51973913
submission
vinces99 writes:
New research estimates that nearly a half-million people died from causes attributable to the war in Iraq from 2003 through 2011. The results – from the first population-based survey since 2006 to estimate war-related deaths in Iraq and the first covering the conflict's full timespan – are published in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine. The researchers found, with 95 percent certainty, that there were some 461,000 more deaths during the study period than would have occurred naturally, but the actual number could be as low as 48,000 or as high as 751,000. The researchers found that for every three people killed by violence during the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq from 2003 to 2011, two more died as a result of the collapse of the infrastructure that supports health care, clean water, nutrition and transportation. To conduct this study, researchers went to 2,000 randomly selected households in Iraq in 100 clusters throughout the country to ensure the sample of households was nationally representative. They asked every household head about births and deaths since 2001, and all household adults about mortality among their siblings.
51533269
submission
cartechboy writes:
A Tesla Model S was involved in an accident in Washington state on Tuesday, and the car's battery pack caught fire (with some of it caught on video). The cause of the accident is pretty clear, and Tesla issued a statement that the vehicle hit "a large metallic object in the middle of the road". Whether that collision immediately set off a fire in the Model S' battery pack isn't known, but a report from the Regional Fire Authority of Kent, Washington went into detail on the battery pack fire saying the car's lithium-ion battery was on fire when firefighters arrived, and spraying water on it had little effect. Firefighters switched to a dry chemical extinguisher and had to puncture numerous holes into the battery pack to extinguish it completely. Aside from the details of how the battery fire happened and was handled, the big question is what effect it will have on how people view Teslas in the near and middle-term. Is this Tesla's version of 2010's high profile Prius recall issue where pundits and critics took the opportunity to stir fears of the cars new technology?
51530827
submission
vinces99 writes:
Oxford researchers recently pulled neural stem cells out of the brains of living rats. Edman Tang and his team first coated magnetic nanoparticles with antibodies that have a tendency to bond with a type of protein found on neural stem cells. After six hours or so, the scientist used a magnet to pull the nanoparticles together, then extracted them from the brain using a syringe, apparently with no damage to the rat's brain. The neural stem cells grew freely in a petri dish once extracted.
51481563
submission
vinces99 writes:
The type of estrogen taken as a pill to treat menopause symptoms could make a difference in the risk of blood clot formation, according to a new study that compared the safety of estradiol and conjugated equine estrogen. Estradiol was associated with a lower risk of leg vein and lung clots. Researchers found that women patients at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle who were prescribed estradiol had fewer of these blood vessel clots than did those prescribed Premarin. Estradiol is a generic, bio-equivalent estrogen. Premarin, a patented drug, is a conjugated equine estrogen. The study, conducted by the University of Washington and Group Health Research Institute, is being published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
51392397
submission
vinces99 writes:
Similar to using Python or Java to write code for a computer, chemists soon could be able to use a structured set of instructions to “program” how DNA molecules interact in a test tube or cell. A team led by the University of Washington has developed a programming language for chemistry that it hopes will streamline efforts to design a network that can guide the behavior of chemical-reaction mixtures in the same way that embedded electronic controllers guide cars, robots and other devices. In medicine, such networks could serve as “smart” drug deliverers or disease detectors at the cellular level.
50932045
submission
vinces99 writes:
Since dried filters from the mouths of filter-feeding rays hit apothecary shop menus in Asia – the thought being that eating ground-up filters will cleanse one’s liver – there’s been no way to know which of these gentle-natured rays was being slaughtered. Unlike predatory rays that attack and crush prey with their mouths, the filter-feeder rays are generally considered harmless, even though one group is named "devil rays" and other other group includes the huge manta that measures up to 23 feet across and weighs 2½ tons. Now, scientists with the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories have discovered enough differences in the filters to be able to identify the giant manta and eight of the devil rays using the part from inside their mouth that has been dried and is being sold. “There is no historical or traditional medical use of these filters and there’s no scientific evidence they will help your liver filter out toxins. Still there are thousands of these ray filters in the markets, especially in Indonesia,” said Misty Paig-Tran, who studied the filters in detail while earning her UW doctorate in biology. One surprising feature the rays share is that they are all capable of cross-flow filtering, Paig-Tran said. So apart from conservation implications, the new findings might be one step toward developing better industrial filters.
