Population Displacement During Disasters Predicted Using Mobile Data
Using data supplied by a mobile operator, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have shown that population movements after the 2010 Haiti earthquake followed regular patterns. This information can be used to predict beforehand the movements of people after a disaster, and thus improves chances for aid to be delivered to the right places at the right time.
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Researchers Explore Additional Coding Potential Hidden in the Human Genome
Sequencing the human genome was just the first step. The next challenge is of the kind that makes history: to decode the genome, and understand how the information needed to construct a human being can be packaged into a single molecule. And there are a lot more than loose ends in the way of a solution.
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High-contrast, High-Resolution CT Scans Now Possible at Reduced Dose
Scientists have developed an X-ray imaging method that could drastically improve the contrast of computed tomography (CT) scans whilst reducing the radiation dose deposited during the scan. The new method is based on the combination of the high contrast obtained by an X-ray technique known as grating interferometry with the three-dimensional capabilities of CT.
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New Research About Facebook Addiction
Are you a social media enthusiast or simply a Facebook addict? Researchers from Norway have developed a new instrument to measure Facebook addiction, the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale. The use of Facebook has increased rapidly.
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Walking Again After Spinal Cord Injury
Rats with spinal cord injuries and severe paralysis are now walking (and running) thanks to researchers at EPFL. Published in the June 1, 2012 issue of Science, the results show that a severed section of the spinal cord can make a comeback when its own innate intelligence and regenerative capacity is awakened.
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New Technique May Help Severely Damaged Nerves Regrow and Restore Function
Engineers at the University of Sheffield have developed a method of assisting nerves damaged by traumatic accidents to repair naturally, which could improve the chances of restoring sensation and movement in injured limbs. In a collaborative study with Laser Zentrum Hannover (Germany) published in the journal Biofabrication, the team describes a new method for making medical devices called nerve guidance conduits or NGCs.
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New Technique Could Improve Heart Attack Prediction
An award-winning research project, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), has tested a new imaging method which could help improve how doctors predict a patient's risk of having a heart attack. Scientists from the University of Edinburgh, a BHF Centre of Research Excellence, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge are the first to demonstrate the potential of combining PET and CT scanning to image the disease processes directly in the coronary arteries that cause heart attacks.
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