Science News

(University of Edinburgh) Fresh understanding of the virus that causes chickenpox and shingles could lead to improved vaccines and diagnostic tests, a study suggests.

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA has successfully completed a comprehensive pre-shipment review of the Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite, or FASTSAT, a small, microsatellite class spacecraft bus that will carry six experiment payloads to low-Earth orbit.

(Public Library of Science) A bacteria that lives in hot springs in Japan may help solve one of the mysteries of the early evolution of complex organisms, according to a study publishing next week in PLoS Biology.

(Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs) Scientists and others from 25 countries convened in April to focus on advancing new tools to humanely manage populations of pet and un-owned cats and dogs. The $75 million Michelson Prize & Grants in Reproductive Biology, launched in October 2008 by Found Animals Foundation, is inspiring researchers worldwide to focus on the goal of finding new non-surgical approaches to reproduction control.

(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) The growing use of insulin delivery devices such as pens and pumps may help individuals with diabetes optimize blood glucose control and minimize their risk for chronic health problems associated with diabetes, as described in a special supplement to Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert Inc. The issue is available free online.

(ESO) A new robotic telescope has had first light at ESO's La Silla Observatory, in Chile. TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope) is devoted to the study of planetary systems through two approaches: the detection and characterization of planets located outside the solar system (exoplanets) and the study of comets orbiting around the sun. The 60-cm telescope is operated from a control room in Liège, Belgium, 12,000 km away.

(University of Adelaide) Physics experts at the University of Adelaide believe the new ball created for the 2010 World Cup, called the Jabulani, will play "harder and faster," bending more unpredictably than its predecessor.

(Cornell University) Moore's law marches on: In the quest for faster and cheaper computers, scientists have imaged pore structures in insulation material at sub-nanometer scale for the first time. Understanding these structures could substantially enhance computer performance and power usage of integrated circuits, say Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC) and Cornell University scientists.

(Burness Communications) The Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts, today announced more than $1 million in grants to six projects that will conduct health impact assessments at the state and local levels.

(Stanford University) On Thursday, June 10, from 2-3:30 p.m. EDT, Stanford Professor Jon Krosnick will discuss Americans' views on global warming at a public briefing in Washington, DC.

(Arizona State University) The evolution of computer systems has freed us from keyboards and now is focusing on multi-touch systems, those finger flicking, intuitive and easy to learn computer manipulations that speed the use of any electronic device from cell phones to iPads. But little is known about the long-term stresses on our bodies through the use of these systems.

(Elhuyar Fundazioa) Improving the nutrition of dairy cattle is a key instrument for reducing the environmental problems caused by the accumulation of nitrogen on dairy farms.

(New Jersey Institute of Technology) Rima Taher, an expert in the design of low-rise buildings for extreme winds and hurricane, hopes her phone won't ring much this hurricane season. It's already been busy with requests for information about best building design and construction practices to reduce wind pressures on building surfaces.

(Boston College) Boston College researchers report developing a "nanocoax" technology that can support a highly efficient thin film solar cells. The nanocoax structures prove to be thick enough to absorb a sufficient amount of light, yet thin enough to extract current with increased efficiency.

(University of Michigan Health System) A drug designed to target cancerous plasma cells appears promising in treating multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.

(American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics will present six prestigious awards at an awards luncheon at 12 noon on Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago.

(Society of Nuclear Medicine) The most widely used medical radioisotope, Technetium-99m (Tc-99m), is essential for an estimated 70,000 medical imaging procedures that take place daily around the world. Aging reactors, production intermittencies and threats of permanent reactor closures have researchers striving to develop alternative methods of supply. In a comparative study presented at SNM's 57th Annual Meeting, researchers show that medical cyclotrons could be capable of producing this medical isotope.

(Society of Nuclear Medicine) According to a study presented at SNM's 57th Annual Meeting, a new radioisotope generator could enhance images produced by a molecular imaging technique known as positron emission tomography.

(Society of Nuclear Medicine) During SNM's 57th Annual Meeting, investigators presented the results of a multidisciplinary study involving the capture of radiation luminescence and radioactive-excited nanoparticles to help detect subtle signs of disease.

(University at Buffalo) If battery-making is an art, then University at Buffalo scientist Esther Takeuchi is among its most prolific masters, with more than 140 US patents, all in energy storage.