A team of bioinformaticians at the Université de Montréal (UdeM) report in Nature the discovery of a structural alphabet that can be used to infer the 3D structure of ribonucleic acid (RNA) from sequence data, providing new tools to understand the role of this important class of cellular regulators.

The folding of a single-stranded RNA molecule is determined by the interactions between its constituent nucleotides. The classical approach to RNA modelling suffers from an important limitation: it only takes into account the canonical Watson-Crick interactions A:U and G:C, that is those where the nucleotides are facing each other.

The non-canonical Hoogsteen and sugar interactions, those where the nucleotides are side by side or on top of each other, are not taken into account by conventional modelling algorithms. The result can be incomplete or erroneous models which can mislead researchers.

In a recent edition of Advanced Materials Magazine, Michael Bockstaller and Krzysztof Matyjaszewski demonstrate that controlling the structure of nanoparticles can “shrink” their visible size by a factor of thousands without affecting a particle’s actual physical dimension.

It's invisibility in the optical range, something that cannot be done with current metamaterials

“What we are doing is creating a novel technique to control the architecture of nanoparticles that will remedy many of the problems associated with the application of nanomaterials that are so essential to business sectors such as the aerospace and cosmetics industry,” said Bockstaller, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

SANTA CLARA, California, March 6 /PRNewswire/ --

Finesse Solutions, LLC, a manufacturer of measurement and control solutions for life sciences process applications, announced the opening of its new sales and service center in Northborough, MA, in order to support its east coast customer base. Additionally, Finesse Solutions is converting its Irvine, CA facility to a service center for its west coast customer base. The company also plans on opening a European sales and service center in the summer of 2008, and additional sales and service centers in the U.S. by the end of 2008.

WASHINGTON, March 6 /PRNewswire/ --

Global power generated by nuclear reactors fell about 3.6% in calendar 2007 from the 2.8 billion megawatt-hours (MWh) recorded in 2006, according to data released by Nucleonics Week, a publication of Platts, a leading global provider of energy and commodities information.

In the otherwise lackluster 2007, US reactors set a record for nuclear power generation, with output surging to 843 million gross MWh and utilizing an average 91% of reactor capacity.

"The 2007 nuclear plant performance means about 20% of US electricity was once again generated without the carbon emissions that would otherwise contribute to global warming," said Margaret Ryan, Platts global nuclear editorial director.

It's what you always feared. Your brain actually does react differently to donuts, according to fMRI-based research led by Marsel Mesulam, M.D., a neurologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Krispy Kremes, in perhaps their first starring role in neurological research, helped lead to the discovery.

In the study, subjects were tested twice -- once after gorging on up to eight Krispy Kreme donuts until they couldn't eat anymore, and on another day after fasting for eight hours. In both sessions, people were shown pictures of donuts and screwdrivers, while researchers examined their brains in fMRI's.

NEW YORK and DUBLIN, Ireland, March 6 /PRNewswire/ --

- Transaction Joins the World's Largest Provider of Visual Localisation Software with Global Leader in Software Localisation Services and Technology

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, March 6 /PRNewswire/ --

Concentric Medical, Inc., the global leader in devices for clot removal in ischemic stroke patients, today announced that the results of its Multi MERCI trial will be published in the April 2008 edition of the medical journal, Stroke. The Multi MERCI trial was the second trial studying safety and efficacy of the Merci Retrieval System(TM), a "corkscrew-type" device that is delivered into the brain and is designed to restore blood flow by engaging, capturing and removing blood clots that cause ischemic stroke. The full, peer reviewed trial results are available now to online subscribers. Stroke is published by the American Heart Association.

LONDON, March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Responding to the announcement by Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo today that prescription charge increases will stay below the rate of inflation, Paul Bennett, Chairman of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain's English Pharmacy Board, said:

"We urgently need a review of the current system of prescription charges and exemptions in England - they are presently both illogical and unfair. There are clear disadvantages under existing arrangements, particularly for non-exempt patients, such as asthma and arthritis sufferers, who require long-term medication for multiple chronic conditions.

Nancy Mathiowetz is “drowning in data” but so is almost everyone else.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee sociology professor and president of the American Association for Public Opinion Research says the results of public opinion polls measure nearly every aspect of our lives today, from who we favor for public office to what kinds of cookies we prefer.

Mathiowetz views them as necessary and useful tools and, while not perfect, she says polls still are a reliable way for people to have their voices heard by lawmakers.

Anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin may reduce breast cancer by up to 20 per cent, according to an extensive review carried out by experts at London’s Guy’s Hospital published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

But they stress that further research is needed to determine the best type, dose and duration and whether the benefits of regularly using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) outweigh the side effects, especially for high-risk groups.

“Our review of research published over the last 27 years suggests that, in addition to possible prevention, there may also be a role for NSAIDs in the treatment of women with established breast cancer” says Professor Ian Fentiman from the Hedley Atkins Breast Unit at the hospital, part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.