Technology has placed vast amounts of medical information literally a mouse click away. Yet what often may be central -- a doctor's notes about a patient visit -- has traditionally not been part of the discussion. In effect, such records have long been out of bounds. In a new article, researchers speculate about the risks and rewards of making clinicians' notes transparent to patients.

Scientists have been researching Heusler compounds, which are an important material class for the use in spintronic applications. Over the past few years, new application areas have emerged in the field of renewable energy, such as solar energy and thermoelectrics. And now Heusler compounds are also being considered for future technologies such as quantum computers.

A simple screening test identifies patients who are most likely to have inflammatory bowel disease and reduces the need for expensive, invasive and time consuming endoscopies, finds a new study.

A new but technically challenging observational "shortcut" will help make large-scale cosmic maps that can yield clues to to the nature of the mysterious "dark energy" that pervades the universe.

A group of researchers is developing a way to treat cancer by using lasers to light up tiny nanoparticles and destroy tumors with the ensuing heat.

Apoptosis, programmed cell death, is essential to normal development, healthy immune system function, and cancer prevention. The process dramatically transforms cellular structures but the limitations of conventional microscopy methods have kept much about this structural reorganization a mystery.

Climate change promises to bring with it longer, hotter summers to many places on the planet. This June turned out to be the fourth-hottest month ever recorded--globally-- scientists are reporting . With more heat waves on the horizon, and a big one currently sweeping much of the U.S., the risk of heat-related health problems has also been on the rise. [More]



Climate change - Heat wave - United States - Health - Environment

Bird observatories all over the world may benefit from a newly designed high-resolution imaging system used to study the retinal structure of live birds of prey. Researchers now reveal unprecedented 3-D information about the retina of four species of raptors -- two hawks and two owls -- using the noninvasive, powerful imaging tool.

New technology could fundamentally change the study of language development as well as the screening for autism spectrum disorders and language delay.

Blood tests have been extremely important tools aiding doctors in making medical diagnoses and in guiding the treatment of many diseases. However, psychiatry is one area of medicine where there are few diagnostic blood tests. Dutch researchers evaluated blood gene expression profiles in healthy individuals and patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder, or MDD. They identified a set of seven genes in whole blood that was able to distinguish un-medicated MDD patients from healthy controls.