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. Now, a pair of Scripps Research Institute scientists has taken a significant step toward answering that question. The scientists have synthesized for the first time RNA enzymes that can replicate themselves without the help of any proteins or other cellular components, and the process proceeds indefinitely. http://phys.org/news150739469.html Chemistry Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:04:29 EST news150739469 Could a concept from information technology familiar to online file sharers be exploited to reduce road congestion and even traffic accidents? That is the question answered in the affirmative by researchers in California, writing in the International Journal of Vehicle Information and Communication Systems. http://phys.org/news150543157.html Technology Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:32:37 EST news150543157 (PhysOrg.com) -- At the end of July 2008, major news agencies reported an outbreak of jalapeño-related salmonella that sickened more than 1,000 people in Mexico and the United States. It was the biggest outbreak of its kind in decades. http://phys.org/news149346537.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:08:57 EST news149346537 The brain acts as a computer to both store information and process that information. In a computer, separate devices perform these roles; while a hard disk stores information, the central processing unit (CPU) does the processing. But the brain is thought to perform both these functions in the same cells – neurons – leading researchers to ask if distinct molecules within the brain cells serve these different functions. http://phys.org/news149258043.html Medicine & Health Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:34:03 EST news149258043 When you first notice a door handle, your brain has already been hard at work. Your visual system first sees the handle, then it sends information to various parts of the brain, which go on to decipher out the details, such as color and the direction the handle is pointing. As the information about an object is sent further along the various brain pathways, more and more details are noticed -- in that way, a simple door handle turns into a silver-plated-antique-style-door-handle-facing-right. Information about the handle also reaches the part of your brain responsible for planning movements (known as the pre-motor area), and it comes up with a set of motions, allowing you to turn the handle with your right hand and open the door. http://phys.org/news148828835.html Medicine & Health Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:20:35 EST news148828835 A blue ribbon task force, commissioned late last year to identify sustainable economic models to provide access to the ever-growing amount of digital information in the public interest, has issued its interim report. The report calls the current situation urgent, and details systemic pitfalls in developing economic models for sustainable access to digital data. http://phys.org/news148665742.html Technology Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:02:22 EST news148665742 (PhysOrg.com) -- So you have a New Year's resolution: get your books and papers organized, plan a vacation your family can afford, or find a new job in a new town. How to keep track of all the details necessary to get the project done? http://phys.org/news148664383.html Technology Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:39:43 EST news148664383 Neuroscientists from Duke University Medical Center have discovered that older people use their brains differently than younger people when it comes to storing memories, particularly those associated with negative emotions. http://phys.org/news148624470.html Medicine & Health Tue, 16 Dec 2008 04:34:30 EST news148624470 (PhysOrg.com) -- Everyone has them -- little squares of colorful paper stuck on monitors, business cards strewn across desks, and to-do lists tucked away in pockets. These information scraps feature critical phone numbers, meeting dates and shopping lists -- and they have an alarming tendency to vanish just when you need them. http://phys.org/news148229367.html Technology Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:49:27 EST news148229367 Traditional classroom teaching in higher education could learn a thing or two from online teaching, otherwise known as e-learning, according to a University of Illinois professor who studies computer-mediated communication, information exchange and the Internet. http://phys.org/news148064009.html Technology Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:53:29 EST news148064009 A new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center found that a tool commonly used by doctors to estimate the risk of a woman's breast cancer returning after surgery is not very effective at explaining risk to patients. As a result, women with breast cancer may not find these tools helpful when deciding whether to have chemotherapy. http://phys.org/news147967883.html Medicine & Health Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:11:23 EST news147967883 (PhysOrg.com) -- It is a truth universally acknowledged that quantum computing must have entanglement. http://phys.org/news147698804.html Physics Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:26:44 EST news147698804 A more human approach to processing raw data could change the way that computers deal with information, according to academics at The University of Nottingham. http://phys.org/news147449740.html Technology Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:15:40 EST news147449740 (PhysOrg.com) -- Where would we be without our ability to remember important information or, for that matter, to forget irrelevant details? Thanks to the flexibility of the nerve cell's communication units, called synapses, we are good at both. Up to now, only the receiving side of a synapse was believed to play an active role in this reorganization of the brain, which is thought to underlie our ability to learn but also to forget. An incorrect assumption, as scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried could now show. http://phys.org/news146926167.html Medicine & Health Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:49:27 EST news146926167 (PhysOrg.com) -- As technology continues to shrink, and as memory needs become more demanding, the industry dealing with microelectronics requires devices that are cost-efficient and lightweight. And, while organic materials have shown some promise, they still lack some of the