feed info

279,032 articles from PhysOrg

Mercury on the rise in endangered Pacific seabirds

Using 120 years of feathers from natural history museums in the United States, Harvard University researchers have been able to track increases in the neurotoxin methylmercury in the black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), an endangered seabird that forages extensively throughout the Pacific.

Oxygenation at a depth of 120 meters can save the Baltic Sea

Oxygenation brings dead sea bottoms to life. This creates the necessary conditions for the establishment of new ecosystems that enable nature itself to deal with eutrophication. By conducting pilot studies in two fjords in Sweden, researchers at the University of Gothenburg have demonstrated that pumping oxygen-rich surface water down to sea bottoms is effective. A large wind-driven pump is now to...

Pacific salmon may be dying from leukemia-type virus

In Canada's Fraser River, a mysterious illness has killed millions of Pacific salmon, and scientists have a new hypothesis about why: The wild salmon are suffering from viral infections similar to those linked to some forms of leukemia and lymphoma.

Rings reveal extensive yearly climate record

A new study of the oldest trees in Mexico provides the first ever detailed, year-by-year look at the climate of Mesoamerica over a thousand-year span. The data, gathered from the annual growth rings in trees, supplies precise dates for the duration of three historically important droughts, including one that was previously unknown.

Study: Common virus + low sunlight exposure may increase risk of MS

New research suggests that people who are exposed to low levels of sunlight coupled with a history of having a common virus known as mononucleosis may be at greater odds of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) than those without the virus. The research is published in the April 19, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Virtual surgery shows promise in personalized treatment of nasal obstruction

A preliminary report suggests that virtual nasal surgery has the potential to be a productive tool that may enable surgeons to perform personalized nasal surgery using computer simulation techniques, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the September print issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Winklevoss twins seek another Facebook hearing

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss asked Monday for a rehearing of a court ruling that they can't back out of the settlement deal they made in a lawsuit charging that Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for Facebook.

Office 365 goes into public beta

(PhysOrg.com) -- Microsoft has released its latest product for business, Office 365, into public beta. The program, which is limited in its participants, allows users to try out the new software in exchange for feedback about the software.

Simple injection could limit damage from heart attacks and stroke

(PhysOrg.com) -- This weeks Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) will publish a fascinating new milestone achievement in the search for novel clinical therapies to significantly reduce the loss of tissue and organ-functions following the loss of blood supply in widespread and serious human pathologies such as heart attacks (myocardial infarction) and strokes...

Bridgestone is demonstrating its AeroBee e-reader

(PhysOrg.com) -- Most e-readers are E-Ink. On devices, such as the very popular Amazon Kindle, they allow users to have a clear and paper-like viewing experience, and no glare in high light or outdoor situations. The E-Ink devices also use less power than devices like the iPad, and therefore have a longer battery life.

Climate change psychology: Coping and creating solutions

Psychologists are offering new insight and solutions to help counter climate change, while helping people cope with the environmental, economic and health impacts already taking a toll on people's lives, according to a special issue of American Psychologist, the American Psychological Association's flagship journal.

Health status of migrant workers in Canada

International migrant workers entering Canada generally arrive healthy but their low-skilled occupations may put them at risk of health issues and they may face barriers to health care, states an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Move over Prozac: New drug offers hope for depression

The brain chemistry that underlies depression is incompletely understood, but research suggests that aberrant signaling by a chemical called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor through its receptor TrkB, may contribute to anxiety and depression. Here, researchers describe a screen for stable small molecules that could specifically inhibit TrkB action. They identified one they dubbed ANA-12, which...

New kid on the plasmonic block

With its promise of superfast computers and ultrapowerful optical microscopes among the many possibilities, plasmonics has become one of the hottest fields in high-technology. However, to date plasmonic properties have been limited to nanostructures that feature interfaces between noble metals and dielectrics. Now, researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National...

Newer oral contraceptive as safe for gall bladder as older birth-control pills: research

Drospirenone, the top-selling oral contraceptive marketed as Yaz or Yasmin in the U.S. and Canada, doesn't carry any more risk of gall bladder disease than the older generation of birth control pills, despite claims by some consumers and lawyers in both countries, according to a new study by University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researcher Mahyar Etminan.