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Potential Bioterror Virus Virulence Mechanism Gets Uncovered

Potential Bioterror Virus Virulence Mechanism Gets Uncovered

Feb 17 2009 | comment(s)

The Rift Valley fever virus is a mosquito-borne African virus that causes fever in humans, inflicting liver damage, blindness and even death on a small percentage of the people it infects. Rift Valley fever also afflicts cattle, goats and sheep, resulting in a nearly 100 percent abortion rate in these animals. Its outbreaks periodically cause economic devastation in parts of Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe, and bioterrorism experts warn that its introduction to the United States would cripple the North American beef industry.

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston say they have discovered a key tactic that the Rift Valley fever virus uses to disarm the defenses of infected cells.
Barcoding - Cracking The Species Code For Plants

Barcoding - Cracking The Species Code For Plants

Feb 17 2009 | comment(s)

Plants are obviously essential to our survival and that of most other animals on earth but it is easy to overlook how they have become discretely embedded into our everyday lives; plants provide us with food, medicines, and raw materials used by our industries.

Despite their importance, very few of us could name more than a tiny fraction of the plants that surround us and while most of us could easily between a buttercup and a dandelion (provided both are in flower), only a hand full of experts could identify all 1600 native plants in the UK - and nobody is able to name all of the 250,000 or so plant species recorded world-wide.
Natchez - This New Blackberry Doesn't Make Phone Calls But It's Big And Thornless

Natchez - This New Blackberry Doesn't Make Phone Calls But It's Big And Thornless

Feb 17 2009 | comment(s)

Introducing 'Natchez', the twelfth release in a series of erect-growing, high-quality, productive, floricane-fruiting blackberry (Rubus L. subgenus Rubus Watson) cultivars developed by the University of Arkansas.

According to John R. Clark and James N. Moore of the Department of Horticulture at the University of Arkansas, the new blackberry is a result of a cross of Ark. 2005 and Ark. 1857 made in 1998. The original plant was selected in 2001 from a seedling field at the University of Arkansas Fruit Research Station in Clarksville, and tested as selection Ark. 2241.

'Natchez' produces large fruit, near 9 grams on average in research trials. Fruit of 'Natchez' are elongated, somewhat blocky, and very attractive with an exceptional glossy, black finish. 
Want To Write A Real 'Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’? Here's How

Want To Write A Real 'Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’? Here's How

Feb 17 2009 | comment(s)

How many arms does a spiral galaxy have? Can you spot a galaxy with a central “peanut” bulge?  How about a galactic merger?   You won't need a towel to write an astronomical 'Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy', just a computer.    Answers to these and other strange questions will be provided by worldwide web users in an online citizen science project called Galaxy Zoo 2, which launches today.
Read More Books -Exercising Your Brain Can Prevent Memory Loss

Read More Books -Exercising Your Brain Can Prevent Memory Loss

Feb 17 2009 | comment(s)

Participating in certain mental activities, like reading magazines or crafting in middle age or later in life, may delay or prevent memory loss, according to a study released today.

The study involved 197 people between the ages of 70 and 89 with mild cognitive impairment, or diagnosed memory loss, and 1,124 people that age with no memory problems. Both groups answered questions about their daily activities within the past year and in middle age, when they were between 50 to 65 years old. 
Strong (But Not Too Strong) Mother-Child Relationships Predict Grade School Friendships

Strong (But Not Too Strong) Mother-Child Relationships Predict Grade School Friendships

Feb 17 2009 | comment(s)

Preschool children who are securely attached to their mothers form closer friendships in the early grade-school years for a number of reasons, according to a new University of Illinois study published in Child Development.

Scientists have known about the link between attachment and friendship quality, but they haven't understood the reasons it exists.

The study included 1,071 children from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Researchers assessed mother-child attachment at age three. They also assessed how openly mothers and children acknowledged and communicated about their emotions when the child was four and a half.
People Believe Their Dreams - And It Affects Their Judgment

People Believe Their Dreams - And It Affects Their Judgment

Feb 17 2009 | comment(s)

While science tries to understand the stuff dreams are made of, humans, from cultures all over the world, continue to believe that dreams contain important hidden truths, according to newly published research. 

In six different studies, researchers surveyed nearly 1,100 people about their dreams. "Psychologists' interpretations of the meaning of dreams vary widely," said Carey Morewedge, an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University and the study's lead author. "But our research shows that people believe their dreams provide meaningful insight into themselves and their world."
An Apple A Day May Inhibit Breast Cancer

An Apple A Day May Inhibit Breast Cancer

Feb 17 2009 | comment(s)

Six studies published in the past year by a Cornell researcher add to growing evidence that an apple a day -- as well as daily helpings of other fruits and vegetables -- can help keep the breast-cancer doctor away. 