50874101
submission
vinces99 writes:
It’s becoming more common to have robots sub for humans to do dirty or sometimes dangerous work. But researchers are finding that, in some cases, people have started to treat robots like pets, friends or even as an extension of themselves. That raises a question: If a soldier attaches human or animal-like characteristics to a field robot, can it affect how they use the robot? What if they “care” too much about the robot to send it into a dangerous situation?
Julie Carpenter, who just received a doctorate in education from the University of Washington, wanted to find out. She interviewed Explosive Ordnance Disposal military personnel – highly trained soldiers who use robots to disarm explosives – about how they feel about the robots they work with every day. What she found is that troops’ relationships with robots continue to evolve as the technology changes. Soldiers told her that attachment to their robots didn’t affect their performance, yet acknowledged they felt a range of emotions such as frustration, anger and even sadness when their field robot was destroyed. That makes Carpenter wonder whether outcomes on the battlefield could potentially be compromised by human-robot attachment, or the feeling of self-extension into the robot described by some operators.
50824263
submission
vinces99 writes:
As NOAA announces a new record for the extent of sea ice in Antarctica, a new modeling study to be published in the Journal of Climate shows that stronger polar winds lead to an increase in Antarctic sea ice, even when Earth's overall climate is getting warmer. The study by Jinlun Zhang, a University of Washington oceanographer, shows that stronger westerly winds swirling around the South Pole can explain 80 percent of the increase in Antarctic sea ice volume during the past three decades. The polar vortex that swirls around the South Pole is not just stronger than it was when satellite records began in the 1970s, it also shoves the sea ice together to cause ridging. Stronger winds also drive ice faster, which leads to still more deformation and ridging. This creates thicker, longer-lasting ice, while exposing surrounding water and thin ice to the blistering cold winds that cause more ice growth. A computer simulation that includes detailed interactions between wind and sea shows that thick ice — more than 6 feet deep — increased by about 1 percent per year from 1979 to 2010, while the amount of thin ice stayed fairly constant. The end result is a thicker, slightly larger ice pack that lasts longer into the summer.
50760299
submission
vinces99 writes:
When someone has cancer, some of the body's cells have changed and are growing uncontrollably. Most cancer drugs try to treat the disease by killing those fast-growing cells, but another approach called immunotherapy tries to stimulate a person’s immune system to attack the cancer itself. Now, scientists at the University of Washington have developed a strategy to slow tumor growth and prolong survival in mice with cancer by targeting and destroying a type of cell that dampens the body’s immune response to cancer. The researchers published their findings this week (Sept. 16) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Our immune system normally patrols for and eliminates abnormal cells. Macrophages are a type of helpful immune cell that can be converted to the “dark side” by signals they receive from a tumor. When inside a tumor, macrophages can switch from helping the immune system to suppressing the body’s immune response to cancer. Several studies show a correlation between the number of macrophages in tumor biopsies and poor prognosis for patients, the researchers say. The UW team developed a method to target and eliminate the cancer-supporting macrophages in mouse tumors. This strategy, the researchers predict, could be used along with current treatments such as chemotherapy for cancer patients.
50593403
submission
vinces99 writes:
About 3 billion people, or 42 percent of the world’s population, rely on burning materials such as wood, animal dung or coal in stoves for cooking and heating their homes. Often these stoves are crudely designed, and poor ventilation and damp wood can create a smoky, hazardous indoor environment day after day. A recent study in The Lancet estimates that 3.5 million people die each year as a result of indoor air pollution from open fires or rudimentary stoves in their homes. More than 900,000 people die from pneumonia alone, which has been linked to indoor air pollution. University of Washington engineers hope to make a dent in these numbers by designing a cookstove that meets a stringent set of emission and efficiency standards while still being affordable and attractive to families who cook over a flame each day. The team has received a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to design a better cookstove, which researchers say will use half as much fuel and cut emissions by 90 percent.
