Scientists now have a better understanding of how precise memories are formed thanks to research led by Prof. Jean-Claude Lacaille of the University of Montreal’s Department of Physiology. “In terms of human applications, these findings could help us to better understand memory impairments in neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease,” Lacaille said. The study looks at the cells in our brains, or neurons, and how they work together as a group to form memories.(more…)
Bing’s new user experience surfaces the best from the Web, friends and experts to help people do more.
REDMOND, Wash. – May 10, 2012 – Microsoft today unveiled a major update to its Bing search engine that fundamentally transforms the way users search the Web. The update, the most significant since Microsoft launched Bing three years ago, is designed to help users act quickly by taking advantage of the Web’s evolving fabric.
With the new version of Bing, rolling out over the coming weeks and broadly available in the U.S. in early June, people can easily get advice and recommendations from friends and experts with the new social sidebar. They can also view useful, action-oriented information via the new snapshot feature. And they can find what they’re looking for faster, with more relevant results and a refreshed user interface. All of this is presented in a new, three-column design that focuses on helping users take the leap from finding information to making quick, informed decisions. (more…)
T3D goes beyond Hen Hatch, places among top collegiate startups worldwide
T3D Nanotech, LLC, a high technology startup company spun off from patent pending nanotech research at the University of Delaware, was recently awarded $1,000 in UD’s Hen Hatch competition. But that award was preceded by another honor: selection to participate in the 2012 Rice Business Plan Competition (RBPC).
As the world’s largest and richest business plan competition, the RBPC supports the creation of new startup companies and brings together business and engineering students from the world’s top educational institutions with successful venture capital investors, entrepreneurs and business leaders.
Out of a pool of 1,600 applicants, T3D gained entry to the top 2.6 percent of just 42 teams invited to compete for more than $1.5 million in prizes. (more…)
The overwhelming majority of proteins and other functional molecules in our bodies display a striking molecular characteristic: They can exist in two distinct forms that are mirror images of each other, like your right hand and left hand. Surprisingly, each of our bodies prefers only one of these molecular forms.(more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Loss of biodiversity appears to impact ecosystems as much as climate change, pollution and other major forms of environmental stress, according to a new study from an international research team.
The study is the first comprehensive effort to directly compare the impacts of biological diversity loss to the anticipated effects of a host of other human-caused environmental changes.
The results highlight the need for stronger local, national and international efforts to protect biodiversity and the benefits it provides, according to the researchers, who are based at nine institutions in the United States, Canada and Sweden. (more…)
For The First Time Primetime Show Fans Can Win A Sweepstakes Getaway Via Innovative Second Screen Experience
SUNNYVALE, Calif. & NEW YORK — ABC’s Revenge and Yahoo! announced a new way to engage fans during live viewing of the hit series using IntoNow from Yahoo! — audiences will have an opportunity to enter to win a one-week getaway, coinciding with the July 4th weekend, at an oceanfront house in the Hamptons, Grayson-style, presented by Lexus.(more…)
Berkeley Lab scientists create nanoparticle probes that may lead to a better understanding of diseases
Imagine tracking a deer through a forest by clipping a radio transmitter to its ear and monitoring the deer’s location remotely. Now imagine that transmitter is the size of a house, and you understand the problem researchers may encounter when they try to use nanoparticles to track proteins in live cells.
Understanding how a protein moves around a cell helps researchers understand the protein’s function and the cellular mechanisms for making and processing proteins. This information also helps researchers study disease, which at a cellular level may mean that a protein is malfunctioning, stops being made, or is sent to the wrong part of the cell. But nanoparticle probes that are too big can disrupt a protein’s normal activities. (more…)
In an effort to identify the underlying causes of neurological disorders that impair motor functions such as walking and breathing, UCLA researchers have developed a novel system to measure communication between stem cell–derived motor neurons and muscle cells in a Petri dish.
The study provides an important proof of principle that functional motor circuits can be created outside the body using these neurons and cells and that the level of communication, or synaptic activity, between them can be accurately measured by stimulating the motor neurons with an electrode and then tracking the transfer of electrical activity into the muscle cells to which the neurons are connected. (more…)