In one of his recent papers, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (57:1), Rui Hai Liu, Cornell associate professor of food science and a member of Cornell's Institute for Comparative and Environmental Toxicology, reports that fresh apple extracts significantly inhibited the size of mammary tumors in rats -- and the more extracts they were given, the greater the inhibition. 
Assisted Birth - A 5 Million Year Old Evolutionary Heritage

Assisted Birth - A 5 Million Year Old Evolutionary Heritage

Feb 17 2009 | comment(s)

Contrary to the TV sitcom where the wife experiencing strong labor pains screams at her husband to stay away from her, women rarely give birth alone. Today, there are typically doctors, nurses and husbands in hospital delivery rooms, and sometimes even other relatives and friends. Midwives often are called on to help with births at home.  

Assisted birth has likely been around for millennia, possibly dating as far back as 5 million years ago when our ancestors first began walking upright, according to University of Delaware paleoanthropologist Karen Rosenberg.  She says that social assistance during childbirth is just one aspect of our evolutionary heritage that makes us distinctive as humans.
Want To Find Osama Bin Laden? Parachinar Is Where To Look, Say Scientists

Want To Find Osama Bin Laden? Parachinar Is Where To Look, Say Scientists

Feb 17 2009 | comment(s)

U.S. intelligence officials have spent more than seven years searching for Osama bin Laden but UCLA geographers say that, if he is still alive, they have a good idea of where he was at the end of 2001 — and perhaps where he has been in the years since. 
Global Crossing Reports Fourth Quarter And Full Year 2008 Results

Global Crossing Reports Fourth Quarter And Full Year 2008 Results

Feb 17 2009 | comment(s)

FLORHAM PARK, New Jersey, February 17 /PRNewswire/ --

- Global Crossing completes 2008 within guidance ranges for revenue, Adjusted Cash EBITDA and cash.

- Invest and grow revenue increased 21 percent in 2008. Consolidated revenue grew 15 percent to US$2.59 billion.

- Full-year Adjusted Gross Margin percentage increased approximately 400 basis points to 53.3 percent.

- Full-year Adjusted Cash EBITDA improved 89 percent to US$328 million.

- Global Crossing announces 2009 guidance with significant improvement in OIBDA and positive full-year Free Cash Flow.

Quantum And Runcom Reveals GSM-WiMAX Handset

Quantum And Runcom Reveals GSM-WiMAX Handset

Feb 17 2009 | comment(s)

BARCELONA, February 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Quantum Telecom Inc. (Quantum, OTC.PK: QTMI) unveils today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona its first Ultra Low Cost (ULC) GSM-WiMAX handset. The handset is powered by Runcom's ground breaking OFDMA technology, which is developed for WiMAX and LTE. The handset integrates GSM and WiMAX chipset, capable of voice calls, VOIP calls, and high speed data connection up to 10Mbps on 2.3GHz or 2.5GHz WiMAX spectrum. According to the WiMAX Forum, it is expected that WiMAX coverage will reach 800 million users by 2010, and Quantum intends to supply the demand for ULC handsets.

Millions Unaware Of The UK's Leading Cause Of Blindness

Millions Unaware Of The UK's Leading Cause Of Blindness

Feb 17 2009 | comment(s)

LONDON, February 17 /PRNewswire/ --

- Almost Half of People Aged 50 or Over Admit to Knowing Nothing About Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

- With Photos

People in the UK are at risk of losing their sight as 44 percent know nothing about the country's leading cause of blindness,(1,2) Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). The results of a new survey of over 1,000 people aged 50 or over revealed that there is confusion around the symptoms and risk factors of AMD.(1)

In An Evolutionary Pinch, Big Mutations May Be Helpful

In An Evolutionary Pinch, Big Mutations May Be Helpful

Feb 16 2009 | comment(s)

Show Me The Science Month Day 15



What happens when a big chunk of your genome is accidentally copied? Bad things could obviously happen when when sudden and dramatic changes are made to your genome (which is why we wear sunblock on the beach and lead shields when getting X-rayed). Recent studies have found that accidental duplications in the genome (which can change the copy number of sets of genes) are involved in a growing list of diseases, including autism, psoriasis, and susceptibility to AIDS. And yet we also know that big DNA duplications aren't always harmful, because we can find ancient duplications in our genomes that harbor genes filling useful roles in our physiology.

