National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed an improved version of a real-time magnetic microscopy system that converts evidence of tampering on magnetic audio and video tapes—erasing, overdubbing and other alterations—into images with four times the resolution previously available.

This system is much faster than conventional manual analysis and offers the additional benefit of reduced risk of contaminating the tapes with magnetic powder. NIST recently delivered these new capabilities to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for validation as a forensic tool.

Earlier versions of this system made images with a resolution of about 400 dots per inch (dpi).

Birds use songs to attract mates and mark their territory but according to University of Washington researchers, it's a naturally occurring steroid that improves their brains and not practice.

Neuroscientists have long attempted to understand if structural changes in the brain are related to sensory experience or the performance of learned behavior. Eliot Brenowitz and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin have showed that the Gambel’s white-crowned sparrow uses testosterone, a naturally occurring steroid, to trigger the seasonal growth of these brain regions.

Their finding is counter to some previous work with other birds and rodents that indicated environmental factors can influence brain development and create more neuronal connections.

Scientists at the Weizmann Institute have proposed a mechanism which explains the precision of prognoses for trinucleotide repeat diseases and say it may lead researchers in the direction of a possible prevention or cure.

Based on the literature on some twenty known trinucleotide repeat diseases and their knowledge of the mechanisms governing somatic mutation, the team has proposed a mechanism that explains the precise relations between the patient's age of onset and the number of repeats in the diseased gene in the patient's genome. Using computer simulations and mathematical analysis of the mechanism the scientists have characterized the way in which the disease progresses.

People with serious cases of writer’s cramp have brain abnormalities, according to a study published in the July 24, 2007, issue of Neurology®.

People with writer’s cramp had less brain tissue than healthy people in three areas of the brain that connect the senses and movement with their affected hand.

Writer’s cramp is a form of dystonia, an involuntary, sustained muscle contraction. Writer’s cramp often occurs in people who have used the same muscles repeatedly for years.

Dr. Ronald Evans (Salk Institute) and colleagues have discovered that mutations in the mouse gene encoding PPARγ adversely affect lactation milk quality, and have serious health consequences for nursing pups.

“By examining PPARγ functions in vivo, our work reveals an unexpected link between diet, inflammation and the quality of mothers milk, “ explained Dr. Evans.

PPARγ (peroxisome proliferator-activator receptor gamma) is a nuclear receptor that is known to regulate metabolism and inflammation in various organisms. In fact, human PPARγ is the main target of the drug class of thiazolidinediones (TZDs), which is used to manage diabetes.

Improved sensing and detection to combat terrorism has brought the need for advanced defense technologies to the forefront and laser-based defense systems are now being designed for this need, including the use of infrared countermeasures to protect aircraft from heat-seeking missiles and highly sensitive chemical detectors for reliable early detection of trace explosives and other toxins at a safe distance for personnel.

Since practical systems must be easily portable by a soldier, aircraft or unmanned vehicle, they must be lightweight, compact and power efficient. In addition, such systems also would need to be widely deployable and available to all soldiers, airplanes and public facilities, which requires a low production and operating cost.