Home in Biological News

Wood stoves -- a viable home heat source?

MADISON, WI -- JULY 14, 2009 -- The stress of rising natural gas prices is leading many consumers to rethink how they heat their homes. For some this means moving towards modern alternative energy options, while others have been turning to a more traditional method for a solution to these rising ...

New study: Home energy savings are made in the shade

Trees positioned to shade the west and south sides of a house may decrease summertime electric bills by 5 percent on average, according to a recent study* of California homes by researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)...

A full-sized California-style home made of bamboo

A new type of eco-friendly residential house made of bamboo now stands in Changsha, Hunan Province, China. A team led by Yan Xiao, a professor at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and also a founding director of the Institute of Modern Bamboo, Timber and Composite Structures of the Hunan U...

Pubic hair provides evolutionary home for gorilla lice

There are two species of lice that infest humans: pubic lice, Pthirus pubis , and human head and body lice, Pediculus humanus . A new article in BioMed Central's open access Journal of Biology suggests one explanation for the separation of the two species. In the article, Robert Weiss fro...

Crib-side studies help struggling newborns go home without feeding tubes

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) A new strategy developed in the Neonatal and Infant Feeding Disorders Program at Nationwide Children's Hospital is helping premature infants and other newborns with severe swallowing difficulties learn to feed on their own. According to a study appearing in the February issue of ...

Particulate emission from natural gas burning home appliances

New Rochelle, NY, January 8, 2009Natural gas, believed to be among the cleanest forms of fuel, does emit ultrafine airborne particulate matter when burned in home appliances such as stove tops and water heaters, according to a report in the December 2008 issue (Volume 25, Number 10) of Environmen...

First Science from the Compact Light Source: A miniature synchrotron for your home lab

In 2004 Lyncean Technologies announced the construction of the Compact Light Source (CLS), a miniature synchrotron which uses inverse Compton scattering to produce high-intensity, tunable, near-monochromatic x-ray beams. The CLS was designed to bring state-of-the-art protein structure determinati...

Pollution at home lurks unrecognized, instead attributed to large-scale environmental disasters

WASHINGTON, DC Although Americans are becoming increasingly aware of toxic chemical exposure from everyday household products like bisphenol A in some baby bottles and lead in some toys, women do not readily connect typical household products with personal chemical exposure and related adverse he...

A home early warning system for cardiac patients

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in Europe and early diagnosis is essential to save lives. Monitoring the heart's rhythm and electrical activity in real time using an electrocardiogram (ECG) provides vital information about abnormalities and gives clues to the nature of a problem. S...

Tips on how to build a better home for biological parts

Blacksburg, Va. Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech have compiled a series of guidelines that should help researchers in their efforts to design, develop and manage next-generation databases of biological parts. The stakes are high: the concept of biologica...

Opening day for a home of the future

The first of six properties designed to show case state-of-the-art energy efficient housing will be officially opened on Wednesday January 30 2008 at The University of Nottingham. The house built by BASF, a major supplier of raw materials to the construction industry, is part of the Creative En...

Selective restraints and reduced medication could reduce nursing home falls says 4-year study

Selectively restraining elderly residents and giving them fewer sleeping pills could significantly reduce falls, according to a survey of 21 nursing home units published in the January issue of Journal of Clinical Nursing. The four-year study, led by the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, analysed ...

Threatened bird species finds home at Western

Earlier this year, the bird was assessed with the designation of Threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). COSEWIC is the scientific body that advises the federal government on the status of species at risk. Since 1967, the number of chimney swifts i...

Zinc may reduce pneumonia risk in nursing home elderly

BOSTON When elderly nursing home residents contract pneumonia, it is a blow to their already fragile health. Simin Nikbin Meydani, DVM, PhD of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and colleagues report that maintaining normal serum zinc concentration i...

Hurricane Katrina: Phone home

Though New Orleans residents were told to evacuate days before the arrival of Hurricane Katrina, no one could have predicted the real extent of the devastation. Now researchers from Tel Aviv University say they have found a novel and reliable way to help predict the intensity of the next big f...

Corals stay close to home

The thought of coral reefs tends to conjure up images of tropical vacations, complete with snorkeling among tropical fish in crystal clear waters. Rapid climate change, and increased pollution, ocean acidification and overfishing threaten to darken this picture considerably. These factors heavi...

World's only captive hairy-nosed otter gets new home

Arlington, Virginia (June 17, 2008) -- The world's only known hairy-nosed otter in captivity, one of the rarest and little known of otter species, got a new home and a Buddhist blessing today. Dara, a frisky young male rescued when his mother was killed by a fisherman, was released into a...

How baby fish find a home

One of the most significant questions facing marine ecologists today, is just how much of an impact global variations in the environment are having on the dispersal of larval and juvenile marine species from open oceans to coral reefs. Previously, tracking how fish larvae migrate was done through ...

Saltwater crocodiles can find their way home

Three crocodiles relocated from their homes in Far North Queensland have been tracked swimming between 10 and 30 kilometres per day according to a collaborative research project by The University of Queensland, Australia Zoo and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. Professor Craig Franklin, f...

Migration alert -- How tumor cells home in on the lymphatic system

A Swiss-based research team has published a new mechanistic description of how tumor cells migrate to the lymphatic system in the early stages of tumor metastasis. This new understanding holds significant potential for developing anti-metastasis therapies. Scientists know that tumor cells sprea...

Simple home spit test to spot deadly pre-eclampsia

A simple spit test designed to detect pre-eclampsia in the early stages is being trialed in a UK hospital, reports Cath O'Driscoll in Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the SCI. The test, which is designed to be used at home, will allow mums-to-be to check for themselves whether they are at ...

