Nanoparticles Found in Everyday Items Can Inhibit Fat Storage: Gold Nanoparticles Accelerate Aging

Apr. 18, 2013 — New research reveals that pure gold nanoparticles found in everyday items such as personal care products, as well as drug delivery, MRI contrast agents and solar cells can inhibit adipose (fat) storage and lead to accelerated aging and wrinkling, slowed wound healing and the onset of diabetes. The researchers, led by Tatsiana Mironava, a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Molecular Engineering at Stony Brook University, detail their research in the journal Nanotoxicology.

Smoking from Hookah Not a Harmless Alternative to Cigarettes

Apr. 18, 2013 — Smoking tobacco through a hookah is a pastime gaining popularity among the college crowd, but many of them mistakenly believe that using the fragrant water pipe is less harmful than smoking cigarettes.

Why Do Babies Calm Down When They Are Carried?

Apr. 18, 2013 — Parents know that crying babies usually calm down when they are picked up and carried, but why is that? In a study published today, researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute show that human babies and mouse pups alike automatically relax deeply when they are carried.

Há algo além de elétrons na condução da eletricidade?

Redação do Site Inovação Tecnológica - 22/04/2013

As regras da condução elétrica não se aplicam aos supercondutores, materiais onde a eletricidade flui livremente, sem qualquer resistência.[Imagem: Philip Phillips]

Gravação magnética quântica é 1.000 vezes mais rápida

Redação do Site Inovação Tecnológica - 22/04/2013

Como a gravação é feita com os pulsos de laser ainda interagindo com os momentos magnéticos, a comutação magnética é gerada quantum-mecanicamente - não termicamente. Isto abre a possibilidade de criar memórias na faixa dos terahertz.[Imagem: Ames Laboratory]

Parents Can Help Their Children Avoid Alcohol Pitfalls During Transition from High School to College

Apr. 16, 2013 — Prior research has shown that the transition from high school to college is a particularly vulnerable time, associated with increased alcohol use and risk of negative alcohol-related consequences. While studies have examined the effectiveness of prevention programs to address this problem, few have examined which students may benefit the most. A study of student characteristics has found that parent-based interventions (PBIs) can be effective even among those students feeling high peer pressure to drink alcohol.

Memory, the Adolescent Brain and Lying: The Limits of Neuroscientific Evidence in the Law

Apr. 16, 2013 — rain scans are increasingly able to reveal whether or not you believe you remember some person or event in your life. In a new study presented at a cognitive neuroscience meeting today, researchers used fMRI brain scans to detect whether a person recognized scenes from their own lives, as captured in some 45,000 images by digital cameras. The study is seeking to test the capabilities and limits of brain-based technology for detecting memories, a technique being considered for use in legal settings.

Following a Western Style Diet May Lead to Greater Risk of Premature Death

Apr. 15, 2013 — Data from a new study of British adults suggest that adherence to a "Western-style" diet (fried and sweet food, processed and red meat, refined grains, and high-fat dairy products) reduces a person's likelihood of achieving older ages in good health and with higher functionality. Study results appear in the May issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

Taste of Beer, Without Effect from Alcohol, Triggers Dopamine Release in the Brain

Apr. 15, 2013 — The taste of beer, without any effect from alcohol itself, can trigger dopamine release in the brain, which is associated with drinking and other drugs of abuse, according to Indiana University School of Medicine researchers.

Training the Brain to Improve On New Tasks

Apr. 15, 2013 — A brain-training task that increases the number of items an individual can remember over a short period of time may boost performance in other problem-solving tasks by enhancing communication between different brain areas. The new study being presented this week in San Francisco is one of a growing number of experiments on how working-memory training can measurably improve a range of skills -- from multiplying in your head to reading a complex paragraph.

Bad Decisions Arise from Faulty Information, Not Faulty Brain Circuits

Apr. 15, 2013 — Making decisions involves a gradual accumulation of facts that support one choice or another. A person choosing a college might weigh factors such as course selection, institutional reputation and the quality of future job prospects.

Brasileiros vencem competição de chips de alto-desempenho

Com informações do INCT Namitec - 10/04/2013

A Intel promoveu uma competição para a análise de ferramentas aplicadas ao projeto de chips de alto-desempenho.

Representando algumas das melhores universidades de todo o mundo, principalmente dos EUA e da Ásia, 18 equipes participaram do desafio.

