Researchers at Princeton University have developed a low-cost production method that may lead to greater memory capacity and lower costs for computers, digital cameras, and other consumer electronics. The research has been published in the June 28 issue of Applied Physics Letters.

Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and biotech company Micap have recently produced a new treatment that has the potential to kill the bacterial "superbug" methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). If successful, this treatment could save the lives of over 5,000 patients a year and prevent serious infection in thousands more all over the world.

The largest manufacturers of cigarettes in America are focusing their marketing on undereducated and low-income women of the unskilled working class, according to a study released last month. Citing numerous internal documents, a Tufts University and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) research group concluded that tobacco companies view this segment of the population as a rare opportunity for growth. In research published last month in the journal Tobacco Control, the Massachusetts researchers express hope that this insight into the plans of the tobacco industry will be helpful in guiding future anti-tobacco legislation and awareness efforts.

Researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have found a link between social stress and the risk of uterine cancer. The study, which also reports the effects of moderate alcohol intake on cancer risks in postmenopausal women, was reported in the June issue of Menopause.

Just one week after Cassini-Huygens became the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, mission scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., have released stunning images of the ringed planet and announced some exciting results.

A Mexican bird thought to be extinct for the past 10 years was sighted last month by a team of biologists, according to a report by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and US-based Conservation International (CI).

Adelphi Technology has reported a new neutron microscope prototype in Applied Physics Letters. With a 0.5 millimeter resolution--about half the thickness of a dime--and a 10x magnification capability, the microscope still needs tinkering, but eventually, Adelphi may achieve better image resolution with the neutrons’ single nanometer (nm) wavelength than with visible light, which has wavelengths between 400 and 700 nm.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced today an $11 million project funded by Japan that will restore Iraq's endangered Mesopotamian Marshlands for the benefit of people and wildlife. The UNEP has been anxious to find funding for the project since 2001, when it first reported damming and drainage operations were causing serious damage.

A new connection between the fat-blocking hormone leptin and a potent metabolism-boosting peptide, aMSH, may lead to a novel target for obesity drugs, according to research published in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Bone marrow stem cells may not directly solve liver disease problems, according a report published by researchers at the Oregon Health & Science University. Published in the recent issue of Nature Medicine, the study showed that macrophages, a certain type of white blood cell, are what actually heal diseased liver cells.

Bach, Handel, even the late great Ray Charles – all were icons famous for their contributions to music despite living with acute forms of blindness. Though the notion that sightless artists compose more finely-tuned pieces than sighted artists seems rooted in musical lore, scientists from the University of Montreal and McGill University have published research results lending valid claim to the myth in the current issue of Nature.

Preschoolers with strong storytelling abilities may perform better in mathematics, according to a recent study published in First Language. Daniela O’Neill, a psychology professor at the University of Waterloo, found that three- and four-year-olds who are better able to articulate a picture book to an experimental puppet performed better on mathematical tasks administered two years later.

In a letter to Congress, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced plans to spend $18 million to open a nationally funded stem cell bank. Currently, stem cells are grown in separate locations, often in a variety of conditions and environments that may hinder growth. The NIH hopes that the central center will reduce shipping costs of the stem cells.

Adolescents and young adults who gamble are more likely to have substance use disorders and psychiatric problems, according to an article in the November, 2004 issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry.

Miniature tools, barely visible to the naked eye, are solving pattern-carving problems in glass, ceramics, and other brittle materials, a group of researchers reported in the upcoming December issue of the Journal for Micromechanics and Microengineering.

United Nations University in Venezuela displayed new biotechnology techniques to protect cultural heritage this week at their international symposium. Books, photos, paintings, sculptures, and other artistic treasures are threatened by the harsh tropical environment. However, the specialized program United Nations University Program for Biotechnology in Latin American and the Caribbean (UNU-BIOLAC), directed by José Luis Ramirez, is trying to remedy that. Ramirez’s team uses biotechnology to identify specific organic materials, such as paper and wood, used in art and historical records to devise more effective ways of protecting them.

Our understanding of what is emotionally "good" or "bad" may be generated by dopamine transmitters in the brain, according to a study published in the November issue of Science. A team of researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder found that dopamine concentration is linked to decision-making ability.