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E. Coli Strain Responsible For Food Poisoning Gets Its Genome Sequenced

E. Coli Strain Responsible For Food Poisoning Gets Its Genome Sequenced

Sep 02 2014 | comment(s)

A strain of E. coli that is a common cause of outbreaks of food poisoning in the United States has had its genome sequenced. E. coli strain EDL933 was first isolated in the 1980s but gained national attention in 1993 when it was linked to an outbreak of food poisoning from Jack-in-the-Box restaurants in the western United States.

Mutating Ebola Viruses Not As Scary As Evolving Ones

Mutating Ebola Viruses Not As Scary As Evolving Ones

Sep 02 2014 | comment(s)


Scanning electron micrograph of Ebola virus budding from the surface of a Vero cell (African green monkey kidney epithelial cell line. Credit:NIAID

By Rob Brooks


My social media accounts today are cluttered with stories about “mutating” Ebola viruses. The usually excellent ScienceAlert, for example, rather breathlessly informs us “The Ebola virus is mutating faster in humans than in animal hosts.”

Corals: Not So Passive, They Are Nature's Tiny Engineers

Corals: Not So Passive, They Are Nature's Tiny Engineers

Sep 02 2014 | comment(s)

Corals, whose calcium-carbonate skeletons form the foundation of coral reefs, are passive organisms that rely entirely on ocean currents to deliver dissolved substances, such as nutrients and oxygen.

Or so it seemed. Scientists at MIT and the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) in Israel have found that they are far from passive, engineering their environment to sweep water into turbulent patterns that greatly enhance their ability to exchange nutrients and dissolved gases with their environment.
Generating Energy From Coffee Wastewater

Generating Energy From Coffee Wastewater

Sep 02 2014 | comment(s)

A four-year project on coffee wastewater treatment, The Energy from Coffee Wastewater project by UTZ Certified, has found that is possible to generate energy and protect water resources by treating discharges from coffee mills - maybe it will even tackle climate change.

The project started in 2010 with the goal of addressing what to do with the wastewater produced in the coffee industry. Tailor-made coffee wastewater treatment systems and solid-waste treatment mechanisms were installed in eight coffee farms in Nicaragua, ten in Honduras and one in Guatemala. The positive impact of the project on over 5,000 people in the region has inspired UTZ Certified to replicate the initiative in other countries.
Battery-Less Pacemaker Works Like An Automatic Wristwatch - Powered By Heart Motion

Battery-Less Pacemaker Works Like An Automatic Wristwatch - Powered By Heart Motion

Sep 02 2014 | comment(s)

A new battery-less cardiac pacemaker is based on the automatic wristwatch concept - it is powered by heart motion.

The prototype device  presented at ESC Congress 2014 by Adrian Zurbuchen from Switzerland does not require battery replacement.

Zurbuchen is a PhD candidate in the Cardiovascular Engineering Group at ARTORG, University of Bern and said, "Batteries are a limiting factor in today's medical implants. Once they reach a critically low energy level, physicians see themselves forced to replace a correctly functioning medical device in a surgical intervention. This is an unpleasant scenario which increases costs and the risk of complications for patients.

Wockhardt Is First Indian Pharmaceutical Company To Get FDA QIDP Status

Wockhardt Is First Indian Pharmaceutical Company To Get FDA QIDP Status

Sep 02 2014 | comment(s)

Wockhardt Limited announced that two of its drugs, WCK 771 and WCK 2349, received the coveted Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) status from U.S. Food&Drug Administration (FDA).

QIDP status is granted to drugs which act against pathogens which have a high degree of unmet need in their treatment and are identified by the Centers for Disease Control. QIDP status allows for fast track review of the drug application by U.S. FDA, paving way for an early launch. This is the first instance of an Indian Pharmaceutical company receiving a QIDP status.
Low Carb Vs. Low Fat Diets: Which Is Better?

Low Carb Vs. Low Fat Diets: Which Is Better?

Sep 02 2014 | comment(s)


Inhibiting Inflammatory Enzyme After Heart Attack Does Not Reduce Risk Of Subsequent Event

Inhibiting Inflammatory Enzyme After Heart Attack Does Not Reduce Risk Of Subsequent Event

Sep 01 2014 | comment(s)

In patients who experienced an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) event (such as heart attack or unstable angina), use of the drug darapladib to inhibit the enzyme lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (believed to play a role in the development of atherosclerosis) did not reduce the risk of recurrent major coronary events, according to a study published by JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the European Society of Cardiology Congress.

New Cancer-Hunting 'Nano-Robots' To Seek And Destroy Tumors

New Cancer-Hunting 'Nano-Robots' To Seek And Destroy Tumors

Sep 01 2014 | comment(s)


Nano-robots have cancer in their sights. Credit: StephenMitchell/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

By Dr. Jason Liu, Monash University

It sounds like a scene from a science fiction novel – an army of tiny weaponized robots traveling around a human body, hunting down malignant tumours and destroying them from within.

