AlphaGalileo

The usual excuse of "lack of time" for not doing enough exercise is blown away by new research published in The Journal of Physiology. The study, from scientists at Canada's McMaster University, adds to the growing evidence for the benefits of short term high-intensity interval training (HIT) as a time-efficient but safe alternative to traditional types of moderate long term exercise. Astonishingly, it is possible to get more by doing less!

Cuando las condiciones son adversas, no queda más remedio que adaptarse a ellas. Las plantas también lo hacen. Algunas hierbas que crecen en terrenos mineros tienen una resistencia inusual; están acostumbradas a vivir en un entorno tóxico y saben cómo hacerle frente. Partiendo de esta capacidad de adaptación, la investigadora Lur Epelde ha usado estas plantas como hierbas medicinales para suelos contaminados.

The winner of the 2010 Michael Young Prize has been announced as Dr Ann Le Mare for her work on the impact of fair trade on the wellbeing of women, businesses and organisations in Bangladesh. This prestigious prize is awarded for excellence in the social sciences and is sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and The Young Foundation.

Bayer hat mit einer internationalen Phase-III-Studie begonnen, mit der der Einsatz des Kontrastmittels Gadovist zur frühzeitigen Erkennung von Brustkrebs untersucht wird.

28/03/2010 — 30/03/2010, University of Leicester
Second 'Writing England' conference at the University of Leicester: 28th - 30th April 2010

From Thursday 11 to Monday 22 March, in Trento, on show the art installation by Anna Scalfi on the cooperation between FBK researchers and a group of elderly citizens within the frame work of the European project ‘Netcarity’.

Les données fournies par le satellite franco-européen CoRoT, en orbite depuis trois ans, permettent aujourd’hui à une équipe internationale d’astrophysiciens de localiser pour la première fois la zone de variation de composition chimique d’une étoile, en l’occurrence l’étoile massive HD50230 (qui représente six fois la masse du Soleil). Leurs résultats sont exposés cette semaine dans la revue Nature.

Take a bunch of fast-moving electrons, place them in orbit and then hit them with the shock waves from a solar storm. What do you get? Killer electrons. That's the shocking recipe revealed by ESA's Cluster mission.

Putting male names before female names in writing is a remnant of sexist thinking. This is the finding of a study published online today, 15th March 2010, in the British Journal of Social Psychology by Dr Peter Hegarty and colleagues of the University of Surrey.

Nicht nur Landvögel, auch manche Seevögel legen ungeheure Distanzen zurück: Der Dunkle Sturmtaucher beispielsweise umrundet auf seiner Reise anderthalb Mal die Erde. Trotzdem ist das Zugverhalten von Seevögeln im Vergleich zu ihren auf dem Land lebenden Verwandten kaum bekannt. Wissenschaftler vom Max-Planck-Institut für Ornithologie haben das Zugverhalten von Dünnschnabel-Walvögeln untersucht und entdeckt, dass die Tiere ihre Mauserzeit in zwei weit auseinander liegenden Gebieten verbringen. Manche Seevögel können also offenbar ihren Lebensraum äußerst flexibel wechseln, wenn es die Bedingungen erfordern - eine lebensnotwendige Anpassung an die unvorhersehbaren Bedingungen auf hoher See. (Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, online zuerst veröffentlicht, 9. März 2010)

Danish industrial players have expressed a strong need for support in the process to push fuel cell and hydrogen technologies from the research and development stage into the commercial domain. Risø DTU has now with Danish Gas Technology Center (DGC) as partner received support from the Danish Programme for Energy Technology Development and Demonstration (EUPD) to initialize a center which will eventually support industry with test, development, analysis, approval, certification, consultation, and training in the areas of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies.

A German-Spanish research group, split between the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching and the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), is using the principles of an iconic quantum mechanics thought experiment - Schrödinger’s superpositioned cat – to test for quantum properties in objects composed of as many as one billion atoms, possibly including the flu virus.

Le travail, réalisé au Département de Didactique de l’Expression musicale, plastique et corporelle de l’Université de Grenade, souligne que, malgré l’opinion souvent contraire des parents, les jeux vidéo ne sont pas un facteur déterminant à l’heure d’obtenir un bon résultat académique. Son auteur a analysé un échantillon composé de 266 participants entre 11-16 ans, accompagnés d’un de leurs parents.

Contrary to what many parents think, video games are not a determining factor in obtaining a good academic result, according to a research carried out at the Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Corporal Expression at the UGR. Its author analyzed a sample of 266 participants aged between 11 and 16, together with their corresponding parents.

El trabajo, realizado en el Departamento de Didáctica de la Expresión Musical, Plástica y Corporal de la UGR, destaca que, en contra de lo que muchos padres piensan, los videojuegos no son un factor determinante a la hora de obtener un buen resultado académico. Su autora analizó una muestra formada por 266 participantes con edades comprendidas entre 11 y 16 años, junto con sus correspondientes padres o madres

Empa researchers once wanted to build aircraft wings based on compliant systems, which would continually change shape in response to the air flow resistance, obviating the need for rigid flap and rudder surfaces. A range of different industries are interested in so-called “smart” systems because they can be used to make low-maintenance (and therefore economic) products such as medical tools and robot gripper arms.

New journal focusing on how family and business dynamics affect strategy

Research programme at the University of Leicester has potential for therapies for lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and types of cancer

Una variación genética en las mitocondrias, las fábricas energéticas de las células, impide que los jóvenes obesos con diabetes de tipo 2 respondan al ejercicio físico. La dieta y el ejercicio aeróbico son muy efectivos para el tratamiento de la diabetes de tipo 2, pero no funciona en personas obesas que han desarrollado la enfermedad de muy jóvenes. Un estudio del Instituto de Investigación Biomédica (IRB Barcelona) y el Trinity College de Dublín demuestra que los jóvenes obesos diabéticos de entre 18 y 25 años tienen proteínas y genes mitocondriales que funcionan de manera anormal y estas anomalías contribuyen a generar resistencia a la insulina y una respuesta muy reducida al ejercicio físico. La revista Diabetes Care, de la Diabetis American Association donde se recogen los estudios clínicos de mayor relevancia, publicará los resultados en el próximo número de marzo.

Die Max-Planck-Innovation GmbH, die Technologietransfer-Organisation der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, schließt mit der bbi-biotech GmbH zwei exklusive Lizenzverträge zur Entnahme von flüssigen Proben. Die am Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik komplexer technischer Systeme in Magdeburg entwickelte Technologie ermöglicht eine sterile und sparsame Probenahme für die Bioprozessanalytik.