How frequently do these large duplications arise, and what role have they played in human evolution? A group led by Evan Eichler, at the University of Washington, aided by the DNA sequencing powerhouse of the Genome Sequencing Center at Washington University (in St. Louis - not the same place as the University of Washington!), has studied these questions by looking for big, duplicated chunks in our closest relatives - the great apes. Their results show that big DNA duplications have probably played an important role in the evolution of our species.
The Daytime Astronomer on Space Websites

The Daytime Astronomer on Space Websites

Feb 16 2009 | comment(s)

I often get the query "what is a good website for astronomy?". My instant answer is "Astronomy Picture of the Day". If you're only going to check one site, choose this. One picture plus a paragraph of text each day, that's it-- simple, elegant, informative, beautiful.

If APOD piques your interest, there are good sites to go deeper. "Imagine the Universe" is a useful resource site. Don't let that Imagine lists as 'for age 14 or older' dissuade you. It's a great "facts" site, especially the "Ask an Astrophysicist" section-- full of common questions and answers delivered at a 'high layman level'. Matter of fact, years ago I contributed some of the answers.

Reading Between The Lines Of Prehistory And History With Synchrotron X-ray

Reading Between The Lines Of Prehistory And History With Synchrotron X-ray

Feb 16 2009 | comment(s)

The Archaeopteryx is experiencing a phoenix-like reascent to fossil celebrity status.  The disovery of this clearly birdlike dinosaur in 1861 lent ethos to Darwin’s brand new Theory of Evolution.  In December, the Thermopolis, WY archaeopteryx fossil was escorted to the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource laboratory for synchrotron X-ray analysis.  According to researcher Uwe Bergmann, "What you normally can't see are the chemical elements from the original organism that might still be present in the fossil. Using X-ray fluorescence imaging, we can bring these elements to light, getting a better look at the fossil and learning more about the original animal.”
Pagophagia and the Umami Hypothesis

Pagophagia and the Umami Hypothesis

Feb 16 2009 | comment(s)

Pagophagia is an eating disorder where you chew a lot of ice. A friend of mine had it. After she discovered she loved crunching ice cubes, she started going through several trays of ice cubes per day. A trip to Russia, where ice cubes were unavailable, was highly unpleasant.
ZyXEL Adopts Sequans' New Generation Chip For Mobile WiMAX Devices

ZyXEL Adopts Sequans' New Generation Chip For Mobile WiMAX Devices

Feb 16 2009 | comment(s)

Mobile World Congress, BARCELONA, February 16 /PRNewswire/ --

- Mobile World Congress, Booth 2-1.C28

Sequans Communications, the world's leading WiMAX chipmaker, announced today that ZyXEL, a world leading supplier of broadband internet connectivity products, is using Sequans' new generation 65 nm Mobile WiMAX chip to build Mobile WiMAX end user devices. Sequans' new chip, the SQN1210, integrates baseband and triple band RF in a single 65nm die, leading to unprecedented achievements in size, cost, and performance. The first device ZyXEL is bringing to market is a tiny USB device that will provide mobile laptop users with WiMAX connectivity.

Sequans Unveils New Generation Of Mobile WiMAX Chips

Sequans Unveils New Generation Of Mobile WiMAX Chips

Feb 16 2009 | comment(s)

BARCELONA, Mobile World Congress, February 16 /PRNewswire/ --

- 65nm Single Die Integrated Baseband and RF is an Industry First

- Mobile World Congress, Booth 2-1.C28

Sequans Communications, the world's leading WiMAX chipmaker, has introduced its newest chip, the SQN1210, which for the first time integrates baseband and triple band RF in a single 65 nm die, leading to unprecedented achievements in size, cost, and performance.

Buongiorno S.p.A (Buongiorno, The Company Or The Group) Pre-Close Statement

Buongiorno S.p.A (Buongiorno, The Company Or The Group) Pre-Close Statement

Feb 16 2009 | comment(s)

LONDON and MILAN, February 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Buongiorno S.p.A. (MTA, Borsa Italiana: BNG), a leading multinational in digital entertainment, today provides a review of the Company's preliminary financial results for the year ended 31 December 2008.

Highlights - Review reveals revenues of EUR 315 million and EBITDA of EUR40 million - at the upper end of guidance forecasts - Q4 2008 the most profitable quarter in the Group's history - Q4 revenue up 80% to EUR83 million (Q4 2007: EUR46 million) - Q4 EBITDA up 87% to EUR13.1 million (Q4 2007: EUR7 million) - Cost reduction objectives associated with acquisition of iTouch met 6 months in advance, resulting in EUR10 million in savings