Science Quick Picks » Health and Science

New Fluorescent Silicon Nanoparticles

Jorge Goncalves — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:39:53 +0000

University of Leicester researchers discover new fluorescent silicon nanoparticles. Researchers in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester have developed a new synthesis method, which has led them to the discovery of fluorescent silicon nanoparticles and may ultimately help track the uptake of drugs by the body’s cells.

Dr Klaus von Haeften explained: “A key advantage of the new method is the independent control of the nanoparticles’ size and their surface properties. The method is extremely versatile and produces the fluorescent suspensions in one go. The findings may revolutionise the performance of electronic chips while satisfying the increasing demand for higher integration densities.”

The nanoparticles contain just a few hundred silicon atoms and their fluorescence were discovered after mixing them with water. This resulted in stability in fluorescence intensity over more than a three month period.

This is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog with quick links to the world of Science.

New Fluorescent Silicon Nanoparticles

Enviro-Health Links – 2009 H1N1 Flu

Jorge Goncalves — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:11:21 +0000

Enviro-Health Links – 2009 H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) is a huge collection of links to H1N1 Flu related materials. These links are presented in several categories like Federal and Local Response, International Resources, Guidance for Professionals, Maps, News, Twitter, Webcasts, Information from the National Library of Medicine (drugs information, consumer health information, biomedical journal literature, influenza virus sequence database), Veterinary Resources and Full text Journals and Books.

This valuable collection of links was compiled by the Specialized Information Services (SIS) of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM).

This is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog with quick links to the world of Science.

Enviro-Health Links – 2009 H1N1 Flu

Christine Laine Named Editor of Annals of Internal Medicine

Jorge Goncalves — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:12:25 +0000

The American College of Physicians (ACP) has named Christine Laine editor of its flagship journal, Annals of Internal Medicine. A former vice president and senior deputy editor of Annals, Christine Laine succeeds Harold C. Sox who will retire in July.

The Annals of Internal Medicine New Editor is the youngest editor in the history of Annals of Internal Medicine and brings a unique perspective to the journal. She plans to continue the tradition of excellence established by her predecessors, while striving to chart new and innovative courses that will help to make the journal invaluable to general internists and subspecialists alike.

Christine Laine, a widely respected name in the field of medical journalism, is Secretariat for the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, the Vice President of the Council of Science Editors, and a member of the Ethics Committee of the World Association of Medical Editors. She is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Internal Medicine at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia where she continues to teach and see patients.

Established in 1927 by the American College of Physicians (ACP), the Annals of Internal Medicine is the leading journal for studies in internal medicine. The purpose of the journal is to promote excellence in the clinical practice of internal medicine. Annals of Internal Medicine is one of the most widely cited peer-reviewed medical journals in the world. The journal accepts only 7 percent of the original research studies submitted for publication.

This is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog with quick links to the world of Science.

Christine Laine Named Editor of Annals of Internal Medicine

FluTracker: Tracking the Progress of H1N1 Swine Flu

Jorge Goncalves — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:19:01 +0000

FluTracker: Tracking the Progress of H1N1 Swine Flu. The map and the data behind it were compiled by Dr. Henry Niman, a biomedical researcher in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, using technology provided by Rhiza Labs and Google. The map was compiled using data from official sources, news reports and user-contributions.

This is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog with quick links to the world of Science.

FluTracker: Tracking the Progress of H1N1 Swine Flu

All H1N1 Related Articles Published in PNAS Freely Available Online

Jorge Goncalves — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:08:57 +0000

Seen on Liblicense – All H1N1 (swine flu) related articles published in PNAS are now freely available online: In light of the current alert about H1N1 (swine flu) issued by the World Health Organization and the public health emergency declared by the United States government, PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) has made related research articles free online at www.pnas.org to assist with research on this topic.

Twelve research articles published within the past 6 months are now freely available online. All PNAS articles are accessible at no charge after 6 months.

This is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog with quick links to the world of Science.

All H1N1 Related Articles Published in PNAS Freely Available Online

HealthMap – Global Disease Alert Map

Jorge Goncalves — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:38:07 +0000

HealthMap brings together disparate data sources to achieve a unified and comprehensive view of the current global state of infectious diseases and their effect on human and animal health. This freely available Web site integrates outbreak data of varying reliability, ranging from news sources (such as Google News) to curated personal accounts (such as ProMED) to validated official alerts (such as World Health Organization). Through an automated text processing system, the data is aggregated by disease and displayed by location for user-friendly access to the original alert. HealthMap provides a jumping-off point for real-time information on emerging infectious diseases and has particular interest for public health officials and international travelers.

Also from HealthMap: Swine flu alerts on Twitter.

This is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog with quick links to the world of Science.

HealthMap – Global Disease Alert Map

NIEHS: Environmental Health Science Education

Jorge Goncalves — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:59:03 +0000

The Environmental Health Science Education website provides educators, students and scientists with easy access to reliable tools, resources and classroom materials. It seeks to invest in the future of environmental health science by increasing awareness of the link between the environment and human health.

