SmartBlogs for FDLI SmartBrief

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Smartphone app illuminates power consumption

Science Blog | 1 hour 26 minutes ago

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---A new application for the Android smartphone shows users and software developers how much power their applications are consuming. PowerTutor was developed by doctoral students and professors at the University of Michigan.

Saving the single cysteine: New antioxidant system found

Science Blog | 1 hour 26 minutes ago

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---We've all read studies about the health benefits of having a life partner. The same thing is true at the molecular level, where amino acids known as cysteines are much more vulnerable to damage when single than when paired up with other cysteines.

High blood pressure easy to miss in children with kidney disease

Science Blog | 1 hour 26 minutes ago

Spot blood pressure readings in children with chronic kidney disease often fail to detect hypertension -- even during doctor's office visits -- increasing a child's risk for serious heart problems, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center and other institutions. A report of the findings appears online in the Journal of American Society of Nephrology.

It's a gas: New discovery may lead to heartier, high-yielding plants

Science Blog | 1 hour 26 minutes ago

In a research report published in the November 2009 issue of the journal GENETICS (http://www.genetics.org), scientists show how a family of genes (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase, or ACS genes) are responsible for production of ethylene.

International expedition investigates climate change, alternative fuels in Arctic

Science Blog | 1 hour 26 minutes ago

(Washington, DC ? Nov. 20, 2009) -- Scientists from the Marine Biogeochemistry and Geology and Geophysics sections of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) organized and led a team of university and government scientists on an Arctic expedition to initiate methane hydrate exploration in the Beaufort Sea and determine the spatial variation of sediment contribution to Arctic climate change.

Possible link studied between childhood abuse and early cellular aging

Science Blog | 1 hour 26 minutes ago

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Children who suffer physical or emotional abuse may be faced with accelerated cellular aging as adults, according to new research from Butler Hospital and Brown University.

Ultrasound enhances noninvasive Down syndrome tests

Science Blog | 1 hour 26 minutes ago

HOUSTON - (Nov. 20, 2009) -- The addition of a "genetic sonogram" maximizes the accuracy of non-invasive testing for Down syndrome, said a Baylor College of Medicine researcher who was lead author of a landmark study in the current issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Promoting healthy skepticism in the news: Helping journalists get it right

Science Blog | 1 hour 26 minutes ago

An editorial published online November 20 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute discusses the exaggerated fears and hopes that often appear in news coverage of cancer research. The editorial provides guidance for both the media and journals to help alleviate the problem.

CORRECTED: Survey of Science Bloggers for graduate researchers

Science Blog | 2 hours 26 minutes ago

Apologies - here is the link to the survey for folks who blog about science: Click Here to take surveyThanks!

A "shout out" for my favorite science education (ad)venture

Science Blog | 2 hours 45 minutes ago

When Pittsburgh Voyager began its unique river-based educational programs, I was in academe and was asked to join its Board of Directors.When I left my "day job" in 1996 to write full-time, it was time for someone else to take my spot on the Board.But I still have a soft spot for the organization, which now has a new name that captures its spirit of experiential learning.

Help requested: Please take a survey on science blogging for my graduate research

Science Blog | 7 hours 53 minutes ago

Hi science bloggers - If you can spare 10-12 minutes, would you take my survey about the needs and habits of science bloggers? If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Thank you.

Biologists discover bacterial defense mechanism against aggressive oxygen

Science Blog | 8 hours 43 minutes ago

Brussel, November 19th 2009 - Bacteria possess an ingenious mechanism for preventing oxygen from harming the building blocks of the cell. This is the new finding of a team of biologists that includes Joris Messens of VIB, a life sciences research institute in Flanders, Belgium, connected to the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Delft breakthrough in bioethanol production from agricultural waste

Science Blog | 8 hours 43 minutes ago

With the introduction of a single bacterial gene into yeast, researchers from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands achieved three improvements in bioethanol production from agricultural waste material: 'More ethanol, less acetate and elimination of the major by-product glycerol' This week the invention was published in the scientific journal Applied and Environmental Microbiolog

UAB researchers discover antibody receptor identity, propose renaming immune-system gene

Science Blog | 8 hours 43 minutes ago

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have uncovered the genetic identity of a cellular receptor for the immune system's first-response antibody, a discovery that sheds new light on infection control and immune disorders.

