R&D Mag - News

Study: Cell-phone bans while driving have more impact in dense, urban areas

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:39:10 GMT

(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) A new study analyzing the impact of hand-held cell phone legislation on driving safety concludes that usage-ban laws had more of an impact in densely populated urban areas with a higher number of licensed drivers than in rural areas where there...

Racial disparities persist in the diagnosis of advanced breast cancer and colon cancer in the U.S.

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:37:36 GMT

The incidence of advanced breast cancer diagnosis among black women remained 30 percent to 90 percent higher compared to white women between 1992 and 2004, according to new findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In addition, the disparity in the incidence of advance...

Earnings Preview: Activision Blizzard to report 4Q

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:26:24 GMT

Activision Blizzard Inc., the video game publisher behind "World of Warcraft" and "Call of Duty," reports fourth-quarter results after the market closes Wednesday.WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Activision has fared a bit better than its peers in weathering the recession. The company's "Call of Duty: Modern...

Former Va. gubernatorial hopeful seeks to buy mill

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:26:08 GMT

Terry McAuliffe, an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 2009, is in the running again — this time, to buy a soon-to-close Southside paper factory he wants to convert to a wood-fired power plant.McAuliffe and other investors are pitching to International Paper Co. to purchase the firm's giant...

Scripps research team reveals how an old drug could have a new use for treating river blindness

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:36:17 GMT

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a potential new use for the drug closantel, currently the standard treatment for sheep and cattle infected with liver fluke. The new research suggests that the drug may be useful in combating river blindness, a tropical disease that is...

Morningstar acquires financial publisher Footnoted

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:26:41 GMT

Investment researcher Morningstar Inc. said Tuesday it acquired the Footnoted business of Financial Fineprint Inc., which reviews companies' regulatory filings and highlights examples of potential financial troubles or excessive compensation.Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.The...

Maine high court upholds $4.9 million award

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:26:31 GMT

Maine's highest court has upheld a $4.9 million award to a Bangor man who sued Central Maine Power Co. after suffering severe electrical injuries when a sailboat mast he was moving came in contact with a low-hanging power line.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court...

Historic refinery closing again

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:26:26 GMT

The owners of a historic refinery in south central Kentucky say they are shutting down operations.Ed Phelps, a spokesman for Somerset Energy Refining, the company that owns the refinery, says they weren't able to buy enough crude oil to keep the business open.The Commonwealth Journal of...

UC Riverside licenses technology to OlFactor Laboratories, Inc.

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:36:07 GMT

(University of California - Riverside) OlFactor Laboratories, Inc., a majority owned subsidiary of Avisio, Inc. acquired an exclusive license to patented technology from the University of California, Riverside. The technology is based on an advanced scientific understanding of how two-winged...

Autism Speaks presents the top ten autism research findings of 2009

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:35:53 GMT

Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization has released its annual list of the 10 most significant research achievements to have impacted autism during the previous year, documenting progress towards the discovery of the causes and treatment for autism spectrum...

Celebrating Safer Internet Day: Don’t Forget to “Think B4U Post!”

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:33:46 GMT

Posted by Julie Inman Grant Director, Privacy and Internet Safety Outreach Today is Safer Internet Day , and events are taking place in 60 countries around the world to mark the occasion. Organized by InSafe with support from the Safer Internet...(

UB geographers help map devastation in Haiti

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:33:10 GMT

In the wake of the earthquake in Haiti, University at Buffalo geography students are participating in a global effort to enhance the international response and recovery effort by helping to assess damage, using images hosted by Google Earth and the Virtual Disaster Viewer, which shares imagery of...

Google reduces fee to break Nexus One contract

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:32:40 GMT

Google Inc. is shaving $200 off the fee that it charges customers of its new Nexus One phone to break a service contract with T-Mobile, as federal regulators continue to probe such fees and the rationale for them.Google's "equipment recovery fee" applies to customers who break their two-year...

Amgen sees positive data in bone drug study

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:31:27 GMT

Amgen Inc. said its osteoporosis drug candidate denosumab beat a rival drug in reducing and delaying the rate of fractures in men with prostate cancer during a study.The drug, also called Prolia, is viewed by Wall Street as Amgen's next blockbuster product and a way to revive the company's...

Health official says H1N1 still a threat

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:31:23 GMT

A state health official says don't become complacent about your chances of contracting the swine flu.The H1N1 influenza isn't top of mind as it once was months ago. But, the flu season is far from over.State epidemiologist Tom Haupt tells WISC-TV that it's not too late to get vaccinated for the...

Earnings Preview: Philip Morris International Inc.