Brasileiro abre novas fronteiras para nanofabricação

Redação do Site Inovação Tecnológica - 16/04/2013

Vitor Manfrinato (à direita) com seus colegas, junto ao microscópio STEM utilizado no trabalho. Embaixo, as nanoestruturas construídas com uma precisão inédita. [Imagem: Vitor Manfrinato/BNL]

Brasileiros revolucionam fabricação de cimento

Com informações da Agência USP - 17/04/2013

Engenheiros alemães apresentaram recentemente uma técnica para reciclagem cimento e concreto usando raios.[Imagem: Fraunhofer IBP]

Violino a laser dispensa o violino

Redação do Site Inovação Tecnológica - 17/04/2013

O violino é substituído por um feixe de laser que reflete no arco e é coletado por sensores ópticos. [Imagem: Dylan Menzies]

Microbaterias recarregam 1.000 vezes mais rápido

Redação do Site Inovação Tecnológica - 18/04/2013

Os pesquisadores integraram o anodo com o catodo em microescala, com saliências de um entrando em poros equivalentes do outro. [Imagem: Beckman Institute/University of Illinois]

MicroLEDs injetáveis manipulam cérebro com luz

Redação do Site Inovação Tecnológica - 15/04/2013

O dispositivo completo inclui, além dos LEDs, sensores de temperatura e de luz, microaquecedores e eletrodos planos. [Imagem: John A Rogers/Michael R. Bruchas/University of Illinois]

L-Carnitine Significantly Improves Patient Outcomes Following Heart Attack, Study Suggests

Apr. 11, 2013 — L-carnitine significantly improves cardiac health in patients after a heart attack, say a multicenter team of investigators in a study published today in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Their findings, based on analysis of key controlled trials, associate L-carnitine with significant reduction in death from all causes and a highly significant reduction in ventricular arrhythmias and anginal attacks following a heart attack, compared with placebo or control.

Could Rosemary Scent Boost Brain Performance?

Feb. 24, 2012 — Hailed since ancient times for its medicinal properties, we still have a lot to learn about the effects of rosemary. Now researchers writing inTherapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE, have shown for the first time that blood levels of a rosemary oil component correlate with improved cognitive performance.

Rosemary. Hailed since ancient times for its medicinal properties, we still have a lot to learn about the effects of rosemary. Now researchers have shown for the first time that blood levels of a rosemary oil component correlate with improved cognitive performance. (Credit: © Igor Dutina / Fotolia)

Reparos secretos durante o sono

Dormir “afrouxa” conexões neurais e restitui ao sistema cerebral um estado mais saudável

Detalhes da guerra de informações sobre mudanças climáticas

Campanhas de contestação dos fatos associados ao clima contam com financiamentos generosos

See-through brains clarify connections

Technique to make tissue transparent offers three-dimensional view of neural networks.

Termoelétricos flexíveis vão buscar o calor onde ele estiver

Redação do Site Inovação Tecnológica - 12/04/2013

Os testes iniciais do material termoelétrico flexível foram realizados no escapamento de um carro, produzindo potências de até 600 Watts.[Imagem: Fraunhofer IWS

Do Cells in the Blood, Heart and Lungs Smell the Food We Eat?

Apr. 7, 2013 — In a discovery suggesting that odors may have a far more important role in life than previously believed, scientists have found that heart, blood, lung and other cells in the body have the same receptors for sensing odors that exist in the nose. It opens the door to questions about whether the heart, for instance, "smells" that fresh-brewed cup of coffee or cinnamon bun, according to the research leader, who spoke in New Orleans on April 7 at the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

Mind Over Matter? Core Body Temperature Controlled by the Brain

Apr. 8, 2013 — A team of researchers led by Associate Professor Maria Kozhevnikov from the Department of Psychology at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences showed, for the first time, that it is possible for core body temperature to be controlled by the brain. The scientists found that core body temperature increases can be achieved using certain meditation techniques (g-tummo) which could help in boosting immunity to fight infectious diseases or immunodeficiency.

Bateria comestível alimenta implantes e sensores médicos

Redação do Site Inovação Tecnológica - 09/04/2013

A bateria comestível foi fabricada com eletrodos flexíveis de polímero conectados a células eletroquímicas de sódio (círculos) - ela tem a dimensão necessária para caber dentro de uma cápsula de remédio. [Imagem: Kim et al./JMCB]

Silício emite luz visível pela primeira vez

Redação do Site Inovação Tecnológica - 11/04/2013

Foto do emissor de luz de silício, funcionando a temperatura ambiente. [Imagem: University of Pennsylvania]

Conectômica: o cérebro sob investigação

Em sua coluna de abril, Carlos Alberto dos Santos fala sobre uma área promissora da neurociência que reúne biólogos, físicos e químicos no desenvolvimento e uso de tecnologias para mapear e compreender melhor o funcionamento cerebral.