UCSB physicists move 1 step closer to quantum computing

Science Blog | 8 hours 43 minutes ago

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) -- -- Physicists at UC Santa Barbara have made an important advance in electrically controlling quantum states of electrons, a step that could help in the development of quantum computing. The work is published online today on the Science Express Web site.

New method to measure snow, vegetation moisture with GPS may benefit farmers, meteorologists

Science Blog | 8 hours 43 minutes ago

A research team led by the University of Colorado at Boulder has found a clever way to use traditional GPS satellite signals to measure snow depth as well as soil and vegetation moisture, a technique expected to benefit meteorologists, water resource managers, climate modelers and farmers.

Researchers identify role of gene in tumor development, growth and progression

Science Blog | 8 hours 43 minutes ago

RICHMOND, Va. (Nov. 20, 2009) -- Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine researchers have identified a gene that may play a pivotal role in two processes that are essential for tumor development, growth and progression to metastasis.

Barn personnel experience higher-than-average rates of respiratory symptoms

Science Blog | 8 hours 43 minutes ago

North Grafton, Mass., November 19, 2009 -- The estimated 4.6 million Americans involved in the equine industry may be at risk of developing respiratory symptoms due to poor air quality in horse barns, according to a questionnaire study undertaken earlier this year by investigators at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.

Universities of Science and Technology

Science Blog | 8 hours 43 minutes ago

Most people believe that university is the cradle of science and technology. A lot of new universities have names like:"University of Science and Technology"

Universities of Science and Technology

Science Blog | 10 hours 14 minutes ago

Most people believe that university is the cradle of science and technology. A lot of new universities have the names like: "University of Science and Technology"

New method to measure snow, vegetation moisture with GPS may benefit farmers, meteorologists

Science Blog | 10 hours 34 minutes ago

Researchers identify role of gene in tumor development, growth and progression

Science Blog | 10 hours 34 minutes ago

Barn personnel experience higher-than-average rates of respiratory symptoms

Science Blog | 10 hours 34 minutes ago

But These Reagents, Where Are They?

Corante/In the Pipeline | 13 hours 32 minutes ago

I'm home today (sick children, etc.), so I'm blogging from next to my daughter's guinea pig cage rather across the hall from my lab. But I have a lab-based question to throw out: what would you say is the chemistry technique or reagent with the worst publication-to-real use ratio? I have a couple of nominees to get things rolling. For reagent, I would like to advance the montmorillonite clay stuff. I cannot count how many papers I have seen on its use as a Lewis acid, catalyst, and all-aroun...

Comparative Effectiveness: More About Cost or Care?

Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry/DeviceTalk | 13 hours 52 minutes ago

The issue of one size doesn t fit all, how this relates to the treatment of patients, and where comparative effectiveness fits in was debated yesterday by panelists during a media event held by Cook Medical in New York City. There are many who believe in the promise that comparative effectiveness takes us to this promise [...]

Rare pancreatic cancer patients may live longer when treated with radiation therapy

Science Blog | 14 hours 4 minutes ago

Radiation therapy is effective in achieving local control and palliation in patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNTs), despite such tumors being commonly considered resistant to radiation therapy, according to a largest of its kind study in the November 15 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society fo

Flax and yellow flowers can produce bioethanol

Science Blog | 14 hours 4 minutes ago

Surplus biomass from the production of flax shives, and generated from Brassica carinata, a yellow-flowered plant related to those which engulf fields in spring, can be used to produce bioethanol. This has been suggested by two studies carried out by Spanish and Dutch researchers and published in the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.