Neil Tyson On The Politics Of Science Denial

Neil Tyson On The Politics Of Science Denial

Sep 01 2014 | comment(s)

Spend any time in American science media and you may find some of them are pretty far out of the political mainstream; so far out, they may not even be friends with anyone who has not always voted the same way as them.

So it's unsurprising that much of science media once perpetuated the claim that 'science votes Democrat.'  Humans are fallible and confirmation bias is sneaky. As was apocryphally attributed to New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael after the 1972 Presidential election and a Richard M. Nixon landslide victory, "I don't know how Nixon won. No one I know voted for him." (1)
Antarctic Sea Level Rising Faster Than Elsewhere

Antarctic Sea Level Rising Faster Than Elsewhere

Sep 01 2014 | comment(s)

A new analysis of satellite data from the last 19 years reveals that fresh water from melting glaciers has caused the sea level around the coast of Antarctica to rise by 2 centimeters more than the global average of 6 centimeters.

Researchers at the University of Southampton detected the rapid rise in sea-level by studying satellite scans of a region that spans more than a million square kilometers. 

Blood In Urine Can Be Invisible - And It May Indicate Bladder Cancer

Blood In Urine Can Be Invisible - And It May Indicate Bladder Cancer

Sep 01 2014 | comment(s)

Visible blood in urine is the best known indicator of bladder cancer but new research  finds that invisible blood in urine may be an early warning sign of bladder cancer. 

Scientists at the University of Exeter Medical School found that 1 in 60 people over the age of 60 who had invisible blood in their urine transpired to have bladder cancer. Thay's about half those who had visible blood in their urine but higher than figures for other potential symptoms of bladder cancer that warrant further investigation. 

The Sport Science Regime That Helped Boxer Kell Brook Become A World Champion

The Sport Science Regime That Helped Boxer Kell Brook Become A World Champion

Sep 01 2014 | comment(s)


Kell Brook and two of the Sheffield Hallam University team. Credit: Sheffield Hallam University.

By Alan Ruddock, Sheffield Hallam University

Amid all the flashing lights, it was a moment of sheer exhilaration when the winner was finally announced: “By a majority decision, the new IBF welterweight champion on the world – Kell Brook.”

Synaptic Plasticity And Memory In Silent Neurons

Synaptic Plasticity And Memory In Silent Neurons

Sep 01 2014 | comment(s)

When we learn, we associate a sensory experience with other stimuli or with a certain type of behavior.

The neurons in the cerebral cortex that transmit the information modify the synaptic connections that they have with the other neurons and according to a generally accepted model of synaptic plasticity, a neuron that communicates with others of the same kind emits an electrical impulse as well as activating its synapses transiently. This electrical pulse, combined with the signal received from other neurons, acts to stimulate the synapses.

Caffeine Syndrome: Energy Drinks Linked To Heart Problems

Caffeine Syndrome: Energy Drinks Linked To Heart Problems

Sep 01 2014 | comment(s)

Energy drinks can cause heart problems according to research presented yesterday at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2014 today by Professor Milou-Daniel Drici from France.

Your Insurer Could Soon Know A Lot More Than How Fast You Drive

Your Insurer Could Soon Know A Lot More Than How Fast You Drive

Sep 01 2014 | comment(s)


Image credit:  Peter Blanchard via flickr | http://bit.ly/1q1sNlt. Rights information: http://bit.ly/c34Awz

By:  Benjamin Plackett,  Inside Science

(Inside Science) -- It may be unintentional, but it’s possible that your car insurer may know a lot more about where you go than you’d like.

Tiny Implanted Sensor And Your Smartphone Could Help Prevent Blindness

Tiny Implanted Sensor And Your Smartphone Could Help Prevent Blindness

Sep 01 2014 | comment(s)


Checking for glaucoma. Image credit: communityeyehealth,  CC BY-NC

By David Crabb, City University London

Scientists have proposed a way to monitor glaucoma using a tiny device implanted in the eye. Readings from the device could be monitored by a smartphone. The technology could help prevent some people from going blind.

Sugar Substance Methylglyoxal Damages Good HDL Cholesterol - Study

Sugar Substance Methylglyoxal Damages Good HDL Cholesterol - Study

Sep 01 2014 | comment(s)

A new study finds that 'good' cholesterol is damaged by a sugar-derived substance, methylglyoxal (MG), was found to damage the 'good' cholesterol High Density Lipoprotein - HDL - which removes excess levels of bad cholesterol from the body.

Methylglyoxal is formed from glucose in the body. It is 40,000 times more reactive than glucose and damages arginine residue (amino acid) in HDL at functionally important site causing the particle to become unstable.

Abortions Don’t Cause Cancer Any More Than Parties Do

Abortions Don’t Cause Cancer Any More Than Parties Do

Aug 31 2014 | comment(s)

Research that found links between abortion and breast cancer also found men who had 'much opportunity to participate in parties' were more likely to have stomach cancer. Credit: burningmax/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA

By Louise Keogh, University of Melbourne