Mammals possess the remarkable ability to regenerate a lost fingertip, including the nail, nerves and even bone. In humans, an amputated fingertip can sprout back in as little as two months, a phenomenon that has remained poorly understood until now. In a paper published today in the journal Nature, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center shed light on this rare regenerative power in mammals, using genetically engineered mice to document for the first time the biochemical chain of events that unfolds in the wake of a fingertip amputation. The findings hold promise for amputees who may one day be able to benefit from therapies that help the body regenerate lost limbs.

Category: Science & Technology

Spanish and US scientists have successfully identified animal species that can transmit more diseases to humans by using mathematical tools similar to those applied to the study of social networks like Facebook or Twitter. Their research -- recently published in the journal PNAS -- describes how parasite-primate interactions transmit diseases like malaria, yellow fever or AIDS to humans. Their findings could make an important contribution to predicting the animal species most likely to cause future pandemics.

Category: Science & Technology

While residual medications don't belong in the water, trace metals from industrial process waters handled by the recycling industry are, in contrast, valuable resources. Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have developed a simple color sensor principle which facilitates the easy detection of both materials as well as many other substances. This is the concept: If the analyzed sample shines red, then the water is 'clean;' if its color turns green, however, then it contains the substances the scientists wish to detect.

Category: Science & Technology

Researchers at the University of Alicante have developed a procedure that removes printed ink on plastic films used in flexible packaging getting a product free from ink and suitable for recycling.

This new technology developed and patented by the UA Waste, Pyrolysis and Combustion Research Group, allows the removal of printed ink through a physical-chemical treatment  and retrieves the plastic film clean, increasing the added value of the recycled product, plus pigments obtained can be used in other applications.

Category: Science & Technology

Cattails (Typha sp) have long been used for various purposes, like cleaning wastewater at sewage treatment plants, for detoxifying soils, as raw material for handcrafted wickerwork, as means of nutrition and, in traditional medicine, as a healing plant for various illnesses. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP in Valley now want to use this gift of nature as a building material -- to wit, for the insulation of outer walls or reinforcement of plaster.

Category: Science & Technology

Forget to turn off the lights before leaving the apartment? No problem. Just raise your hand, finger-swipe the air, and your lights will power down. Want to change the song playing on your music system in the other room? Move your hand to the right and flip through the songs.

University of Washington computer scientists have developed gesture-recognition technology that brings this a step closer to reality. Researchers have shown it's possible to leverage Wi-Fi signals around us to detect specific movements without needing sensors on the human body or cameras.

Category: Science & Technology

Kamran Mohseni envisions a day when the unmanned vehicles in his laboratory at the University of Florida will swarm over, under and through hurricanes to help predict the strength and path of the storms.

The tiny, autonomous craft -- some fly, others dart under the waves -- can spy on hurricanes at close range without getting blown willy-nilly, while sensors onboard collect and send in real time the data scientists need to predict the intensity and trajectory of storms: pressure, temperature, humidity, location and time.

Mohseni said people always ask him how the miniature flying machines -- just 6 inches long and about the weight of an iPod Nano -- can take on one of the monster storms.

Category: Science & Technology

A NASA team delivered in May a sophisticated microwave radiometer specifically designed to overcome the pitfalls that have plagued similar Earth-observing instruments in the past.

Literally years in the making, the new radiometer, which is designed to measure the intensity of electromagnetic radiation, specifically microwaves, is equipped with one of the most sophisticated signal-processing systems ever developed for an Earth science satellite mission. Its developers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., shipped the instrument to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., where technicians will integrate it into the agency's Soil Moisture Active Passive spacecraft, along with a synthetic aperture radar system developed by JPL.

Category: Science & Technology

Screens made of organic light diodes promise unfathomable possibilities. Yet high production costs often prevent their widespread use. A new kind of production saves not only costs, but also improves the radiance of the OLED.

Category: Science & Technology