- 28-02-2008 - Top Science News Stories from Firstscience.com

Student develops new LED, wins $30,000 Lemelson-Rensselaer Prize
28 Feb 2008
Martin Schubert's polarized LED could improve LCD displays, save energy Martin Schubert, winner of the 2008 Lemelson-Rensselaer Student Prize. Click here for more information. Troy, N.Y. - In recent years, light...

4th annual Templeton-Cambridge fellowships awarded to 10 noted journalists
28 Feb 2008
NEW YORK, February 28 – Ten prominent journalists from the United States and the United Kingdom have been selected for the fourth annual Templeton–Cambridge Journalism Fellowships in Science & Religion. Widely praised since...

Seafloor cores show tight bond between dust and past climates
28 Feb 2008
Researchers hope to shed light on proposed manmade climate 'repairs' Dust from China moves across Korea and Japan to the Pacific Ocean, April 2002. Click here for more information. Each year, long-distance winds drop...

$50 million gift to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center
28 Feb 2008
Establishes Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute: A 'medical town square' dedicated to the treatment of heart disease NEW YORK (Feb. 28, 2008) -- NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center announced today that Ronald O. Perelman,...

Space sentinels: New 'tools' in space to improve European environment and security policies
28 Feb 2008
ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain and European Commission Director General for Enterprise & Industry Heinz Zourek today signed in Brussels an agreement which establishes the allocation of an EC budget of €624 million to ESA as...

SMErobot: A new generation of robots for small and medium-sized enterprises at Automatica 2008
28 Feb 2008
European research project presents new prototypes of cost-effective, modular and interactive automation solutions for small and medium-sized manufacturing productions This release is available in German. A new generation of...

Brown mathematicians prove new way to build a better estimate
28 Feb 2008
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — How do you sift through hundreds of billions of bits of information and make accurate inferences from such gargantuan sets of data" Brown University mathematician Charles “Chip” Lawrence...

Jules Verne ATV atop launcher
28 Feb 2008
Jules Verne, the first Automated Transfer Vehicle, has been encapsulated in its huge fairing on top of the Ariane 5 launcher. With a total mass of about 19 360 kg, Jules Verne is the largest payload ever launched by Ariane 5. This historical...

UB's bioblower closer to protecting soldiers from biological attack
28 Feb 2008
Patent to issue on technology, which has passed US Department of Defense tests BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A powerful air sterilization technology developed at the University at Buffalo has killed every biological agent with which it has been challenged,...

Rock studies help crack questions of glacier thinning in West Antarctica
28 Feb 2008
Boulders the size footballs could help scientists predict sea-level rise Jo during Antarctic fieldwork. Click here for more information. Boulders the size footballs could help scientists predict the West Antarctic...

Sandia weighs in on new definition for kilogram
28 Feb 2008
Change should have little impact on nuclear weapons complex Hy Tran examines a kilogram sample in a mass comparator at Sandia’s Primary Standards Laboratory. Click here for more information. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M....

Electronic structure of DNA revealed for 1st time by Hebrew University and collaborating researchers
28 Feb 2008
Dr. Danny Porath Click here for more information. Jerusalem, February 28, 2008 – Utilizing a technique that combines low temperature measurements and theoretical calculations, Hebrew University of Jerusalem...

Breakthroughs in nanotechnology on edge of 'knowledge frontier'
28 Feb 2008
MU scientist's nanotech research earns him 'Outstanding Missourian' award COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri scientist Kattesh Katti recently discovered how to make gold nanoparticles using gold salts, soybeans and water....

With just 3 affected individuals, researchers find gene behind rare form of epilepsy
28 Feb 2008
Researchers have found a gene responsible for a particularly debilitating form of epilepsy that also leads to kidney failure, according to a report published online on February 28th and also in the March 7th print issue of the American Journal...

