Daily News chosen by Anchor Science
Updated: 07-September-2010, 7:31
Announced on 09-01-2010 :
Nanobiotechnology advances point to medical applications
Scientists have demonstrated the synthesis of nanosize biological particles with the potential to fight cancer and other illnesses. The research introduces new approaches that are considered "green" nanobiotechnology because they use no artificial compounds.
Climate change implicated in decline of horseshoe crabs
A distinct decline in horseshoe crab numbers has occurred that parallels climate change associated with the end of the last Ice Age, according to a study that used genomics to assess historical trends in population sizes.
High-fat diet during puberty linked to breast cancer risk later in life
Girls eating a high-fat diet during puberty, even those who do not become overweight or obese, may be at a greater risk of developing breast cancer later in life, according to researchers. The implications -- that a high-fat diet may have detrimental effects independent of its effect to cause obesity -- could drive new cancer prevention efforts.
Evolution rewritten, again and again
Palaeontologists are forever claiming that their latest fossil discovery will "rewrite evolutionary history." Is this just boasting or does our "knowledge" of evolution radically change every time we find a new fossil?
Mosquitoes use several different kinds of odor sensors to track human prey
The malaria mosquito needs more than one family of odor sensors to sniff out its human prey, new research suggests. New research provides striking new evidence that Anopheles gambiae -- the species of mosquito that spreads malaria that infects some 250 million and kills 900,000 people annually -- has a second set of olfactory sensors that are fundamentally different from the set of sensors that scientists have known about and have been studying for the last 10 years.
Why females fare better than males after traumatic injury
A new study looks at how female versus male rats fared after suffering a trauma and subsequent hemorrhagic shock who were given Estradiol (estrogen). In the study, the Estradiol prevented vascular permeability following hemorrhagic shock.
DASH eating plan lowers long-term heart attack risk, especially among African-Americans
The DASH diet reduced the estimated risk of having a heart attack in the next ten years by 18 percent when compared to a typical American eating plan, according to a new study. Both whites and African-Americans benefited from the diet, but African-Americans had the greatest benefit. Researchers provided all the food to the participants in this eight-week study.
Off-the-shelf dyes improve solar cells
Scientists report success in boosting the ability of zinc oxide solar cells to absorb visible light simply by applying a blended mixture of various off-the-shelf dyes commonly used in food and medical industries -- in a soak-then-dry procedure not unlike that used to color a tee-shirt in a home washing machine.
Lima beans domesticated twice
Lima beans were domesticated at least twice, according to a new genetic diversity study. Big seeded varieties known as "Big Lima" were domesticated in the Andean Mountains, while small seeded "Sieva" and "Potato" varieties originated in central-western Mexico.
Announced on 08-31-2010 :
A Summary of the February 2010 Forum on the Future of Nursing: Education
As the U.S. health care system continues to evolve, the role of nurses also needs to evolve. Nurses must strike a delicate balance among advancing science, translating and applying research, and caring for individuals and families across all settings. Preparing nurses to achieve this balance is a significant challenge. The education system should ensure that nurses have the intellectual capacity, human responsiveness, flexibility, and leadership skills to provide care and promote health whenever and wherever needed. Education leaders and faculty need to prepare nurses with the competencies they need now and in the future. They need to prepare nurses to work and assume leadership roles not just in hospitals, but in communities, clinics, homes, and everywhere else nurses are needed. On February 22, 2010 the Initiative on the Future of Nursing held the last public forum in a series of three at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. This forum, which covered the education of nurses, consisted of three armchair discussions. Each discussion was led by a moderator from the committee and focused on three broad, overlapping subjects: what to teach, how to teach, and where to teach. The verbal exchange among the discussants and moderators, prompted by additional questions from committee members at the forum, produced a wide-ranging and informative examination of questions that are critical to the future of nursing education. Additionally, testimony presented by 12 individuals and comments made by members of the audience during an open microphone session provided the committee with valuable input from a range of perspectives.