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August , 2007 - Special Science Issue*
A new radiation therapy treatment developed for head and neck cancer patients
Most head and neck cancers that recur locally after prior full-dose conventional radiation therapy respond to Boron Neutron Capture Therapy suggests the recent Finnish study. Dr. Heikki Joensuu, professor of radiotherapy and oncology at the University of Helsinki, considers the results clinically significant and very interesting: They open a new field for BNCT, since thus far BNCT has been evaluated only in the treatment of some brain tumours.
Focus
Intriguing new evidence of lifelike structures that form from inorganic substances in space are revealed today in the New Journal of Physics. The findings hint at the possibility that life beyond earth may not necessarily use carbon-based molecules as its building blocks. They also point to a possible new explanation for the origin of life on earth.
University of Pennsylvania researchers develop formula to gauge risk of disease clusters
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a mathematical formula to assess whether concentrated disease outbreaks can be ascribed to random-chance events or, instead, suggest a contagious or environmental effect that requires epidemiological investigation. A feature of the formula is that, given the relevant data, the required probability calculations can be done in less than five seconds on a personal computer.
Learning how to learn for exam success
It may be the height of the holiday season, but about a million people are about to get life-altering news. On Thursday, 300,000 school and college students will receive their A level results. A week later, another 700,000 will find out how they did in their GCSEs.
UCF physicist says Hollywood movies hurt students' understanding of science
It may be the height of the holiday season, but about a million people are about to get life-altering news. On Thursday, 300,000 school and college students will receive their A level results. A week later, another 700,000 will find out how they did in their GCSEs.
U of M researchers find that the words of a CEO can foretell a company's future innovation
Many stockholders wish they could look into a crystal ball to forecast a firm's performance. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have found that they need something far less mystical to predict future innovations of firms. "The answer lies in the words of the CEO," said Rajesh Chandy, professor of marketing at the university’s Carlson School of Management. "By simply counting the number of future-oriented sentences in annual reports we can predict future innovation by the firm."
Change on the range
Learning exercise gives insight to land managers and scientists on range management strategies during climatic changes
Making Difference
Ecologists work to link kids with nature
Now ecological scientists -- well-positioned because of their field of study -- are stepping up to do their part. The symposium "No child left indoors: Ecologists linking young people with nature" will feature eight case studies offered by ecologists of different ages, races, and cultures and employing different outreach tools. Case studies will range from outdoor laboratories in Montana, to inspiring kids via tree canopy walkways, to community restoration activities on Catalina Island in California.
Are too many people diagnosed as 'depressed?'
Are too many people now diagnosed as having depression? Two experts give their views in this week's BMJ.
General
Brain imaging reveals breakdown of normal emotional processing
Brain imaging has revealed a breakdown in normal patterns of emotional processing that impairs the ability of people with clinical depression to suppress negative emotional states. Efforts by depressed patients to suppress their feelings when viewing emotionally negative images enhanced activity in several brain areas, including the amygdala, known to play a role in generating emotion, according to a report in the Aug. 15 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
All change at the Earth's core
It is hard to know what is going on over 3000 kilometers beneath our feet, but until recently scientists were fairly confident that they understood the way the iron atoms in the Earth's core packed together. However, new research has overturned conventional thinking and revealed that the structure of the core is not as straightforward as was once thought.
Plain soap as effective as antibacterial but without the risk
Antibacterial soaps show no health benefits over plain soaps and, in fact, may render some common antibiotics less effective, says a University of Michigan public health professor.
Disability payments may spur drug abuse
Paying out certain types of government aid in a monthly lump sum appears to fuel a spate of harmful and often fatal drug binges, according to a new study in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Public Economics that links the monthly arrival of disability checks with a sharp rise in drug-related hospitalizations and deaths.
Dark matter mystery deepens in cosmic 'train wreck'
Astronomers have discovered a chaotic scene unlike any witnessed before in a cosmic "train wrecK" between giant galaxy clusters. NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and optical telescopes revealed a dark matter core that was mostly devoid of galaxies, which may pose problems for current theories of dark matter behavior.
Young inventors' research transforms the marketplace
What do a portable imaging device, a material for cardiac stents and a process for creating strong and flexible plastics have in common? All are inventions that have been developed by trainees in the National Science Foundation's Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program.
*based on releases