Ecologists home in on how sperm whales find their prey

Ecologists have at last got a view of sperm whales' behaviour during their long, deep dives, thanks to the use of recently developed electronic "dtags". According to new research published in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Animal Ecology, sperm whales ?like bats ?use echolocation consi...

EMBO pioneers pension plan for internationally mobile postdoctoral researchers

...obility." Following completion of PhD studies, many young researchers often take up post-doctoral research positions in laboratories outside their home countries. It's not unusual for them to move two, or even three, times in the early years of their careers to benefit from exchange with experienced r...

Plankton Power and RTDC announce proposed algae-to-biofuels pilot facility on Cape Cod

...ion. The biodiesel from Plankton Power algae is a "drop-in" replacement for home heating oil and petroleum diesel and will be produced for commercial distri...lion gallons of biodiesel, which would meet 5% of the demand for diesel and home heating fuel in the state of Massachusetts. "We are extremely pleased...

K-State researchers say after-school programs should promote activity, healthy nutrition

...children's physical activity. "Participation in after-school programs tends to drop with increasing age as parents believe their children can be at home without adult supervision," Dzewaltowski said. "Parents should strive to place their children in healthy environments that are supervised by adults an...

Aware, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2009 Financial Results

...e modest growth in our revenues this quarter. Our goal is to generate shareholder value by targeting growing portions of the biometrics, DSL test and home networking markets with a collection of technology, products and services." Note: Aware's conference call will be broadcast live over the Inte...

Bizarre walking bat has ancient heritage

... A bizarre New Zealand bat that is as much at home walking four-legged on the ground as winging through the air had an Australian ancestor 20 million years ago with the same rare ability, a new study h...

Researchers team up to provide new hope for childhood hunger

...s to the crisis of childhood malnutrition must involve interventions spanning a diverse spectrum of disciplines including health care, agriculture and home economics. People in the developing world derive most of their nutrients from plants; plants constitute 90% of the diet of many Africans. Therefore e...

University has grand designs to build a house of straw

...onstruct homes fit for the challenge. "Made from natural materials that are beautiful, affordable and sustainable, BaleHaus is a living, breathing home that is cool in summer and warm in winter, helps families reduce their CO2 footprint without compromising how they choose to live their lives and sets...

Red List overlooks island species

...osing ground in terms of the area it occupies, or the number of its individuals. Martn Esquivel says "the most important thing is whether the species' home range is decreasing, stable, or expanding". The researcher suggests rigorously identifying those species that are really threatened. Protecting sp...

International conference on CO2 sequestration processes

... construction, will treat 2,000 tons of CO2 over nine months. Plant visits and related geologic fieldwork start Sept. 5-6. A Sept. 6 reception at the home of Iceland President lafur Ragnar Grmsson kicks off the formal scientific meeting to explore the status of CarbFix and related projects worldwide. Amo...

UC San Diego's $3 million NSF grant to fund science festivals

...onsider entering a science-related education and career. A fitting location, San Diego is at the forefront of scientific research and development, and home to many leading biotechnology and technology corporations Dates for the 2010 San Diego Science Festival, organized by UC San Diego with the support...

Salt marshes: A natural and unnatural history

...ants, animals, and people because of the environmental service and protection they provide, salt marshes were once considered unproductive wastelands, home solely to mosquitoes and toxic waste, and mistreated for centuries by the human population. Exploring the fascinating biodiversity of these boggy wetl...

Music is the engine of new U-M lab-on-a-chip device

...riments on the same material. There is hope that they could lead to instant home tests for illnesses, food contaminants and toxic gases, among other advance...on a microfluidic device. That would be a step closer to a smartphone-sized home flu test. ...

New discovery suggests trees evolved camouflage defense against long extinct predator

...w thought to be a defence strategy from an extinct predator, the moa. Before the arrival of humans New Zealand had no native land mammals, but was home to moa, giant flightless birds, closely related to the modern ostrich and the top herbivore predator in the food chain. However moa were hunted to ext...

Warming climate threatens California fruit and nut production

... study will appear July 22 in the online journal PLoS ONE . The study is the first to map winter chill projections for all of California, which is home to nearly 3 million acres of fruit and nut trees that require chilling. The combined production value of these crops was $7.8 billion in 2007, accordi...

Medical use for waste television screens

... designed to deliver drugs to particular parts of the body. The research is by five academics in the University's Department of Chemistry, which is home to the York Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence and the York Liquid Crystal Group, and is published in the journal Green Chemistry . Professor J...

Toxin detection as close as an inkjet printer

...of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors such as paraoxon and aflatoxin B1 on paper using a "lateral flow" sensing approach similar to that used in a home pregnancy test strip. The process involves formulating an ink like the one found in computer printer cartridges but with special additives to mak...

UK Identity and Passport Service and IBM Sign 7-year National Biometric Identity Service (NBIS) Contract

...sport Service (IPS), an executive agency of the UK home Office, have signed a seven-year agreement for IBM...ment concludes the NBIS contract award made in the home Office statement on the 7th April 2009: http://...m/easyaccess/publicsector Contacts home Office Philip Skelton, Press Officer, Philip....

UAB students' Nintendo Wii CPR earns American Heart Association support

...he Wii CPR technology for the last seven months. Based on an idea initiated by Walcott, the technology is a computer program that can be downloaded on home computers and synched with the wireless technology of the Wii remote to teach users proper CPR technique. "We began talking about the possibility ...