Por: Carlos Alberto dos Santos

Os cientistas do projeto Brain, recém-lançado pelo governo dos Estados Unidos, pretendem registrar e mapear circuitos cerebrais em ação para mostrar como milhões de neurônios interagem. (foto: Benedict Campbell/ Wellcome Images – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Quando o que cura passa a matar

O uso indiscriminado e abusivo de certos medicamentos pode intoxicar o corpo e levar à falência de órgãos vitais, como o fígado. Artigo da CH de abril discute o problema da automedicação, que responde por várias internações e mortes em todo o mundo.

Substâncias que deveriam tratar ou trazer alívio, quando ingeridas em excesso, podem causar graves danos ao fígado, órgão onde elas são processadas. (foto: Alaa Hamed/ Sxc.hu)

Dor crônica e ansiedade podem envelhecer DNA antes da hora

Pesquisas relacionaram desgaste à síndrome do pânico, agorafobia e fibromialgia

Agora, dois estudos, um da Universidade Harvard e outro da  Universidade de Michigan, revelam que pessoas que sofrem de dor crônica e de transtornos de ansiedade apresentam telômeros encurtados...

Nutriente do cacau ajuda a aprimorar memória e raciocínio

Além de favorecer funcões cognitivas, flavonoides também combatem hipertensão

Researchers see antibody evolve against HIV

For the first time, scientists have tracked in a patient the evolution of a potent immune molecule that recognizes many different HIV viruses.

Scientists print self-assembling 'living tissue'

Three-dimensional printer uses water and oil to create lipid networks that mimic biological feats.

Researchers have created networks of water droplets that mimic some properties of cells in biological tissues. Using a three-dimensional printer, a team at the University of Oxford, UK, assembled tiny water droplets into a jelly-like material that can flex like a muscle and transmit electric signals like chains of neurons. The work is published today in Science¹.

Astrophysics: Fire in the hole!

Will an astronaut who falls into a black hole be crushed or burned to a crisp?

In March 2012, Joseph Polchinski began to contemplate suicide — at least in mathematical form. A string theorist at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, California, Polchinski was pondering what would happen to an astronaut who dived into a black hole. Obviously, he would die. But how?

Low Testosterone Levels May Herald Rheumatoid Arthritis in Men

Apr. 3, 2013 — Low testosterone levels may herald the subsequent development of rheumatoid arthritis in men, suggests research published online in theAnnals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Avoid Impulsive Acts by Imagining Future Benefits

Apr. 3, 2013 — Why is it so hard for some people to resist the least little temptation, while others seem to possess incredible patience, passing up immediate gratification for a greater long-term good?

Study participants were observed while waiting for rewards of juice for completing experimental tasks. (Credit: Image courtesy of Washington University in St. Louis)

Immune System: The Healing Element Is Also the Enemy

Apr. 3, 2013 — The same factor in our immune system that is instrumental in enabling us to fight off severe and dangerous inflammatory ailments is also a player in doing the opposite at a later stage, causing the suppression of our immune response.

Ação fantasmagórica à distância é 10.000 vezes mais rápida que a luz

Redação do Site Inovação Tecnológica - 02/04/2013

Para fazer a medição, os físicos criaram feixes de fótons entrelaçados e os separaram a uma distância de 15 quilômetros. [Imagem: Juan Yin et al.]

Em busca de matéria escura, AMS encontra excesso de antimatéria

Redação do Site Inovação Tecnológica - 04/04/2013

Um dos objetivos do AMS (Espectrômetro Magnético Alfa) é localizar galáxias de antimatéria. [Imagem: MIT]

Transístor biológico leva computação para interior de células vivas

Redação do Site Inovação Tecnológica - 02/04/2013

No transístor biológico, o material genético - DNA e RNA - substitui o trabalho feito pelos elétrons na eletrônica. [Imagem: Bonnet et al./Science]

A DAY MADE OF GLASS 2

The Hunt for the Creative Individual

Apr. 2, 2013 — Some people are more creative than others and are literally bubbling with ideas, while others rarely or never show signs of creativity. What should we look for when searching for creative people?

Mental Illness Linked to Heavy Cannabis Use

Apr. 2, 2013 — People with mental illnesses are more than seven times more likely to use cannabis weekly compared to people without a mental illness, according to researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) who studied U.S. data.

