University of Groningen

“Our pilot study indicates that the new implant works as well in patients as it does in the lab” In a small study, researchers reported increased healthy tissue growth after surgical repair of damaged cartilage if they put a “hydrogel” scaffolding into the wound to support and nourish the healing process. The squishy hydrogel materialwas implanted in 15 patients during

A new barrier design could protect reservoir levees from the erosive forces of wind-driven waves, according to studies by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and partners. These findings could help lower the maintenance costs for constructed ponds in the lower Mississippi Delta where levee repairs can average $3 per foot-and sometimes are needed just five

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Carnegie Mellon University have introduced a unique micro-robotic technique to assemble the components of complex materials, the foundation of tissue engineering and 3D printing. Described in the Jan. 28, 2014, issue of Nature Communications, the research was conducted by Savas Tasoglu, PhD, MS, research fellow in the BWH Division

Provisional patent filed for process using most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere Indiana University biologists believe they have found a faster, cheaper and cleaner way to increase bioethanol production by using nitrogen gas, the most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere, in place of more costly industrial fertilizers. The discovery could save the industry millions of dollars

New heads-up display technology will make it easier for drivers and pilots to see information while viewing the outside world Heads-up displays are transparent devices used in airplanes and cars to provide information such as critical flight data or driving directions on the windshield. An innovative holography-based approach could soon make these heads-up displays much

Thorium is being touted as an ideal fuel for a new generation of nuclear power plants, but in a piece in this week’s Nature, researchers suggest it may not be as benign as portrayed. The element thorium, which many regard as a potential nuclear “wonder-fuel”, could be a greater proliferation threat than previously thought, scientists

Image via Wikipedia A laboratory milling device for improving stored grain management has been developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and an industry cooperator. The system, called the “insect-o-graph,” can detect internal insects in wheat that are not visible to the eye or that cannot be detected by usual grading methods. The device, built

The recent cyber attack on Ukraine’s power grid highlights a new challenge for the United States: not only protecting our electric system against such attacks but also ensuring that utilities can rapidly restore power if the grid goes down. Decades of experience with hurricanes and other natural hazards has helped utilities hone their ability to

There is a cheap, safe, chemopreventive agent for prostate cancer. It’s called selenium. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, so you’d think that if a cheap, safe, effective chemopreventive agent for prostate cancer were discovered, the U.S. government (which pays the bill for treatment of the elderly, via Medicare)

Image via Wikipedia The financial crisis and subsequent global recession have led to much soul-searching among economists, the vast majority of whom never saw it coming. But were their assumptions and models wrong only because of minor errors or because today’s dominant economic thinking violates the laws of physics? A small but growing group of