls in a classroom lowers the amount of classroom disruption and fosters a better relationship between pupils and their teacher, a study of the data suggests. Teachers are less tired in classrooms with more girls, and pupils overall seem to be more satisfied when a high female-to-male ratio persists.
Two recent studies provide a potential mechanism by which investigational anti-cancer compounds known as HDAC inhibitors specifically damage cancer cells as well as clues about possible adverse effects of these compounds -- findings with important implications for their clinical use as cancer therapies.
Scientists have rediscovered a fly living in the mouth of land crabs. One of the more bizarre choices of breeding substrates comes from Drosophila endobranchia. This species is one out of three known fruit flies that have found a home on (and inside) land-crabs. Although frequently mentioned in biology textbooks, the crab flies have somewhat surprisingly been neglected in active research since their description. The fly has actually not even been seen since its initial discovery in 1966.
Air pollution in the world's busiest ports and shipping regions may be markedly worse than previously suspected, according to a new study showing that industrial and shipping pollution is exacerbated when it combines with sunshine and salty sea air.
New research could offer hope that bone stem cells may be harnessed to repair the damaged cartilage that is one of the main symptoms of osteoarthritis. Scientists have successfully identified stem cells within articular cartilage of adults, which although it cannot become any cell in the body like full stem cells, has the ability to derive into chondrocytes - the cells that make up the body's cartilage -- in high enough numbers to make treatment a realistic possibility.
France calls for an EU initiative on food security, amid alarm about unrest linked to rising prices. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 14 Apr 2008 | 12:23 pm
In a surprising outcome that overturns the conventional wisdom on the body's immune response to infection, scientists have shown that T-cells do not begin proliferation until up to three days after infection. Lag may provide protection against a possible autoimmune reaction.
Even large amounts of manufactured nanoparticles, also known as Buckyballs, don't faze microscopic organisms that are charged with cleaning up the environment, according to new research.
Scientists have recorded more than 600 earthquakes in the last 10 days off the central Oregon coast in an area not typically known for a high degree of seismic activity. This earthquake "swarm" is unique, according to marine geologists, because it is occurring within the middle of the Juan de Fuca plate -- away from the major, regional tectonic boundaries.
Researchers in the United Kingdom are investigating a mechanism that normally drives adult stem cells to repair the intestine. They have found that if things go wrong and a crucial gene called Apc is lost or damaged, then this normal function of controlling the adult stem cell population breaks down and ultimately leads to a tumour.
Action by protesters has prevented the Japanese whaling fleet from meeting its quota, Japanese officials say. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 14 Apr 2008 | 10:56 am
LIMA (Reuters) - Peru says Yale University researchers took more than 40,000 artifacts from the Incan citadel of Machu Picchu in the early 1900s, or 10 times the original estimate, the state news agency reported on Sunday.
The Moon stands in the heart of our S sky at nightfall today, a few degrees to the right of Saturn and the star Regulus in Leo Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 13 Apr 2008 | 11:01 pm
Discovery could lead to better uses for arsenic in therapies for leukaemia with fewer side effects Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 13 Apr 2008 | 11:01 pm
Major EU project aims to develop first robot personalities in order to strengthen engagement with humans Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 13 Apr 2008 | 11:01 pm