BRAIN Initiative Launched to Unlock Mysteries of Human Mind

Apr. 2, 2013 — Today at the White House, President Barak Obama unveiled the "BRAIN" Initiative -- a bold new research effort to revolutionize our understanding of the human mind and uncover new ways to treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders like Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury.

Negative Emotions in Response to Daily Stress Take a Toll On Long-Term Mental Health

Apr. 2, 2013 — Our emotional responses to the stresses of daily life may predict our long-term mental health, according to a new study published inPsychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Decreased Melatonin Secretion Associated With Higher Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes

Apr. 2, 2013 — With previous evidence suggesting that melatonin may have a role in glucose metabolism, researchers have found an independent association between decreased secretion of melatonin and an increased risk for the development of type 2 diabetes, according to a study in the April 3 issue of JAMA

Feeling Hungry May Protect the Brain Against Alzheimer's Disease

Apr. 2, 2013 — The feeling of hunger itself may protect against Alzheimer's disease, according to study published today in the journal PLOS ONE. Interestingly, the results of this study in mice suggest that mild hunger pangs, and related hormonal pathways, may be as important to the much-discussed value of "caloric restriction" as actually eating less.

Evidence Builds That Meditation Strengthens the Brain

Mar. 14, 2012 — Earlier evidence out of UCLA suggested that meditating for years thickens the brain (in a good way) and strengthens the connections between brain cells. Now a further report by UCLA researchers suggests yet another benefit.

Pescado graso para vivir más

Los adultos mayores que poseen mayores niveles en sangre de ácidos grasos omega-3, que se encuentran casi exclusivamente en el pescado graso y mariscos, pueden ver reducido hasta un 27% el riesgo general de mortalidad y un 35 por ciento las posibilidades de morir por enfermedades del corazón, según un estudio de la Escuela de Salud Pública de Harvard (HSPH) y la Universidad de Washington (EE.UU.).

Can Meditation Make You a More Compassionate Person?

Apr. 1, 2013 — Scientists have mostly focused on the benefits of meditation for the brain and the body, but a recent study by Northeastern University's David DeSteno, published in Psychological Science, takes a look at what impacts meditation has on interpersonal harmony and compassion.

A day made of glass...

Vale a pena! 

QUANTUM LEVITATION

Suspending a superconducting disc above or below a set of permanent magnets. The magnetic field is locked inside the superconductor ; a phenomenon called 'Quantum Trapping'.

For more info visit:

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Ramesh Raskar apresenta 

femtofotografia

Publicado em 26/07/2012

Ramesh Raskar presents femto-photography, a new type of imaging so fast it visualizes the world one trillion frames per second, so detailed it shows light itself in motion. This technology may someday be used to build cameras that can look "around" corners or see inside the body without X-rays.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate

Mindfulness from Meditation Associated With Lower Stress Hormone

Mar. 28, 2013 — Focusing on the present rather than letting the mind drift may help to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, suggests new research from the Shamatha Project at the University of California, Davis.

Monounsaturated Fats Reduce Metabolic Syndrome Risk

Mar. 29, 2013 — Canola oil and high-oleic canola oils can lower abdominal fat when used in place of other selected oil blends, according to a team of American and Canadian researchers. The researchers also found that consuming certain vegetable oils may be a simple way of reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome, which affects about one in three U.S. adults and one in five Canadian adults.

Sensor magnético traduz efeitos quânticos em vibrações

O spin de uma molécula altera e deforma o nanotubo, permitindo a medição de efeitos quânticos por meio de vibrações mecânicas.[Imagem: C. Grupe/KIT]

Cientistas vão tentar encontrar limites da teoria quântica

Os cientistas querem descobrir se os estranhos comportamentos das partículas quânticas podem ser reproduzidas em objetos grandes, que possam ser vistos a olhu nu. [Imagem: Hendrik Ulbricht]

IBM cria transístor líquido inspirado em neurônios

Microfotografia do circuito iônico (esquerda) mostrando os contatos que levam a energia que movimenta os íons. À direita, uma ampliação do transístor líquido propriamente dito, com seus contatos principais à esquerda e à direita - os outros quatro eletrodos foram usados para fazer medições sobre seu funcionamento.[Imagem: IBM]

Descoberta partícula subatômica que não se encaixa no Modelo Padrão

A equipe responsável pelo experimento BES III é composta por quase 300 cientistas, de 11 países. [Imagem: IHEP]

Bóson de Higgs pode significar instabilidade do Universo

A massa do Higgs sugere Universo destinado ao fim em bilhões de éons

Processamento computadorizado mostra típica evidência de possível bóson de Higgs, incluindo dois fótons de alta energia (representada em vermelho) medida no CMS