50251231
submission
vinces99 writes:
Computer-designed proteins that can recognize and interact with small biological molecules are now a reality. Scientists have succeeded in creating a protein molecule that can be programmed to unite with three different steroids. The achievement could have far wider ranging applications in medicine and other fields, according to the Protein Design Institute at the University of Washington. “This is a major step toward building proteins for use as biosensors or molecular sponges, or in synthetic biology — giving organisms new tools to perform a task,” said one of the lead researchers, Christine E. Tinberg, a UW postdoctoral fellow in biochemistry.
50250931
submission
vinces99 writes:
Throughout Asia, humans and monkeys live side-by-side in many urban areas. An international research team has been examining transmission of a virus from monkeys to humans in Bangladesh, one of the world’s most densely populated countries.The scientists have found that some people in these urban areas are concurrently infected with multiple strains of simian foamy virus, including recombinant strains — those from more than one source — originally detected in the monkeys. Asian rhesus macaques are very responsive to change, researchers say, and unlike many other species of primates they will continue thriving in human-altered habitats. Simian foamy viruses, which are ubiquitous in nonhuman primates, are retroviruses that exhibit high levels of mutation and recombination – a potentially explosive combination. By analyzing what is happening at the human-primate interface, the researchers hope to protect humans from another deadly outbreak similar to HIV.
49980687
submission
vinces99 writes:
University of Washington researchers have performed what they believe is the first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface, with one researcher able to send a brain signal via the Internet to control the hand motions of a fellow researcher. Using electrical brain recordings and a form of magnetic stimulation, Rajesh Rao sent a brain signal to Andrea Stocco on the other side of the UW campus, causing Stocco's finger to move on a keyboard. The researchers believe this is the first demonstration of human-to-human brain interfacing. Rao looked at a computer screen and played a simple video game with his mind. When he was supposed to fire a cannon at a target, he imagined moving his right hand (but didn't actually move it) to cause a cursor to hit the "fire" button. Almost instantaneously, Stocco, who wore noise-canceling earbuds and wasn't looking at a computer screen, involuntarily moved his right index finger to push the space bar on the keyboard in front of him, as if firing the cannon. Stocco, who jokingly referred to the phenomenon as "the Vulcan mind meld," compared the feeling of his hand moving involuntarily to that of a nervous tic.
49955109
submission
vinces99 writes:
Each year, millions of people in the United States get a tuberculosis skin test to see if they have the infection that still affects one-third of the world’s population. But the standard diagnostic test is difficult to give, because a hypodermic needle must be inserted at a precise angle and depth in the arm to successfully check for tuberculosis. Now, researchers have created a patch with tiny biodegradable needles that can penetrate the skin and precisely deliver a tuberculosis test. “With a microneedle test there’s little room for user error, because the depth of delivery is determined by the microneedle length rather than the needle-insertion angle,” said senior author Marco Rolandi, a University of Washington assistant professor of materials science and engineering. “This test is painless and easier to administer than the traditional skin test with a hypodermic needle.” A tuberculosis test is a common precautionary measure for teachers, health care professionals and international travelers. The bacterial infection usually attacks the lungs and can live in the body in an inactive state for years. A diagnostic test involves an injection in a person’s arm. Within two or three days, a swollen, firm bump will appear if an infection is present. The new test is like putting on a bandage — as long as the patch is applied on the skin, the test is always delivered to the same depth beneath the skin.
49772499
submission
vinces99 writes:
It is well known to scientists that the three common phases of water – ice, liquid and vapor – can exist stably together only at a particular temperature and pressure, called the triple point. Also well known is that the solid form of many materials can have numerous phases, but it is difficult to pinpoint the temperature and pressure for the points at which three solid phases can coexist stably. Physicists now have made the first-ever accurate determination of a solid-state triple point in a substance called vanadium dioxide, which is known for switching rapidly – in as little as one 10-trillionth of a second – from an electrical insulator to a conductor, and thus could be useful in various technologies. "These solid-state triple points are fiendishly difficult to study, essentially because the different shapes of the solid phases makes it hard for them to match up happily at their interfaces," said David Cobden, a University of Washington physics professor who is lead author of a paper about the research published in Nature. "There are, in theory, many triple points hidden inside a solid, but they are very rarely probed."
