Science and research

Tracking diseases using Google Maps and cell phones

Many of us have relied on rapid diagnostic tests at one time or another, whether it's testing for pregnancy, blood glucose levels, or strep throat.

But while dropping fluid samples on a small strip for near-instantaneous results is affordable and convenient, reading results using the human eye means there is the potential for, well, human error.

So researchers at UCLA have taken the human out of the equation as much as possible and developed a digital "universal" reader for all rapid diagnostic tests, or RDTs, that requires no translation of results.

In the journal Lab on a … Read more

3D X-ray provides window into heart health

Researchers at the University of Liverpool say they have developed a new imaging technique that will help them identify, and thus analyze, tissue fibers in the heart that control whether the muscle beats regularly.

Using a micro CT scanner, the team imaged hearts whose tissue had been highlighted using iodine. The scientists discovered that certain tissue -- the conducting tissue that sends an electrical wave to trigger each heartbeat -- absorbed less of the solution than the muscular tissue.

This contrast made it easier to identify which tissue was producing electrical activity in 3D, which has until this study had … Read more

Neil deGrasse Tyson: Going to Mars vital to future of U.S.

Neil deGrasse Tyson was born the same week in 1958 that NASA was founded. Luck of the draw, perhaps, but the stars clearly have been aligned for a man who today is America's most famous astrophysicist (not to mention director of New York's prestigious Hayden Planetarium).

In recent years, Tyson has also taken on the role of popular educator -- if not public intellectual -- making the case for bigger national investment in space exploration and research. The thrust of his argument is that the pursuit of bold "space adventures" would have the salutary side effect … Read more

Plucking cancer cells from blood via microfluidics

Researchers at Harvard and Children's Hospital Boston have teamed up to create a microfluidic device that harvests and cultures circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood samples.

Such cells are shed by primary tumors and circulate in the bloodstream. They sometimes cause metastases, or new recurrences of cancer distant from the original tumor. As such, these cells can shed important light on how far a given cancer has progressed, how that particular patient might respond to drugs and other treatments, and more.

Reporting in the journal Lab on a Chip, the team describes its approach as combining microfluidics and micromagnetics … Read more

Samsung thinks up mind-reading brain implant

Samsung has applied for a patent on an implantable medical device that can communicate physiological/pathological information with an "external device."

At last, an app to tell us when we're stressed, drunk, or asleep (states that typically occur in that order, at least for me).

Samsung envisions much more than just a pacemaker you connect to. The application includes a number of possible scenarios with sci-fi implications such as a brain implant to keep track of brainwaves (but certainly not embed subliminal messages about the superior quality of Samsung devices) and fingertip implants for motion detection. … Read more

iPavement adds apps to the ground beneath your feet

A Spanish company is hoping to put the word on the street inside the pavement under your feet, starting this summer. Via Inteligente plans to introduce intelligent "iPavement" at this year's International Building & Construction Show in Dubai.

The paving stones sport Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, their own operating system, apps, and sensors -- all with the goal of connecting with locals and passersby to push information ranging from local weather conditions and emergency alerts to maps and coupons for nearby businesses.

Via Inteligente's mission is to turn city streets into information platforms, and it has even gone so far as to develop its own Viacities OS (perhaps one day Viacities and iOS will go head-to-head, literally) to run its initial suite of apps, which it described for the first time in a release:… Read more

Text messages prompting people to get their flu shot

Only about half of kids ages 6 months to 17 years received the flu shot in the 2010-2011 season, which may be one reason influenza remains one of the most common causes of hospitalization among kids today, according to a study in this week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

So researchers from Columbia University and beyond tested an intervention program on a randomized control trial of more than 9,000 kids of that same age range at four community-based clinics in the United States, where more than 7,500 kids had not received the vaccine … Read more

New technique uses virtual slides to view tissue in 3D

Today, pathologists and researchers must cut super-thin slices of tissue samples to view them on a microscope -- a labor-intensive process that renders 3D images created from hundreds of 2D sections prohibitively expensive.

Not to mention tedious to construct. Imagine if a single scene in Halo was presented as a series of 2D images one must perfectly align before getting the lay of, say, a single battleground.

Now, computer scientists and medical researchers at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom say they've devised a novel workaround in the form of a digital scanning system that produces 3D views of tissue samples … Read more

View from space shows Earth in a state of flux

The Earth's appearance has transformed over the course of millions of years. Obviously, for much of that time scientists weren't around to track the Earth's shifting face. But with the advent of the space age in the second half of the 20th century, it became possible to view the planet from afar and get a sweeping perspective. Indeed, an updated NASA gallery published in conjunction with Earth Day 2012 features more than 160 comparison views demonstrating in sharp relief the very real changes that have taken place during the Earth's recent history.