EurekAlert! - Technology, Engineering and Computer Science

Deep creep means milder, more frequent earthquakes along Southern California's San Jacinto fault

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science) University of Miami study by Dr. Shimon Wdowinski in this week's Nature Geosciences demonstrates that deep creep may mean milder, more frequent earthquakes along SoCal's San Jacinto fault, making it a less likely candidate for a major earthquake than its neighbor to the east, the Southern San Andreas fault.

Findings show nanomedicine promising for treating spinal cord injuries

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Purdue University) Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a new approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres that could be injected into the blood shortly after an accident.

The University of Oklahoma joins Kyoto University for international symposium in Japan

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Oklahoma) The University of Oklahoma will partner with Kyoto University to present the International Symposium on Radar and Modeling Studies of the Atmosphere Nov. 10-13 in Kyoto, Japan. The symposium is being organized by OU's College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences and Atmospheric Radar Research Center in collaboration with Kyoto University’s Disaster Prevention Research Institute and Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere under a 2008 cooperative agreement between OU and Kyoto University.

eStadium application brings multimedia sports features to smartphones

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Georgia Institute of Technology) The eStadium application allows fans sitting in the stands of an athletic event to access video replays, up-to-the-second statistics, player bios, play-by-play analysis and a wealth of other information designed to enhance the thrill of the game.

UWM study explores why women leave engineering careers

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee) A study getting under way at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is the first systematic study of women's retention in engineering. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the study, POWER (Project on Women Engineers' Retention) includes an online survey open to all women who have completed at least a bachelor's degree in engineering, whether or not they have worked as engineers.

Pathogen protection and virulence: Dark side of fungal membrane protein revealed

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Virginia Tech) Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech and Montana State University have discovered a fungal protein that plays a key role in causing disease in plants and animals and which also shields the pathogen from oxidative stress.

Carnegie Mellon researchers link health-care debate to risk of dying in US and Europe

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Carnegie Mellon University) A new Web site, www.DeathriskRankings.com, developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon allows users to explore differences in the probability of dying across European countries and the US states for men and women of different ages and races.

DNA molecules in moss open door to new biotechnology

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Uppsala University) Plasmids, which are DNA molecules capable of independent replication in cells, have played an important role in gene technology. Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden have now demonstrated that plasmid-based methods, which had been limited to single-cell organisms such as bacteria and yeasts, can be extended to mosses, opening the door to applications of a number of powerful techniques in plant research. The findings have been published in the distinguished journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A new computer simulator allows to design military strategies based on ants' movements

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Granada) Researchers from the University of Granada (Spain) have designed a system for the mobility of military troops within a battlefield following the mechanisms used by ant colonies to moveThey have used settings of Panzer General, a commercial war video game, for the development of this software .

Computer predicts reactions between molecules and surfaces, with ‘chemical precision’

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Leiden University) An international team of scientists from the Netherlands, Spain, Norway, Argentina and the United States has shown in a paper to be published in Science shortly how the chemistry of surface reactions underpinning catalysis can be modeled accurately with computers.

Perfectly proportioned

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft) The manufacture of parts by compaction and sintering involves filling a die with metal powder. Research scientists have simulated this process for the first time to achieve an evenly distributed powder density. This improves the cost-efficiency of sintering.

Lasers put a shine on metals

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft) Polishing metal surfaces is a demanding but monotonous task, and it is difficult to find qualified young specialists. Polishing machines do not represent an adequate alternative because they cannot get to difficult parts of the surface. A new solution is provided by laser polishers.

SNM applauds House action to build medical isotopes reactor in the US

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Society of Nuclear Medicine) SNM applauds the US House of Representatives for its passage of H.R. 3276 -- the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2009.

Magnetic nanoparticles to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Institute of Physics) The future for magentic nanoparticles (mNPs) appears bright With the design of "theranostic" molecules. mNPs could play a crucial role in developing one-stop tools to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat a wide range of common diseases and injuries.

DNA barcodes: Creative new uses span health, fraud, smuggling, history, more

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL)) Some 350 experts from 50 nations gathering in Mexico for their 3rd global meeting will outline the latest creative applications of DNA barcoding, including several projects related to human health, fraud, smuggling, the food chain and reconstructing environmental history.

Federal stimulus funds support studies geared to improving HIV care and prevention

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of California - San Francisco) One study will look at using mobile phone text messages linked to a web-based personal health record to help HIV patients' adherence to pill-taking regimens. The other study will test the feasibility and acceptability of a Web-based strategy that seeks to reduce drug and alcohol use and accompanying HIV risk behaviors and improve antiretroviral medication adherence by HIV positive patients.

Keeping hearts pumping with 'LifeFlow'

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Friends of Tel Aviv University) LifeFlow, a new device from Tel Aviv University's Professor Ofer Barnea, applies a sophisticated algorithm to a computer-controlled IV drip to improve the efficiency of disaster response in the field.

DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory names 6 scientists as 2009 Fellows

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory) Antoinette "Toni" Taylor, Stephen Becker, Joachim Birn, Lowell Brown, Patrick Colestock and Samuel "Tom" Picraux have been designated 2009 Los Alamos National Laboratory Fellows in recognition of sustained, outstanding scientific contributions and exceptional promise for continued professional achievement.

Autism Consortium symposium draws record number of researchers, advocates, parents for autism update

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Autism Consortium) The Autism Consortium, an innovative collaboration of researchers, clinicians, funders and families dedicated to catalyzing research and enhancing clinical care for autism spectrum disorders, held its fourth annual symposium on Oct. 28, 2009, at Harvard Medical School in Boston. The meeting gave scientists, clinicians, advocates and parents an opportunity to gather for the latest information on causes of autism and their implications for diagnosis, prognosis and therapies for people with autism spectrum disorders.

Insect scientists converge in Indianapolis

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Entomological Society of America) Approximately 2,500 entomologists and professionals in related disciplines from around the world will gather Dec. 13-16 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana to exchange scientific information at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America.

Rice wins NIH funding for oral-cancer test

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Rice University) Rice University has won a $2 million NIH stimulus grant to develop an inexpensive test for oral cancer that a dentist or oral surgeon could perform by passing a brush over a suspicious lesion. Oral cancers have a five-year survival rate around 50 percent, largely because of late diagnoses. Rice's test would take less than 30 minutes, require no scalpels or off-site lab tests and could be ready for clinical tests within two years.

Carnegie Mellon researchers receive grant

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Carnegie Mellon University) Carnegie Mellon's Lucio Soibelman, H. Scott Matthews and Jose M.F. Mourareceived a three-year $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to identify inexpensive ways to track energy consumption.

Researcher: 'Optical biopsy' for breast cancer increasingly accurate

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Florida) Most biopsies following mammograms reveal benign abnormalities, not cancer.

November 2009 story tips from the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory) Fuel economy ratings for the new 2010 model year automobiles are posted at www.fueleconomy.gov, which ORNL maintains for the US Department of Energy and the US Environmental Protection Agency. A team led by ORNL's Nina Balke has moved closer to developing more rugged memory and logic devices. Heavy trucks are less heavy but just as safe and rugged because of steel rail frames. A new approach to crunching massive volumes of data uses neural networks like an artificial brain.

Dartmouth professor finds that iconic Oswald photo was not faked

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Dartmouth College) Computer Scientist Hany Farid has new evidence regarding a photograph of accused JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. Farid digitally analyzed the iconic image of Oswald pictured in a backyard setting holding a rifle in one hand and Marxist newspapers in the other, and he says the photo almost certainly was not altered.