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Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) can improve survival in patients with heart damage — even those in their 70s — according to research reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Cambridge, Md. - An international group of scientists is linking nutrient pollution in the world's coastal seas to an increase in the number of harmful algal blooms reported in recent years. When harmful algal blooms (HAB's) occur, they taint seafood with toxins, cause human respiratory and skin irritations and cause fish or mammal kills in coastal waters.

(PhysOrg.com) -- Right now Intel dominates the netbook market with its Atom processors which can be found in netbooks costing around $299. This may all change with the introduction of Freescale's i.MX515 processor chip.

(PhysOrg.com) -- An ongoing X-ray survey undertaken by NASA's Swift spacecraft is revealing differences between nearby active galaxies and those located about halfway across the universe. Understanding these differences will help clarify the relationship between a galaxy and its central black hole.

Scientists have discovered a new way for bacteria to transfer toxic genes to unrelated bacterial species, a finding that raises the unsettling possibility that bacterial swapping of toxins and other disease-aiding factors may be more common than previously imagined.

Digital mammograms take longer to interpret than film-screen mammograms, according to a study performed at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

The Cheap Vegetable Gardener sent us his fully automated grow chamber project. In the quest to have fresh strawberries year round, they’ve made some progress in the area of automating their plant care. The whole thing is controlled by a computer that can turn on/off the lights and adjust the temperature. It also takes snapshots and logs the environment conditions so you can chart it all out nicely. The automated watering feature isn’t done yet, but hopefully will be soon.

      

MRI of the wrist at 3T is an effective way to detect wrist ligament tears and in some cases can avoid unnecessary surgery, according to a study performed at Neuroskeletal Imaging in Merritt Island, Florida.

(PhysOrg.com) -- WowWee introduces the first consumer WiFi roving Webcam for being there without having to go there. The WowWee Rovio is PC/Mac compatible and measures approximately 13.5-inches x 12-inches x 14-inches and weighs only 5-pounds. Rovio's three omni-directional wheel design allows it to roam around an office area, home or small manufacturing area maneuvering its way around pets, furniture and obstructions without tipping over. Rovio connects up to a users WiFi network via a laptop, game console or wireless cell phone.

(PhysOrg.com) -- The brilliant afterglow of a powerful gamma-ray burst (GRB) has enabled astronomers to probe the star-forming environment of a distant galaxy, resulting in the first detection of molecular gas in a GRB host galaxy. By analyzing the spectrum of light emitted in the GRB afterglow, the researchers are gleaning insights into an active stellar nursery in a galaxy so far away it appears as it was 10 billion years ago.

With 30 million drivers in the US aged 65 and over, we count on older Americans to recognize when they can no longer drive safely and decide that it's time to stay off the road. A new study finds that a decrease in vision function is a key factor in bringing about this decision.

SanDisk Corporation today unveiled its next-generation of flash memory-based solid-state drives (SSD) to support the evolving needs of designers, manufacturers and users in the exploding netbook market - SanDisk pSSD. The new SanDisk pSSD-P2 and SanDisk pSSD-S2 SSDs have capacity and performance for more full-featured netbooks which require a robust operating system.

(PhysOrg.com) -- It's a little like finding out that Superman is actually Clark Kent. A team of biologists at Washington University in St. Louis has discovered that two vital cellular components, nuclear RNA Polymerases IV and V (Pol IV and V), found only in plants, are actually specialized forms of RNA Polymerase II, an essential enzyme of all eukaryotic organisms, including humans.

(PhysOrg.com) -- So your New Year's resolution is to lose weight in 2009 and already you're faced with your first challenge: Super Bowl Sunday.

(PhysOrg.com) -- Criminal justice scholars often say that the true number of innocent people convicted of crimes is unknown—in fact, unknowable. A new University of Michigan study challenges that belief in one important context.

AMD today announced the availability of the AMD platform for ultrathin notebooks, enabling exceedingly thin and light OEM designs with rich entertainment capabilities at an affordable price. Previously codenamed "Yukon," the platform is based on the new AMD Athlon Neo processor, ATI Radeon X1250 integrated graphics and optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 discrete graphics and brings true HD entertainment to a new category of stylish notebook PCs. The AMD platform debuts within the HP Pavilion dv2 Entertainment Notebook PC ultrathin notebook, which measures less than one-inch thick and weighs less than four pounds. The HP Pavilion dv2 also comes equipped with a 12.1-inch diagonal LED BrightView display, nearly full-size keyboard, and optional external optical disc drive with Blu-ray capability.

(PhysOrg.com) -- To help protect its genes, a cell is highly selective about what it allows to move in and out of its nucleus. Yet that choosiness is regulated by just a thin barrier, perforated with tiny transport machines called nuclear pore complexes: protein-coated holes surrounded by flimsy, unfolded protein strands. Now, by building an artificial mimic of this membrane barrier and its pores, scientists have discovered a key to its selectivity and, in the process, have found a practical tool for drug development.

Today Motorola, Inc. announced two new mobile devices that will make social responsibility and social connectivity even more accessible to people everywhere. MOTO W233 Renew is the world's first mobile phone made using plastics comprised of recycled water bottles, and MOTOSURF A3100 - a high-speed touch tablet with a fully customizable home screen - will debut this week at the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Researchers at North Carolina State University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have produced the first link between a species of bacteria most commonly found in sheep and human illness.

(PhysOrg.com) -- Often thought to be hobbled by corruption, poor infrastructure and a weak financial system, African exporters rose to the opportunities presented by a U.S. trade liberalization policy, a recent University of Toronto study has found.