Using a beam of light shunted through a tiny silicon channel, researchers have created a nanoscale trap that can stop free floating DNA molecules and nanoparticles in their tracks. By holding the nanoscale material steady while the fluid around it flows freely, the trap may allow researchers to boost the accuracy of biological sensors and create a range of new 'lab on a chip' diagnostic tools.

Light has been used to manipulate cells and even nanoscale objects before, but the new technique allows researchers to manipulate the particles more precisely and over longer distances.

Did you make a resolution?   Most people do, consciously or not.   The end of one year and the beginning of a new one is a built-in time for reflection.   You may resolve to go to the gym or learn a musical instrument but often something will come up that interrupts the routine, progress is lost and the resolution loses its ... resolve.   

John O’Neill, LCSW, LCDC, CSAT, director of Addiction Services for The Menninger Clinic in Houston, says all is not lost if you plan your resolution, including planning for setbacks.   And his 5-step program is not just for New Years, you can resolve to make positive changes at any time.

GRONINGEN, The Netherlands, December 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Results from a landmark trial published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that in transplanted kidneys preserved and transported in a specially designed machine (LifePort Kidney Transporter) the odds for experiencing a delay in recovery of kidney function are 43% lower, and that these kidneys are 48% less likely to fail within a year compared to those stored in the traditional box of ice (cold storage)(1). The study was the first randomised, prospective trial to compare these two methods of preservation.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/thessc/36486/

CHICAGO, Illinois, December 31 /PRNewswire/ -- A landmark study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) demonstrates that use of a specially designed machine to store kidneys for transplantation offers significant benefits in kidney survival and function when compared to those stored in a traditional ice box, or cold storage. Unlike the icebox, the LifePort Kidney Transporter monitors the temperature and vascular performance of the organ in real time, while preserving it by pumping the kidney continuously with a cold solution, even while the organ is being transported to its intended recipient.

There was a big development in science this year, yet most people missed it.   It wasn't induced pluripotent stem cells or global warming or Barack Obama securing 99% of the scientist vote despite his belief that vaccines cause autism, which caused even heterosexual scientists to disregard Jenny McCarthy.  No, it was an alarming decrease in available clichés to describe what scientists think about new discoveries.

Despite the regular onslaught of mixed messages from those in scientific research land, I still take a multivitamin most days. (Thanks, Mom, for starting me off young with those delicious Flinstone Kids niblets of nutrition.)

Placebo effect? I don't know. I do know that I feel better when I remember to take my multivitamin, iron and vitamin D supplements, and the occasional fish oil horse pill. But will it help me in the long run with any aspect of my health?

REDMOND, Washington, December 31 /PRNewswire/ --

- Sentencing marks the culmination of a global investigation and demonstrates concrete action by the Chinese government to protect intellectual property rights.

Well, it's now a merry Christmas for everyone except Nicholas Cage. The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency (CMA) announced Monday that as of Christmas Eve, 2008, they've completed the destruction of all munitions carrying VX gas in the possession of the U.S. Army. Unfortunately for Mr. Cage, this means that he's far less likely to be called upon to save San Francisco from rockets armed with the deadly gas by breaking into the former prison on Alcatraz Island aided by Sean Connery, as he proved he could do in Micheal Bay's 1996 film, The Rock.

TOKYO and INDIANAPOLIS, December 31 /PRNewswire/ --

Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited (TSE: 4568) and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) today confirmed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee (CRDAC) will review prasugrel during an advisory committee hearing on February 3, 2009. Prasugrel is an investigational antiplatelet agent for the treatment of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) who are being managed with an artery-opening procedure known as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), which is usually followed by the placement of a stent to help keep the artery open.

WIESBADEN, Germany, December 31 /PRNewswire/ --

- President and COO of Panasonic Europe Passed Away on 26 December

Panasonic Europe is deeply saddened and distressed about the bereavement of its President and Chief Operating Officer Joachim Reinhart who passed away on 26 December 2008 after a short period of serious illness.