Molecules that behave like robots created

LONDON – In a breakthrough study, researchers have created and programmed robots the size of single molecule that can move independently across a nano-scale track.

The development, by Researchers from Columbia University, Arizona State University, the University of Michigan and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), marks an important advancement … Read more >>.

Smoking, obesity, alcohol affect survival of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients

WASHINGTON – People with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma-who smoked, consumed alcohol or were obese before their cancer diagnosis-had poorer overall survival, as compared to patients who did not have these risk factors, a new study found.

The finding by researchers from Mayo Clinic in collaboration with six … Read : Smoking, obesity, alcohol affect survival of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients.

Virtual humans ‘influence ethical decisions in gender-specific ways’

WASHINGTON – Researchers at the Indiana University School of Informatics have discovered that virtual humans are increasingly taking on roles that were once reserved for real humans.

The study explores how appearance, motion quality and other characteristics of computer-generated …. Read the original article  : Virtual humans ‘influence ethical decisions in gender-specific ways’.

Sniff of local anesthetic may replace dentist’s needle

WASHINGTON – A new discovery may replace the needle used to give local anesthetic in the dentist’s chair for many procedures.

Boffins have reported that a common local anesthetic, when administered to the nose as nose drops or a nasal spray, travels through … Read more >>>.

How fruitflies’ brains decide what to eat

WASHINGTON – Researchers in Portugal and Austria have shown how food intake is modulated in fruit flies.

In the study just published in the journal Current Biology, Carlos Ribeiro, group leader in the Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Cijncia (Portugal), …. Source article  : How fruitflies’ brains decide what to eat.

Water was present during Earth’s birth

WASHINGTON – Volatile elements – most likely to include water – were present during the violent process of the Earth’s birth between 30 and 100 million years after the solar system was created – a minute period in geological …. Source  : Water was present during Earth’s birth.

Bangladesh to sign n-power pact with Russia

DHAKA – Bangladesh will sign an agreement with Russia on peaceful use of nuclear technology, including the setting up of a nuclear power plant, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni has said.

“On May 21, Yeafesh Osman (state minister for science and information and communication technology) will sign with Russia a framework agreement on peaceful use of nuclear … Read more »».

Mayapuri residents at high radiation risk: Greenpeace

NEW DELHI – West Delhi’s Mayapuri area is “not a safe zone for human beings”, environment body Greenpeace said Friday after a visit to the scrapyard where a person died after exposure to radiation last month.

“The investigation has identified hotspots with more than 5,000 times natural background radiation,” a Greenpeace expert said after the team’s … Read : Mayapuri residents at high radiation risk: Greenpeace.

Tibetans have unique genes to survive on heights

WASHINGTON – How do Tibetans easily survive at heights where some humans fall critically ill? A new study credits this to 10 unique oxygen processing genes that Tibetans have embraced over the years.

Researchers from the University of Utah School of Medicine report that thousands of years ago Tibetan highlanders began to genetically adapt to conditions …. Original source  : Tibetans have unique genes to survive on heights.

How dangerous food-borne pathogen evades body’s defenses

WASHINGTON – Stanford University School of Medicine investigators have deciphered how Listeria monocytogenes, a dangerous food-borne pathogen, slips through the intestine’s defenses and causes disease.

This bacterial strain thrives in salty or cold environments where prissier pests might perish: cold cuts, …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : How dangerous food-borne pathogen evades body’s defenses.

Finally, 140-year-old Boltzmann Equation solved

WASHINGTON – Two mathematicians from University of Pennsylvania have solved a 140-year-old, 7-dimensional Boltzmann equation, which remained a puzzle for more than a century despite its widespread use in modelling the behaviour of gases.

Philip T. Gressman and Robert M. Strain of Penn’s Department of athematics conducted the study

The solutions [..] Read the original article: here.

Non-invasive respiratory stress test to detect significant coronary artery disease

WASHINGTON – A non-invasive Respiratory Stress Response (RSR) can quickly and accurately measure the presence of significant coronary artery disease (sCAD), the leading cause of cardiovascular death worldwide, according to newly published data.

Patients in the study with sCAD had a lower RSR … Read : Non-invasive respiratory stress test to detect significant coronary artery disease.

Why a whiff of cats scares the hell out of a mouse

WASHINGTON – If you were a mouse, a mere whiff of a cat, rat or snake would be enough to scare you away.

Your stress hormone levels would go up and you’d begin to take extra precautions, hugging the ground as you …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Why a whiff of cats scares the hell out of a mouse.

Recipe for making sensory hair cells from stem cells found

WASHINGTON – A ten year long research has led scientists to discover the recipe for hearing- a way to coax embryonic stem cells as well as reprogrammed adult cells to develop into sensory cells that normally reside in the mammalian …. Read the original article  : Recipe for making sensory hair cells from stem cells found.

Silver reveals volatile story of Earth’s origin

WASHINGTON – Miniscule variations in the isotopic composition of silver found in meteorites and Earth rocks is giving scientists clues about how Earth began assembling 4.568 billion years ago.

The study suggests that water and other key volatiles may have been already present on …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Silver reveals volatile story of Earth’s origin.

World’s lizards disappearing due to rise in global temperatures

WASHINGTON – Rising temperature is adversely affecting the lizard population, so much so, that a full 20 percent of all lizard species could be extinct by the year 2080, a new study claims.

An international research team, which surveyed Sceloporus lizard populations in …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : World’s lizards disappearing due to rise in global temperatures.

‘Nose-like’ technology may allow cellphones to map airborne toxins in real time

WASHINGTON – A tiny silicon chip that works a bit like a nose may one day detect dangerous airborne chemicals and alert emergency responders through the cell phone network.

“Cell phones are everywhere people are.

“This technology could map a chemical accident as it unfolds,” said Michael Sailor, professor of … Read more »».

Greenpeace probe reveals radiation risk in Mayapuri

NEW DELHI – An investigation by environment body Greenpeace has revealed immediate radiation risk to people at a scrapyard in west Delhi’s Mayapuri area where a person died after exposure to radiation last month.

“The investigation has identified hotspots more than 5,000 times natural background radiation,” an expert said after a Greenpeace team visited Mayapuri Friday …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

New, inexpensive pouch could reduce mother-to-infant HIV infection

WASHINGTON – Duke University biomedical engineers have developed an inexpensive and easy-to-use system that allows mothers to give their newborns a potentially life-saving dose of an anti-HIV medication shortly after birth.

This is especially important since such drugs can only be found in clinics or hospitals, which can be days away from an expectant mother.

In order [..] Read the original article: here.

Remembering Tagore, the early environmentalist

KOLKATA – Environmental issues like river erosion and deforestation may be hot topics today, but Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore had been eloquent about the exploitation of environment even a century ago.

Tagore churned out poems, plays and short stories emphasising the need to protect nature. With India beginning year-long celebrations to mark his 150th birth anniversary, … Read more : Remembering Tagore, the early environmentalist.