Watching a cannibal galaxy dine

Science Blog | 14 hours 4 minutes ago

Centaurus A (NGC 5128) is the nearest giant, elliptical galaxy, at a distance of about 11 million light-years. One of the most studied objects in the southern sky, by 1847 the unique appearance of this galaxy had already caught the attention of the famous British astronomer John Herschel, who catalogued the southern skies and made a comprehensive list of nebulae.

Biologists discover bacterial defense mechanism against aggressive oxygen

Science Blog | 14 hours 4 minutes ago

Delft breakthrough in bioethanol production from agricultural waste

Science Blog | 14 hours 4 minutes ago

UAB researchers discover antibody receptor identity, propose renaming immune-system gene

Science Blog | 14 hours 4 minutes ago

UCSB physicists move 1 step closer to quantum computing

Science Blog | 14 hours 4 minutes ago

Novel K-anonimity algorithm safeguards access to data

Science Blog | 14 hours 16 minutes ago

OTTAWA -- As electronic health records become more widely deployed, increasing amounts of health information are being collected. This data has many beneficial applications, such as research, public health, and health system planning. In a recent study, Dr.

Researchers begin to decipher metabolism of sexual assault drug

Science Blog | 14 hours 16 minutes ago

It's a naturally occurring brain chemical with an unwieldy name: 4-hydroxybutyrate (4-HB). Taken by mouth, it can be abused or used as a date-rape drug.

Projections of savings from health IT are baseless, Harvard researchers say

Science Blog | 14 hours 16 minutes ago

The increased computerization in U.S. hospitals hasn't made them cheaper or more efficient, Harvard researchers say, although it may have modestly improved the quality of care for heart attacks.

A New Opportunity to Reach the Drug Channels Audience

Drug Channels | 15 hours 17 minutes ago

Many people ask me about the readership of Drug Channels. This post shares new details about the companies visiting Drug Channels along with traffic statistics since March 2007. I am also announcing the availability of two sponsorship opportunities for companies interested in connecting with the Drug Channels community. The number of sponsors will be limited to two companies at any one time and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. I include some high-level details below, bu...

Novel K-anonimity algorithm safeguards access to data

Science Blog | 15 hours 57 minutes ago

Researchers begin to decipher metabolism of sexual assault drug

Science Blog | 15 hours 58 minutes ago

It's a naturally occurring brain chemical with an unwieldy name: 4-hydroxybutyrate (4-HB). Taken by mouth, it can be abused or used as a date-rape drug.

Projections of savings from health IT are baseless, Harvard researchers say

Science Blog | 15 hours 58 minutes ago

The increased computerization in U.S. hospitals hasn't made them cheaper or more efficient, Harvard researchers say, although it may have modestly improved the quality of care for heart attacks.

Merck, Shopping in the UK?

Corante/In the Pipeline | 16 hours 34 minutes ago

So, according to this report, Merck is scouting out locations for a UK facility. No word if it's supposed to have a research component, but. . .as a correspondent points out, if only there were a large research campus that they could somehow get their hands on, convenient to both Cambridge and London, with all the facilities they might need. . .hmmm. . .

What are SmartBlogs?

SmartBrief's simple blog reader, designed for the busy executive, does the work so you don't have to. "SmartBlogs" delivers in real time the influential voices of must-read industry bloggers, hand-selected and maintained by our expert editors. Be sure to bookmark this page and visit often.

Selected blogs for this industry includes:

Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry/DeviceTalk
A weblog about and for the medical device industry.

BioTech Weblog, The
Biotech News made simple.

Corante/Brain Waves
The field of neurotechnology, the focus of this blog, encompasses advances in brain science (neurons), information technology (bits) and bioengineering (genes). Up for discussion and analysis: the political, economic, ethical, and social forces that will shape the future of what will be one of the most important and fascinating stories of the coming decades.

Eye on FDA
RX for Pharma Industry Communications and Planning

Drug Channels
Expert viewpoints by Dr. Adam J. Fein on the latest pharmaceutical distribution trends affecting manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacies, PBMs, and payers

Science Blog
In case Mr. Wizard and Mythbusters don't give you enough science

Corante/In the Pipeline
The scoop on drugmakers and the drugs they have in the development pipeline