Search Results for: Research

BY MONICA DOBIE
BACTERIA in the digestive tracts of cows and other herbivores, that help break down the tough fibre in their diets, could be used as the base for a biological wood glue. Scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in the United States have discovered that the microbes secrete a sticky outer coating that allows them to cling to a surface, similar to how cavity-causing bacteria adhere to teeth.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
FOLLOWING the success in collecting data about prehistoric climate changes from polar ice cores, the European Union (EU)-funded PROMESS1 project has collected 500,000-year-old sediment samples from the Mediterranean floor. These, said a European Commission note, “will allow researchers to reconstruct climate variations since pre-historic times, thus providing keys for understanding what is happening to Earth’s climate now…holding (geological) archives of past developments”.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
CHILDREN as old as 12 lack the cognitive ability to safely cross streets on their bicycles, according to a University of Iowa study published in the American journal Child Development. Researchers used virtual reality technology to allow participants to ride stationery bicycles through a residential neighbourhood, where cars were travelling between 50 and 70 kilometres per hour.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPEAN Union (EU) research project examining human health damage caused by endocrine-disrupting trace chemicals in food, is now operational. The CASCADE network hopes to increase public awareness and promote better decision on the subject. Endocrine-disrupting chemical residues disrupt hormone distribution and are linked to cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A JOINT European research project has been given Euro 12 million in European Commission funding to perfect techniques for producing antibodies and vaccines from plants to prevent and treat major human diseases, such as AIDS, rabies and TB.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE COUNCIL of Europe’s committee of ministers has adopted the “first international text harmonising ethical and legal standards in biomedical research”. Once ratified, the protocol will cover the non-EU council’s 45 council member countries, including Russia. It sets standards concerning acceptable risks for research participants, and details information they should receive before giving their consent.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is to examine whether a specialist European institute for research into international and national civil law should be established. It is to fund a study investigating the idea, along with the possibility of creating a European network of legal researchers and university departments.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UN Food and Agricultural Organisation has launched a Global Date Palm Network to promote research and exchange of information on production and resources. The FAO says trade restrictions, pests and lack of know-how are causing low date palm yields.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A NEWLY launched European Union (EU)-funded research project will uncover genetic factors linked to depression, helping to develop new drug treatments over the next five years. The NEWMOOD project has received Euro 7.2 million in EU funding. It will help researchers “revolutionise antidepressant drugs, which have not changed much over the past 30 years,” claimed the European Commission.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
AMERICAN scientists have warned that claims the USA is facing an obesity epidemic and that overweight people face serious health risks are exaggerated and misleading.

Paul Campos a University of Colorado professor and author of a book, The Obesity Myth, says that some government research is based on “junk science” that has caused an unnecessary fear across America.…