Extract of broccoli sprouts may protect against bladder cancer
28 Feb 2008
PHILADELPHIA – A concentrated extract of freeze dried broccoli sprouts cut development of bladder tumors in an animal model by more than half, according to a report in the March 1 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American...

UT Southwestern surgeons complete North Texas' first single-incision gallbladder removal
28 Feb 2008
Drs. Homero Rivas (right) and J. Esteban Varela successfully removed a gallbladder through a unique operation requiring only a single incision in the bellybutton rather than the traditional four incisions. Click here for more...

Tobacco use, secondhand smoke exposure during pregnancy, may threaten health of women and children
28 Feb 2008
In developing nations This release is available in Spanish. Findings from a National Institute of Health (NIH) study indicate that rates of tobacco use during pregnancy, as well as exposure of pregnant women and their young children to...

ASU researcher may have discovered key to life before its origin on Earth
28 Feb 2008
TEMPE, ARIZ. -- An important discovery has been made with respect to the mystery of “handedness” in biomolecules. Researchers led by Sandra Pizzarello, a research professor at Arizona State University, found that some of the...

Effect of tumor necrosis factor a inhibitors on heart failure risk in RA Patients
28 Feb 2008
Study supports cardiovascular benefits of anti-TNF therapy when it works to reduce high disease activity A chronic autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by persistent inflammation of the synovial membrane and...

Weill Cornell team identifies potential new drug targets against hormone-dependent breast cancer
28 Feb 2008
2 receptors play key role in boosting cellular estrogen production NEW YORK (Feb. 27, 2008) -- The identification of two cellular receptors that likely contribute to the genesis of hormone-dependent breast cancer points the way to new, highly...

The top 5 ways medical physics has changed health care
28 Feb 2008
American Association of Physicists in Medicine celebrates golden anniversary College Park, MD (February 28, 2008) -- Many of the greatest inventions in modern medicine were developed by physicists who imported technologies such as X rays,...

Autoantibodies and neuropsychiatric events in lupus
28 Feb 2008
International study finds potential biomarkers for psychosis and cerebrovascular disease in patients diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), commonly known as lupus, can affect nearly any part of the...

Has the mystery of the Antarctic ice sheet been solved?
28 Feb 2008
New evidence could solve the puzzle of why Antarctica went into the deep freeze A team of scientists from Cardiff University’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences and Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales travelled to Africa to find new...

Heightened weighing discomfort among women may increase their health risks, Penn study indicates
28 Feb 2008
PHILADELPHIA -– A new study from the University of Pennsylvania points to increased health risks for women owing to their higher level of discomfort about being weighed in public. The study showed that college-age females, more than...

Antioxidant benefits of POM Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice top red wine, grape and acai juices
28 Feb 2008
New testing methodology reveals POM Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice has superior antioxidant power compared to other beverages and is the only pomegranate juice guaranteed to contain 100% pomegranate juice LOS ANGELES (February 28, 2008)...

LSU scientist finds evidence of 'rain-making' bacteria
28 Feb 2008
Could have implications for climate and understanding dissemination of agricultural pathogens Brent Christner, LSU assistant professor of biological sciences, collecting precipitation samples in Antarctica. Click here for more...

Nature's helpers: Using microorganisms to remove TCE from water
28 Feb 2008
Bruce Rittmann's Biodesign Institute research team has utilized a system, called the microbial biofilm reactor, that uses a naturally occurring group of microorganisms to remove TCE from water. Here, ASU... Click here for more...

Maternal love: How a mother's brain responds to her infant
28 Feb 2008
Philadelphia, PA, February 28, 2008 – The distinctive ability of mothers to identify the cries of their offspring is widely evident in nature, where it is critical to the survival of these offspring. In humans, we are aware that the...

Gene expression differences between Europeans and Africans affect response to drugs, infections
28 Feb 2008
Differences in gene expression levels between people of European versus African ancestry can affect how each group responds to certain drugs or fights off specific infections, report researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center...