Resources for Teachers, Students and Scientists.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The NIEHS is one of 27 research institutes and centers that comprise the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The mission of the NIEHS is to reduce the burden of human illness and disability by understanding how the environment influences the development and progression of human disease.

This is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog with quick links to the world of Science.

NIEHS: Environmental Health Science Education

Time on Cancer

Jorge Goncalves — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 20:47:54 +0000

Time: Cancer. ‘While more people die of heart disease in the U.S. than cancer, cancer is still one of the most feared diagnoses a person can receive. There are good reasons for this. Cancer’s ability to cause pain is notorious and some of the treatments used to fight the disease can themselves make you very sick. Fortunately, not all cancers fall into such extreme categories. And while no cure is in sight, a lot of progress has been made in prevention, treatment and controlling cancer pain as well as the side effects of treatment.’

This is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog with quick links to the world of Science.

Time on Cancer

On the Road to an Antitumor Vaccine

Jorge Goncalves — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 20:54:17 +0000

Polymeric Nanoparticles for Tumor Vaccines. ‘The quest for an effective antitumor vaccine has received a boost from the results of work aimed at developing a nanoparticle that delivers tumor antigens to the immune system cells that trigger antibody production. The results of this effort, led by Shinsaku Nakagawa, Ph.D., and Naoki Okada, Ph.D., of Osaka University in Japan, were published in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications.

Vaccines are complex preparations of proteins and other materials designed to produce maximal immune response to those proteins. One factor that determines a vaccine’s potency is the ability of this mixture to trigger a recognition event between the protein antigen and immune system cells known as antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Using the biocompatible polymer poly(y-glutamic acid), the investigators were able to create self-assembling nanoparticles that entrap proteins as they form. The resulting nanoparticles were relatively stable, releasing their protein content over the course of a month. The investigators also demonstrated that they could freeze-dry these nanoparticles and reconstitute them without altering the functionality of the entrapped protein, a desirable property for any vaccine vehicle designed for use outside of major medical centers.’

This is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog with quick links to the world of Science.

On the Road to an Antitumor Vaccine

More Testosterone Poisoning: ‘Humour Comes From Testosterone’

Jorge Goncalves — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 21:31:57 +0000

Humour ‘comes from testosterone’. ‘Men are naturally more comedic than women because of the male hormone testosterone, an expert claims.

Men make more gags than women and their jokes tend to be more aggressive, Professor Sam Shuster, of Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, says.

The unicycling doctor observed how the genders reacted to his “amusing” hobby. Women tended to make encouraging, praising comments, while men jeered. The most aggressive were young men, he told the British Medical Journal. Previous findings have suggested women and men differ in how they use and appreciate humour.

Women tend to tell fewer jokes than men and male comedians outnumber female ones.’

This is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog with quick links to the world of Science.

More Testosterone Poisoning: ‘Humour Comes From Testosterone’

Identifying Tumors with Gold Nanoparticles and ScFv Peptides

Jorge Goncalves — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 20:56:54 +0000

Gold nanoparticle probes may allow earlier cancer detection. ‘Using tiny gold particles embedded with dyes, researchers have shown that they can identify tumors under the skin of a living animal. These tools may allow doctors to detect and diagnose cancer earlier and less invasively

Studded with antibody fragments called ScFv peptides that bind cancer cells, the gold particles grab onto tumors after their injection into a mouse. When illuminated with a laser beam, the tumor-bound particles send back a signal that is specific to the dye, scientists at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology report.

The results appear online Dec. 23 in the journal Nature Biotechnology and are scheduled for publication in the Jan. 1, 2008 print edition.

“This is a new class of nanotechnology agents for tumor targeting and imaging,” says senior author Shuming Nie, PhD, a professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.

Dr. Nie and his collaborators at the Emory/Georgia Tech Cancer Nanotechnology Center of Excellence have been developing light-emitting semiconductor crystals called “quantum dots” into tools for cancer detection and treatment for several years. However, colloidal gold, or gold particles in suspension, offers advantages compared with quantum dots in that the gold appears to be non-toxic and the particles produce a brighter, sharper signal, Dr. Nie says.

“The detail is like a fingerprint, and because of the enhancement provided by the gold surface, the signal from the dye tags is very bright,” he says, adding that the distinct peaks in the dye signal mean several different probes could be used at the same time.’

This is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog with quick links to the world of Science.

Identifying Tumors with Gold Nanoparticles and ScFv Peptides

Bad News for Biofuels: Five-Year Moratorium Proposed

Jorge Goncalves — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:08:32 +0000

BBC News: Biofuels ‘crime against humanity’. ‘A United Nations expert has condemned the growing use of crops to produce biofuels as a replacement for petrol as a crime against humanity. The UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler, said he feared biofuels would bring more hunger. The growth in the production of biofuels has helped to push the price of some crops to record levels. Mr Ziegler’s remarks, made at the UN headquarters in New York, are clearly designed to grab attention. He complained of an ill-conceived dash to convert foodstuffs such as maize and sugar into fuel, which created a recipe for disaster.’