essential qualities needed for application in a wide variety of fields. “The longest time that has lasted from organic memories,” Rodrigo Martins tells PhysOrg.com, “is about 5,000 seconds. This just doesn’t allow for practical use in many cases as a memory device.” http://phys.org/news146905642.html Physics Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:07:22 EST news146905642 (PhysOrg.com) -- European researchers have developed innovative software to make finding information on your computer and sharing it with others considerably easier. In the process, they may have solved the chicken and egg problem that has held back development of the semantic web. http://phys.org/news146843260.html Technology Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:47:40 EST news146843260 Combine the aphorisms that "practice makes perfect" and "timing is everything" into one and you might get something resembling findings published in this month's issue of Psychological Science. Proper spacing of lessons, the researchers report, can dramatically enhance learning. And larger gaps between study sessions result in better recall of facts. http://phys.org/news146234214.html Medicine & Health Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:36:54 EST news146234214 Latina women who prefer speaking Spanish are more likely than other ethnic groups to express regret or dissatisfaction with their breast cancer treatment, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. http://phys.org/news146220110.html Medicine & Health Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:41:50 EST news146220110 (PhysOrg.com) -- Thanks to our ability to learn and to remember, we can perform tasks that other living things can not even dream of. However, we are only just beginning to get the gist of what really goes on in the brain when it learns or forgets something. What we do know is that changes in the contacts between nerve cells play an important role. But can these structural changes account for that well-known phenomenon that it is much easier to re-learn something that was forgotten than to learn something completely new? http://phys.org/news145717327.html Medicine & Health Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:02:07 EST news145717327 (PhysOrg.com) -- Just released research published in prestigious international journal Nature Neuroscience details the findings of an international team of researchers led by Australian scientist and Macquarie University senior lecturer, Dr Mark Williams. http://phys.org/news145284897.html Medicine & Health Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:54:57 EST news145284897 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new automotive safety systems built by European researchers will alert drivers to potential hazards by using information from the car, other road users and the roadside infrastructure to predict and prevent traffic accidents. http://phys.org/news145111177.html Technology Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:39:37 EST news145111177 While digital video recorders and products like TiVo allow television viewers to skip past commercials, Boston College researchers have found that fast-forwarding viewers actually pay more attention and can be influenced by brand images they view only for a fraction of a second. http://phys.org/news144928451.html Technology Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:54:11 EST news144928451 (PhysOrg.com) -- Contrary to the popular belief that online investment communities represent a melting-pot of ideas, where people come together to trade stock tips, share opinions and attempt to influence others, individuals using financial message boards seek out and interact with those who share the same opinions, new research at The University of Texas at Austin shows. http://phys.org/news144429577.html Other Sciences Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:19:37 EST news144429577 For many women, including the growing number who choose later-in-life pregnancy, predicting their biological clock's relation to the timing of their menopause and infertility is critically important. http://phys.org/news144337381.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:43:01 EST news144337381 An international team of scientists has performed the ultimate miniaturisation of computer memory: storing information inside the nucleus of an atom. This breakthrough is a key step in bringing to life a quantum computer - a device based on the fundamental theory of quantum mechanics which could crack problems unsolvable by current technology. http://phys.org/news143912221.html Physics Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:37:01 EST news143912221 (PhysOrg.com) -- The world moved a step deeper into the DNA age yesterday as 10 volunteers released their genetic and medical information on the Internet as part of a multi-year effort to make genetic data an everyday part of medical care. http://phys.org/news143816724.html Medicine & Health Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:05:24 EST news143816724 People talk to exchange information. Yet understanding another person involves far more than just the content of the message. Only with the correct intonation and facial expression does the message acquire meaning. People can improve their communication skills by deliberately managing these nonverbal messages. http://phys.org/news143283264.html Medicine & Health Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:54:24 EST news143283264 Most people don't like to make a purchase without complete information about the product they're buying. For example, if someone comparing wireless plans doesn't know the coverage area, she may be more likely to walk away from the purchase. http://phys.org/news143204961.html Other Sciences Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:09:21 EST news143204961 Gaining a fuller and more accurate picture of trends in the most important disease risk factors is now possible, thanks to a project between the NHS Information Centre and QResearch®. http://phys.org/news143198203.html Medicine & Health Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:16:43 EST news143198203 Researchers at Kiel University have succeeded in showing that DNA strands differ in their light sensitivity depending on their base sequences. Their results are reported by Nina Schwalb and colleagues in the current issue of the journal Science appearing on Oct. 10, 2008. http://phys.org/news142859091.html Chemistry Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:04:51 EST news142859091