Biometrics: Tell Me By The Way I Walk: Biometrics is commonly associated retinal scans, iris recognition and DNA databases, but researchers in India are working on another form of biometrics that could allow law enforcement agencies and airport security to recognize suspects based on the way they were, their characteristic gait. Viewed from the side, we each have a unique gait that makes us easily recognizable.
Cells That Initiate A Common Infant Tumor Identified: Infantile hemangiomas, exemplified by the strawberry-like patches that appear on the skin of infants soon after birth, are benign tumors that develop in 5 percent of Caucasian infants, and usually disappear by the age of 9 without treatment. Researchers have now identified the cells that give rise to these tumors and used them to develop a new mouse model of this disease, which they hope to use to identify new therapeutic targets.
Drilling, Not Earthquake, Caused Java Mud Volcano, Report Confirms: A two-year-old mud volcano which is still spewing huge volumes of mud, has displaced more than 30,000 people and caused millions of dollars worth of damage was caused by the drilling of a gas exploration well, an international team of scientists has concluded.
Honeybee Dance Breaks Down Cultural Barrier: Asian and European honeybees can learn to understand one another’s dance languages despite having evolved different forms of communication, an international research team has shown for the first time.
Inhalable Form Of Gene-therapy Takes Aim At Lung Cancer And Inflammatory Lung Disease: A new inhalable form of gene therapy — based on technology recognized in the 2006 Nobel medicine prize, shows increasing promise for treating lung cancer, infectious diseases and inflammatory lung disease, scientists have concluded after an exhaustive review of worldwide research on the topic.
Suprafroths: How Cappuccino Froth Is Like A Superconductor: Who would think that the froth on a morning cup of cappuccino has a lot in common with superconductors? Physicists have found that the bubble-like arrangement of magnetic domains in superconducting lead exhibits patterns that are very similar to everyday froths like milk on a fancy coffee. The similarities between ’suprafroths’ and conventional froths establish suprafroths as a model system for the study of all froths.
Sweet Talking: Artificial Vesicles And Bacterial Cells Communicate By Way Of Sugar Components: For an organism to develop and function, the individual cells must exchange information, or communicate, with each other. Is it possible to learn their language and ‘talk to’ the cells? Yes it is: Researchers have been able to facilitate a conversation between bacterial cells and artificial polymer vesicles by way of sugar groups on the vesicle surface.
