institute of physics

(American Institute of Physics) Sick hearts may help to keep themselves beating longer with a device that could harvest energy from heartbeat-induced chest cavity vibrations.

(Institute of Physics) Life-threatening viruses such as HIV, SARS, hepatitis and influenza, could soon be combated in an unusual manner as researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of plasma for inactivating and preventing the replication of adenoviruses.

(American Institute of Physics) The 162nd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America will include more than 1,000 presentations in the physical sciences, engineering, and medicine.

Topics include: the evolution of speech; the science of music; the impact of noise on the natural world; and how sound -- both pleasant and irritating -- impacts the way we learn, work, and play.

(American Institute of Physics) A team of scientists has developed a way to coax tumor cells in the lab to grow into 3-D spheres.

Their discovery takes advantage of an earlier technique of producing spherical cavities in a common polymer and promises more accurate tests of new cancer therapies.

(American Institute of Physics) Researchers in Canada have combined DNA microarrays with microfluidic devices, which are used for the precise control of liquids at the nanoscale.

An article in an upcoming issue of the journal Biomicrofluidics, describes how the first combined device can be used for sorting DNA.

(American Institute of Physics) Eighty years ago, the medical establishment believed cancer was caused by a dysfunction of metabolism, but the idea went out of vogue.

Now, scientists are again looking at metabolism and its role in cancer and other common diseases.

(American Institute of Physics) Two new studies announced this week have tested three different methods for accurately measuring breast density -- the relative portion of tissue to fat in a woman's breasts and a strong indicator of breast cancer risk.

(American Institute of Physics) A national summit of medical professionals meeting last month in Atlanta called for the creation of consensus scan techniques as a way of addressing the concerns of patients undergoing CT scans -- a common medical imaging procedure that uses X-rays to show cross-sectional images of the body.

(American Institute of Physics) Recent international studies of math and science education suggest that students in the United States are falling further behind their foreign counterparts.

(Institute of Physics) Two prototype devices have been developed: one for efficient disinfection of healthy skin (e.g. hands and feet) in hospitals and public spaces where bacteria can pose a lethal threat; and another to shoot bacteria-killing agents into infested chronic wounds and enable a quicker healing process.