http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- Right now, many researchers around the world are working on ways to move away from electronics-dominated computing systems. There are a number of ideas about how this can be accomplished. "We are trying to demonstrate an all-optical switch that, at the first stage, could be used in ultrafast optical communication systems," Chaoyuan Jin tells PhysOrg.com. "It might also be useful for optical interconnection to replace present day electronic links which transfer tremendous data between computer chips, or perhaps useful for optical computing on-chip." http://phys.org/news228632944.html Physics Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:10:01 EST news228632944 By combining advanced laser technologies in a new way, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have generated microwave signals that are more pure and stable than those from conventional electronic sources. The apparatus could improve signal stability and resolution in radar, communications and navigation systems, and certain types of atomic clocks. http://phys.org/news228412321.html Physics Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:52:22 EST news228412321 (PhysOrg.com) -- The atomic force microscope (AFM) is an important tool for nanoscale surface metrology. Typical AFMs map local tip-surface interactions by scanning a flexible cantilever probe over a surface. They rely on bulky optical sensing instrumentation to measure the motion of the probe, which limits the sensitivity, stability, and accuracy of the microscope, and precludes the use of probes much smaller than the wavelength of light. http://phys.org/news226231788.html Nanotechnology Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:10:09 EST news226231788 Light does not travel at the same speed in all directions under the effect of an electromagnetic field. Although predicted by theory, this counter-intuitive effect has for the first time been demonstrated experimentally in a gas by a French team from the Laboratoire 'Collisions Agregats Reactivite' at CNRS. The researchers measured with extreme precision, of around one billionth m/s, the difference between the light propagation speeds in one direction and in the opposite direction. These results open the way to more in-depth research aimed at improving the model that describes elementary particle interactions. Published on the 11 May 2011 in the journal Physical Review Letters, they point to novel applications in optics. http://phys.org/news224503136.html Physics Fri, 13 May 2011 11:00:14 EST news224503136 Insufficient cleaning could allow build-up of microbes on orthodontic retainers, researchers at the UCL Eastman Dental Institute have found. Dr Jonathan Pratten and colleagues looked at the types of microbes which live on retainers. This study, which found potentially pathogenic microbes growing on at least 50% of the retainers, is published today in the Society for Applied Microbiology's journal Letters in Applied Microbiology and could indicate a need for the development of improved cleaning products for orthodontic retainers. http://phys.org/news219403566.html Biology Tue, 15 Mar 2011 10:26:31 EST news219403566 When Patricia Manrique was told she needed her gallbladder removed she immediately thought about the classroom full of children who rely on her to teach them tap and ballet each day. The Chicago Park District physical instructor needed a way to get the surgery performed without being laid up for weeks so she opted for an innovative minimally invasive procedure called Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) that would allow surgeons to perform organ removal surgery without any visible incisions and have her back on her feet the same day. Northwestern Medicine physicians were among the first in the U.S. to perform several types of the procedure and are leading the charge in organ removal through the mouth or vagina. http://phys.org/news219001965.html Medicine & Health Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:52:57 EST news219001965 Patients with end-stage renal disease who opt for peritoneal dialysis experience no greater risk of catheter infection than those who undergo hemodialysis, a retrospective study at UT Southwestern Medical Center has found. http://phys.org/news218348479.html Medicine & Health Thu, 03 Mar 2011 04:40:01 EST news218348479 For children with a perforated appendix, early appendectomy appears to reduce the time away from normal activities and has fewer adverse events as compared to another common option, the interval appendectomy, which is performed several weeks after diagnosis, according to a report published online first in the Archives of Surgery. The paper will appear in the June 2011 print issue of the journal. http://phys.org/news217528287.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:31:39 EST news217528287 Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common type of cancer and is on the rise in some demographic groups, including young women without any known risk factors. Now, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center report that estrogen may increase the movement of precancerous cells in the mouth and thus promote the spread of the disease within the oral cavity. http://phys.org/news213337245.html Medicine & Health Tue, 04 Jan 2011 04:21:00 EST news213337245 The human body is home to a complex ecosystem of microbes increasingly recognized as having a critical role in both health and disease. Viruses can attack and change the composition of bacterial communities, yet little is known about how this might influence human health. In a study published online today in Genome Research, scientists have performed the first metagenomic analysis of a bacterial immune system in humans over time, finding that the defenses of the oral microbiome are unique and traceable, information that could help personalize oral health care in the future. http://phys.org/news211397103.html Medicine & Health Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:25:18 EST news211397103 (PhysOrg.com) -- Too often, patients with ovarian cancer or mesothelioma develop metastases that spread within the abdominal cavity, and when that occurs, the chances of surviving beyond five years drops to less than 40%, even after surgical removal of the metastatic tumors. http://phys.org/news209902739.html Nanotechnology Thu, 25 Nov 2010 11:10:01 EST news209902739 If you're lucky, it will all be kisses and hugs around the Thanksgiving dinner table, with friends and family near and dear gathered about, and puppies gathered around your feet waiting for table scraps. http://phys.org/news209738120.html Medicine & Health Tue, 23 Nov 2010 12:35:48 EST news209738120 Studies have shown higher survival rates for people with head and neck cancers that test positive for HPV when they are treated with systemic chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Now a new study suggests outcomes are also better when radiation therapy is combined with cetuximab, a targeted therapy. The data will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology, October 31st through November 4th in San Diego. http://phys.org/news207235568.html Medicine & Health Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:40:01 EST news207235568 Research published today suggests that invasive dental treatment, such as extractions, carries a small but statistically significant increase in the risk of stroke and heart attack over the short term. However, the authors of the study, which was funded by the Wellcome Trust and the British Heart Foundation, stress that any increase in risk is likely to be outweighed by the long-term benefits of such treatment. http://phys.org/news206698653.html Medicine & Health Tue, 19 Oct 2010 09:17:57 EST news206698653 A drug marketed to grow bone in osteoporosis patients also works to heal bone wounds in gum disease patients, a University of Michigan study suggests. http://phys.org/news206612263.html Medicine & Health Mon, 18 Oct 2010 09:18:01 EST news206612263 You may not think of the fizz in soda as spicy, but your body does. http://phys.org/news204913484.