“Turbulence is the last major unsolved problem of classical physics,” explains Eberhard Bodenschatz, professor of physics who studies turbulence with his research group at Cornell and the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Germany. The group recently moved closer to a solution by measuring how two tiny polystyrene spheres in turbulent water separate based on how far apart they initially are from each other.
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Yale biomedical engineers have created an implantable system that can form and stabilize a functional network of fine blood vessels critical for supporting tissues in the body.
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As much as neuroscientists know about the neural processes that signal touch, surprisingly little is understood about the neural correlates of conscious perception of tactile sensations. In a new study in the open-access journal PLoS Biology, Felix Blankenburg, Jon Driver, and their colleagues turn to a classic somatosensory illusion–called the cutaneous rabbit–that is perfectly suited to decoupling real and illusory touch.
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Discoveries made during the first large-scale analysis of interactions between proteins in our cells hold promise for identifying new genes involved in genetic diseases, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins and the Institute of Bioinformatics (IOB) in Bangalore.
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A Purdue University researcher and his team have used improved satellite imaging and powerful computer modeling to more accurately forecast the likelihood and intensity of storms and tornados.
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Teenage boys being treated for cancer should be encouraged to bank their sperm so they might enjoy a family life in the future, say researchers at the University of Manchester.
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For centuries scientists have thought of deep-sea pelagic fish as nomadic wanderers. However, new results from the ongoing Mid-Atlantic Ridge Ecosystems program have revealed that these fishes may in fact be gathering at features such as ridges or seamounts to spawn. The research has important implications for how deep-sea ecosystems should be managed. MAR-ECO research expeditions have also led to the discovery of as many as six fish species new to science.
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Obese people may be more sensitive to pain than people who aren’t obese, a new study suggests. All of the older adults who completed the study had osteoarthritis of the knee, a disease that causes inflammation and extreme pain in the knees. Participants were given a mild electrical stimulation on their left ankle to measure their pain reflex.
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Some of the globe’s richest soil — known as terra preta, or Amazonian dark earths — can transform poor soil into highly fertile ground. Because terra preta is loaded with so-called bio-char — similar to charcoal — it also can pull substantial amounts of carbon out of the increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere, helping to prevent global warming.
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Gliomas are highly invasive brain tumors with poorly defined borders. Cancer cells separate from the main tumor and migrate to form satellites that escape treatment and often lead to recurrence. An article in the March 1, 2006 issue of Cancer Research reports on an animal study in which bone-marrow derived neural stem cells and a newly discovered cytokine worked synergistically to track and kill glioma cells and offer long-term protection.
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