Laptop And Digital Camera Memory Devices Improved With Nanotechnology

Arizona State University’s Center for Applied Nanoionics (CANi) has a new take on old memory, one that promises to boost the performance, capacity and battery life of consumer electronics from digital cameras to laptops. Best of all, it is cheap, made from common materials and compatible with just about anything currently on the market.

New Treatment For Varicose Veins Uses Crochet Hooks

Dr. Peter Lawrence, UCLA’s chief of vascular surgery, picks up size 7 crochet hooks from a fabric store — not to make sweaters or scarves but to use in a new technique he has developed to treat varicose veins.

Invasive Plant Secretes Acid To Kill Nearby Plants And Spread

The invasive strain of Phragmites australis, or common reed, believed to have originated in Eurasia, exudes from its roots an acid so toxic that the substance literally disintegrates the structural protein in the roots of neighboring plants, thus toppling the competition.

Invasion Is Backbreaking Work For Australia’s Cane Toads

For the first time researchers have turned their attention onto the health effects of invasion on our old friend the cane toad, revealing that they are suffering from severe spinal arthritis brought on by the onslaught.

Genetically Engineered Poplar Plants Disarm Toxic Pollutants 100 Times Better Than Controls

Scientists since the early ’90s have seen the potential for cleaning up contaminated sites by growing plants able to take up nasty groundwater pollutants through their roots. Then the plants break certain kinds of pollutants into harmless byproducts that the plants either incorporate into their roots, stems and leaves or release into the air.

Structure Of Influenza B Virus Protein Gives Clues To Next Pandemic

Determining the structure of a protein called hemagglutinin on the surface of influenza B is giving researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University in Houston clues as to what kinds of mutations could spark the next flu pandemic.

Giant Red Spinel Crystal Discovered in East Africa

An enormous red spinel crystal weighing over 52 kgs may be the largest red spinel ever unearthed. A significant number of stones ranging in weights between 5 and 30 carats have already been faceted and sold for several million dollars. Mined at depth of 10 meters in a farmer’s field in Mahenge, Tanzania, the pyramid shaped crystal weighing over 52kgs was discovered by a group of miners in the alluvial deposit.

Modafinil Is Effective In Treating Excessive Sleepiness, Study Suggests

A study published in the October 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine finds that modafinil is well-tolerated in the treatment of excessive sleepiness associated with disorders of sleep and wakefulness such as shift work sleep disorder, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and narcolepsy, and does not affect cardiovascular or sleep parameters.

Pathway Required For Normal Reproductive Development Identified

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) clinical researchers, in collaboration with basic scientists from the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) have identified a new molecular pathway required for normal development of the reproductive, olfactory and circadian systems in both humans and mice. In their report to appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team describes defects in a gene called PROK2 (prokineticin 2) in human siblings with two different forms of infertility. The UC Irvine team had previously reported that mice lacking PROK2 had abnormal olfactory structures and disrupted circadian rhythm.

Weight Loss Before Bariatric Surgery Linked To Shorter Hospital Stay, Faster Weight Loss

High-risk morbidly obese patients who lose 5 to 10 percent of their excess body weight before undergoing gastric bypass surgery appear to have shorter hospital stays and more rapid postoperative weight loss, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Surgery, a theme issue on bariatric surgery.