Physorg

Nanodiamonds designed to toughen artificial joints also might prevent the inflammation caused when hardworking metal joints shed debris into the body, according to an early study published this week in the journal Acta Biomaterialia.

(Medical Xpress) -- Obesity and chronic liver disease can be triggered by a family of proteins that alter populations of microbes in the stomach, a discovery that suggests the condition may be infectious, Yale scientists report. The study, in the advance online publication of Nature, expands on earlier Yale research that showed how similar microbial imbalances caused by the same family of proteins increases the risk of intestinal diseases such as colitis.

A nine-year-old girl is making what doctors described as a remarkable recovery Sunday, days after surgeons transplanted six of her organs in a groundbreaking medical procedure.

A proposal to use new diagnostic criteria for autism has roiled the US medical community, with many experts concerned that the move could exclude children affected by some forms of the disorder.

University of British Columbia researchers have discovered the molecular pathway that enables receptors inside immune cells to find, and flag, fragments of pathogens trying to invade a host.

North Carolina State University researchers have created specially engineered mammalian cells to provide a new "chemical handle" which will enable researchers to label proteins of interest more efficiently, without disrupting the normal function of the proteins themselves or the cells in which they are found.

Plants leaves are sealed with a gas-tight wax layer to prevent water loss. Plants breathe through microscopic pores called stomata (Greek for mouths) on the surfaces of leaves. Over 40% of the carbon dioxide, CO2, in the atmosphere passes through stomata each year, as well a water volume twice that of the whole atmosphere. As the key conduits for CO2 uptake and water evaporation, stomata are critical for both our climate and plant productivity. Thus, not surprisingly, the total number and distribution of stomata are strictly regulated by plants to optimize photosynthesis while minimizing water loss.

A genetic variant that increases the risk of a common type of stroke has been identified by scientists in a study published online in Nature Genetics today. This is one of the few genetic variants to date to be associated with risk of stroke and the discovery opens up new possibilities for treatment.

Scientists at the University of Southampton, in collaboration with Penn State University have, for the first time, embedded the high level of performance normally associated with chip-based semiconductors into an optical fibre, creating high-speed optoelectronic function.

Some climate cooling caused by past volcanic eruptions may not be evident in tree-ring reconstructions of temperature change because large enough temperature drops lead to greatly shortened or even absent growing seasons, according to climate researchers, who compared tree-ring temperature reconstructions with model simulations of past temperature changes.

A new study shows that land-cover changes, in particular deforestation, in the vicinity of glaciers do not have an impact on glacier loss. However, the study, in which Innsbruck climate researcher were directly involved, also shows that deforestation decreases precipitation in mid elevation zones, which affects the quality of life of the population living in the surrounding areas. The study is published online in Nature Climate Change on Feb. 5 2012.

(PhysOrg.com) -- Mischief-making hackers, always willing to try clever ways to bypass advanced security safeguards, have figured out a way to make off like bandits, literally. According to a BBC report, the exploit first tricks account-owning victims by presenting offers of training for an upgraded security system. The hacker criminals, with their victims unaware, proceed to move money out of these users’ accounts.

A massive project to divert water from China's south to its drought-prone north -- which has seen hundreds of thousands of people relocated -- will become partly operational next year, state media reported.

Online hackers' group Anonymous blocked temporarily on Saturday the website of Slovenia's largest bank NLB, while thousands protested in Ljubljana against an anti-piracy pact.

Germany, holding up better than its eurozone partners in the current debt crisis, is battling the increasingly widespread phenomenon of "burnout" which it says is costing its economy billions of euros (dollars) each year.

You're not allowed to light a cigarette in New York bars, but there's nothing to stop a bartender from setting your cocktail on fire with a 815 degrees Celsius (1,500 degrees Fahrenheit) poker.

Battles between three Mexican billionaires over control of the lucrative telecoms sector heated up again this week, intensified by international criticism of monopolistic practices.

India, Russia, the United States, China and other countries will meet in Moscow this month to decide whether to retaliate against the EU's decision to impose a carbon tax on air travel, a report says.

(AP) -- A group linked to the hacker network Anonymous says it has attacked the Swedish government's website and shut it down by overloading it.

Health workers in Nepal are to cull thousands of chickens following the discovery of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in the southeastern part of the Himalayan country, officials said Sunday.