Safety procedures eliminate some central line infections

Pediatric oncology patients are at uniquely high risk of developing dangerous infections. “Any time a kid gets an infection, it is a failure,” said Michael Rinke, a Hopkins professor of pediatrics in the Division of Quality and Safety and lead investigator on a new study that deals with preventing central line infections in these patients.

Korean creationists face resistance in textbook changes

Scientists in South Korea have finally taken note of a drastic change due to be made in their country's high school biology textbooks thanks to a report in Nature that got their attention. In response to the efforts of the Society for Textbook Revise (STR, Engrish strikes again), Korean scientists have banded together to petition their government to reconsider the decision made by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

No X-ray telescopes, but how about dark energy telescopes?

An artist's rendition of the GEMS X-ray telescope. Courtesy of www.nasa.gov

Scientists invent cloak of invisibility

I’ll admit to being one of the die-hard lunatics at the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows premiere, covered in wizard savvy accessories including an upside-down wooden spoon doubling as a wand. With all of the quizzical stares I endured that night, I could have seriously used Harry’s invisibility cloak.

Recent highlights in cancer research

Two recent developments in cancer research have caught my eye this past week. The first involves the mapping of cancer genomes (looking at the DNA sequences of mutated genes), while the second looks at the karyotypes (the arrangement of chromosomes) of cancer cells.

Fungus may help rice thrive in warmer climate (and feed people)

While humanity may fail to take the necessary actions to curb global warming, there is some hope that the world’s masses may not necessarily starve to death. U.S. Geological Survey researchers based in Seattle have found fungi that grow symbiotically in the roots of salt-tolerant coastal dunegrass can confer the same salt resistance to rice plants. Furthermore these symbiotic fungi, called endophytes, can also give rice greater resistance to other stresses such as heat, cold and droughts.

Hotspots help drive tectonic plates

After more than six years, I can still remember quite a few lessons from my earth science class in eighth grade. One of the more fascinating topics for me was plate tectonics, which explain the movement of the earth’s continents over its extensive geologic history. While I recall that the major force driving these plates is a convection of magma underneath the earth’s crust that pulls and pushes on the plates, yet another force has been found helping to drive these plates.

Increasing benefits of lab-grown meat exposed in new study

Listen up, vegetarians!

In captivity, some chimpanzees have mental breakdowns

Survival for heart and lung transplant patients not affected by time of surgery

Among surgeons performing emergency procedures, fatigue is endemic. Surgeon fatigue is triggered by unpredictable sleeping schedules, emotional stress, missed meals, and complicated procedures that last hours. Thus, it has been long associated with unfavorable surgical turnouts.

A death in the family; please notify your next of Kin

The new World Cup soccer ball: Possessed or perfect?

With the World Cup in full swing, everyone has been caught up in football fever, including physicists.