IMF Survey: Biofuel Demand Pushes Up Food Prices. ‘Futures markets indicate that high prices are likely to continue over the medium term, providing incentives for a surge in biofuel production as a supplement to transportation fuels. This, together with droughts and animal diseases, has pushed up food prices and inflation across the globe.’

UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food

BBC News Quick Guide on Biofuels

This is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog with quick links to the world of Science.

Bad News for Biofuels: Five-Year Moratorium Proposed

Lab-on-a-Chip to Detect H5N1

Jorge Goncalves — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 13:35:46 +0000

Made in Singapore Lab-on-a-chip Device to Transform Field Testing for Avian Flu Virus (PDF). ‘Researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) and Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) have successfully developed a miniaturized device that can be used to detect the highly pathogenic avian flu (H5N1) virus. If successfully commercialized, this device could be deployed in affected regions for pre-emptive surveillance of nascent avian flu epidemic.

According to project leader and lead author of the Nature Medicine publication, IBN Research Scientist Dr Juergen Pipper, “With our device, medical or humanitarian aid workers would be able to detect the presence of the H5N1 virus directly from throat swab samples on-site in less than half an hour”.’

This is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog with quick links to the world of Science.

Lab-on-a-Chip to Detect H5N1

Call for Public Comments: Prioritization of Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Needs for Engineered Nanoscale Materials

Jorge Goncalves — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 23:36:22 +0000

Prioritization of Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Needs for Engineered Nanoscale Materials (PDF). The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), on behalf of the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee of the Committee on Technology, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), is requesting public comments on the newly released document Prioritization of Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Needs for Engineered Nanoscale Materials. Comments can be submitted through September 17, 2007.

This is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog with quick links to the world of Science.

Call for Public Comments: Prioritization of Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Needs for Engineered Nanoscale Materials

Coffee and Exercise May Help Prevent Skin Cancer

Jorge Goncalves — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:31:41 +0000

Caffeine and Exercise Can Team Up to Prevent Skin Cancer. ‘Regular exercise and little or no caffeine has become a popular lifestyle choice for many Americans. But a new Rutgers study has found that it may not be the best formula for preventing sun-induced skin damage that could lead to cancer. Low to moderate amounts of caffeine, in fact, along with exercise can be good for your health.

Groups of hairless mice, whose exposed skin is vulnerable to the sun, were the test subjects in experiments in which one set drank caffeinated water (the human equivalent of one or two cups of coffee a day); another voluntarily exercised on a running wheel; while a third group both drank and ran. A fourth group, which served as a control, didn’t run and didn’t caffeinate. All of the mice were exposed to lamps that generated UVB radiation that damaged the DNA in their skin cells.

Some degree of programmed cell death, also known as apoptosis, was observed in the DNA-damaged cells of all four groups, but the caffeine drinkers and exercisers showed an increase over the UVB-treated control group. Apoptosis is a way in which cells with badly damaged DNA commit suicide – UVB-damaged cells in this case.

“If apoptosis takes place in a sun-damaged cell, its progress toward cancer will be aborted,” said Allan Conney, director of Rutgers’ Cullman Laboratory.

Compared to the UVB-exposed control animals, the caffeine drinkers showed an approximately 95 percent increase in UVB-induced apoptosis, the exercisers showed a 120 percent increase, while the mice that were both drinking and exercising showed a nearly 400 percent increase.’

This is a post from Science Quick Picks, a blog with quick links to the world of Science.

Coffee and Exercise May Help Prevent Skin Cancer

Science Quick Picks » Health and Science

New Fluorescent Silicon Nanoparticles

Related posts

Enviro-Health Links – 2009 H1N1 Flu

Related posts

Christine Laine Named Editor of Annals of Internal Medicine

Related posts

FluTracker: Tracking the Progress of H1N1 Swine Flu

Related posts

All H1N1 Related Articles Published in PNAS Freely Available Online

Related posts

HealthMap – Global Disease Alert Map

Related posts

NIEHS: Environmental Health Science Education

Related posts

Time on Cancer

Related posts

On the Road to an Antitumor Vaccine

Related posts

More Testosterone Poisoning: ‘Humour Comes From Testosterone’

Related posts

Identifying Tumors with Gold Nanoparticles and ScFv Peptides

Related posts

Bad News for Biofuels: Five-Year Moratorium Proposed

Related posts

Lab-on-a-Chip to Detect H5N1

Related posts

Call for Public Comments: Prioritization of Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Needs for Engineered Nanoscale Materials

Related posts

Coffee and Exercise May Help Prevent Skin Cancer

Related posts