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PhysOrg.com
New map IDs the core of the human brain An international team of researchers has created the first complete high-resolution map of how millions of neural fibers in the human cerebral cortex -- the outer layer of the brain responsible for higher level thinking -- connect and communicate. Their groundbreaking work identified a single network core, or hub, that may be key to the workings of both hemispheres of the brain. New electrostatic-based DNA microarray technique could revolutionize medical diagnostics The dream of personalized medicine — in which diagnostics, risk predictions and treatment decisions are based on a patient's genetic profile — may be on the verge of being expanded beyond the wealthiest of nations with state-of-the-art clinics. Breakthrough in efficiency for dye-sensitized solar cells In a paper published in the journal Nature Materials, EPFL professor Michael Graetzel, Shaik Zakeeruddin and colleagues from the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have achieved a record light conversion efficiency of 8.2% in solvent-free dye-sensitized solar cells. Sweat, luck and eureka: Recipes for scientific discovery Every week thousands of academic articles heralding discoveries in medicine and science are vetted and validated before being published in no-nonsense journals with names such as "Acta Crystallographica," "Methods in Enzymology," or "Macromolecules". South China may get first panda breeding centre: report South China may get its first panda breeding centre, taking over some of the animals driven from their home by last month's powerful earthquake in the country's far southwest, state media said Friday. Huge genome-scale phylogenetic study of birds rewrites evolutionary tree-of-life The largest ever study of bird genetics has not only shaken up but completely redrawn the avian evolutionary tree. The study challenges current classifications, alters our understanding of avian evolution, and provides a valuable resource for phylogenetic and comparative studies in birds. Oak Ridge pegged for national ecological network Dozens of instruments to be deployed on the Oak Ridge Reservation and other sites around the nation will provide valuable information related to climate change, biodiversity and invasive species, infectious diseases and other areas of interest. Home-based cognitive behavioral therapy relieves IBS symptoms Persons with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can relieve their symptoms as effectively by following a self-administered, at-home cognitive behavioral program as they can by undergoing a 10-week in-office program administered by a trained therapist, a new pilot study has shown. The findings are important because there are no reliable medicines available to treat successfully the full range of symptoms of this chronic, often debilitating, disorder that affects an estimated 14-24 percent of women and 5-19 percent of men in the U.S. New Process Creates 3-D Nanostructures with Magnetic Materials Materials scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a process to build complex, three-dimensional nanoscale structures of magnetic materials such as nickel or nickel-iron alloys using techniques compatible with standard semiconductor manufacturing. The process could enable whole new classes of sensors and microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices. Destruction of greenhouse gases over tropical Atlantic Large amounts of ozone - around 50% more than predicted by the world's state-of-the-art climate models - are being destroyed in the lower atmosphere over the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Published today (26th June '08) in the scientific journal, Nature, this startling discovery was made by a team of scientists from the UK's National Centre for Atmospheric Science and Universities of York and Leeds. It has particular significance because ozone in the lower atmosphere acts as a greenhouse gas and its destruction also leads to the removal of the third most abundant greenhouse gas; methane. ... |