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:28:33 GMT

Cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc., which sells Marlboros and other U.S. brands abroad, reports its fourth-quarter results before the stock market opens Thursday.WHAT TO WATCH FOR: While the weak economy, higher prices and health concerns have dampened demand for cigarettes,...

NY City Hall pulls recalled Toyotas from fleet

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:28:29 GMT

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration has pulled all of its 2010 Toyota Prius vehicles from the road after a recall from the world's largest automaker.The city had ordered 181 of the hybrids to add to its fleet of 26,600 city vehicles.As of last week, 16 had been delivered and six...

AirTran, union reach 2-year deal for dispatchers

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:28:25 GMT

AirTran Airways and the union that represents its flight dispatchers said Tuesday they have ratified a new 2-year bargaining deal.The agreement covers AirTran Airways dispatchers that work at the company's System Operations Control Center in Orlando.The dispatchers are represented by the...

Young central Ill. alderman dies after surgery

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:28:21 GMT

A 29-year-old central Illinois alderman is dead after having surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat.Lincoln Mayor Keith Snyder says Nathan Turner died Sunday at an area hospital. The mayor says Turner had surgery a few days earlier.Turner was sworn in to office in May 2009 after winning...

NY City Hall pulled recalled Toyotas from fleet

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:28:16 GMT

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration pulled all of its 2010 Toyota Prius vehicles from the road ahead of Tuesday's recall from the world's largest automaker.The city had ordered 181 of the hybrids to add to its fleet of 26,600 city vehicles.As of last week, 16 had been delivered...

FDA aims to rein in radiation-based medical scans

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:28:12 GMT

The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it will work with doctors and manufacturers to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure from medical scans, a problem that has been growing for decades.The agency says it will require manufacturers of CT scanners and other imaging machines to include...

Physicists design the heart of linear accelerators of the future

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:01:52 GMT

Enrico Fermi’s fanciful vision of a particle accelerator that encircled the globe is probably impractical. This is why researchers at the Univ. of Chicago and Fermilab are instead looking for ways to pack more energy into each particle meter of acceleration. Niobium, one of the best superconducting elements out there, might help us up the ante.

Researchers reveal 3-D structure of bullet-shaped virus with potential to fight cancer, HIV

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:38:22 GMT

A recent UCLA study demonstrates that with advanced imaging technique, the vesicular stomatitis virus can be modified to serve as an anti-cancer agent because it displays high selectivity in killing cancer cells while sparing normal cells. It can also be engineered as a potent vaccine against...

Ind. man sues NIPSCO after wife killed in blast

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:26:09 GMT

A Fort Wayne man whose wife was fatally injured in a natural gas explosion at their home is suing the gas company, saying neighbors reported fumes before the blast.Michael Betancourt's 55-year-old wife, Janice, died in April, a month after suffering severe burns over 75 percent of her body. The...

Arthritis simulation gloves aid design of products

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:02:31 GMT

As the U.S. population ages, manufacturers of consumer goods are realizing that many customers may not be as nimble-fingered or sharp-sighted as they once were. To help product designers and engineers address those changing requirements, researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute have been developing evaluation methods and design techniques to identify and address the needs of all consumers.

Wireless sensor test bed to guide industrial systems

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:03:08 GMT

For consumers, wireless technology is great. But if you’re running a nuclear power plant or a pharma production line, the risk of failure is too great. Idaho Lab’s new wireless sensor network will track down the weaknesses of these systems by simulating industrial settings in a physical lab environment. They hope to supply standards the industry now lacks.

New federal climate change agency forming

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:03:46 GMT

The weather system at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is set to intensify. The new Climate Service was announced this week, and it combines the various units of the Weather Service and Ocean Service that have been studying climate change. Pending congressional committee approval, the office will appear at the end of 2010.

Japan Airlines rejects Delta, stays with American

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:26:12 GMT

Japan Airlines, wooed for months by Delta Air Lines with promises of cash and a broad global network, spurned the world's biggest carrier and opted to keep its alliance with American Airlines.The Japanese carrier said Tuesday it will strengthen its partnership with American, and the two...

Resistant wheat goes for the gut

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:04:27 GMT

Resistant wheat plants stave off attacks by Hessian fly larvae by essentially destroying the fly's midgut and its ability to absorb nutrients, according to a study by Purdue Univ. and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Fractal patterns may be key to semiconductor magnetism

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:05:05 GMT

A Princeton-led team of scientists has observed electrons in a semiconductor on the brink of the metal-insulator transition for the first time. Caught in the act, the electrons formed complex patterns resembling those seen in turbulent fluids, confirming some long-held predictions and providing new insights into how semiconductors can be turned into magnets.