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:24:55 EST news204913484 (AP) -- The final straw came when Guy Vance's chest, neck and face ballooned, little air bubbles in his skin crackling to the touch - all because of a leak somewhere in his lung. http://phys.org/news200039160.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Aug 2010 07:50:01 EST news200039160 Researchers around the world are working on the development of quantum computers that will be vastly superior to present-day computers. Here, the strong coupling of quantum bits with light quanta plays a pivotal role. Professor Rudolf Gross, a physicist at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Germany, and his team of researchers have now realized an extremely strong interaction between light and matter that may represent a first step in this direction. http://phys.org/news199706384.html Physics Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:00:23 EST news199706384 (PhysOrg.com) -- In a way, the quantum world seems to know when it's being watched. When physicists make measurements on photons and other quantum-scale particles, the measurements always disturb the system in some way. Although an ideal disturbance should still enable physicists to make multiple measurements and get the same result twice, most real measurements cause a greater disturbance than this ideal minimum, and prohibit physicists from making repeated measurements. In a recent study, physicists have demonstrated a new way to make one of the ideal measurements - called quantum non-demolition (QND) measurements - allowing physicists to detect single particles repeatedly without destroying them. http://phys.org/news197873165.html Physics Fri, 09 Jul 2010 08:50:02 EST news197873165 Imagine printing your own room lighting, lasers, or solar cells from inks you buy at the local newsagent. Jacek Jasieniak and his colleagues at CSIRO, the University of Melbourne and the University of Padua in Italy, have moved a step closer to such a future, by developing liquid inks based on quantum dots that can be used to print devices. http://phys.org/news197224539.html Physics Thu, 01 Jul 2010 17:36:05 EST news197224539 Dramatic scenes are played out under Ralf Sommer's microscope: his research object, the roundworm Pristionchus pacificus, bites another worm, tears open a hole in its side and devours the oozing contents. The squirming victim does not stand a chance in this duel: Caenorhabditis elegans may be a close relative of Pristionchus; unfortunately, however, it does not have the same strong "teeth". http://phys.org/news197198530.html Biology Thu, 01 Jul 2010 10:22:33 EST news197198530 Fructose, the sugar widely used as high-fructose corn syrup in soft drinks and processed foods, often gets some of the blame for the widespread rise in obesity. Now a laboratory study has found that when fructose is present as children's fat cells mature, it makes more of these cells mature into fat cells in belly fat and less able to respond to insulin in both belly fat and fat located below the skin. http://phys.org/news196347682.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:20:01 EST news196347682 The symptoms of appendicitis are often diffuse and it can be difficult to obtain an accurate diagnosis early in the course of the disease. It may be possible to predict the severity from a blood sample, and in this way determine the treatment on an individual basis. This is the conclusion of a thesis presented at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. http://phys.org/news196342388.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:33:39 EST news196342388 According to new research that will be presented on Saturday, June 5, at the 19th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, nasendoscopy may help dentists predict oral appliance therapy success in sleep apnea patients. Nasendoscopy involves a flexible endoscope being inserted through the nasal cavity. The tip of the scope is placed at the level of the velopharynx and oro-/hypopharynx. http://phys.org/news194922028.html Medicine & Health Sat, 05 Jun 2010 02:01:00 EST news194922028 According to new research that will receive the Graduate Student Research Award on Saturday, June 5, at the 19th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, the ratio between tongue volume and bony enclosure size in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may help dentists calculate oral appliance treatment success. http://phys.org/news194921542.html Medicine & Health Sat, 05 Jun 2010 01:59:23 EST news194921542 A technique pioneered in the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory of Dr. Jeremy Mao, the Edward V. Zegarelli Professor of Dental Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, can orchestrate stem cells to migrate to a three-dimensional scaffold infused with growth factor, holding the translational potential to yield an anatomically correct tooth in as soon as nine weeks once implanted. http://phys.org/news193921830.html Medicine & Health Mon, 24 May 2010 12:10:50 EST news193921830 (PhysOrg.com) -- As every Jaws fan knows, sharks can smell a drop of blood from up to a kilometre away, but how are their noses so sensitive? http://phys.org/news192215905.html Chemistry Tue, 04 May 2010 18:50:03 EST news192215905 Rainer Blatt's and Piet Schmidt's research team from the University of Innsbruck have successfully realized a single-atom laser, which shows the properties of a classical laser as well as quantum mechanical properties of the atom-photon interaction. The scientists have published their findings in the journal Nature Physics. http://phys.org/news189248689.html Physics Wed, 31 Mar 2010 10:05:17 EST news189248689 Using an accelerated, shorter course of radiation therapy for patients with advanced head and neck cancer allows doctors to reduce the amount of chemotherapy, thus reducing toxicity, according to a study presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium. http://phys.org/news186330419.html Medicine & Health Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:00:01 EST news186330419 Physicians at UT Southwestern Medical Center soon will begin implanting a new device designed to improve breathing in patients with upper spinal-cord injuries or other diseases that keep them from breathing independently. http://phys.org/news178377018.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:11:05 EST news178377018