Researchers at the University of Ulster and Belfast City Hospital are set to launch a groundbreaking study that could offer a new insight into the prevention of prostate cancer.

The study will focus on a significant link between low levels of serious prostate cancer and the presence of soy products in the diet.

Professor Ian Rowland, from the University of Ulster said: “The incidence and mortality rate of certain cancers such as colorectal and prostate cancers, is much higher in W

Parchment points to authenticity of Vinland Map

For the first time, scientists have ascribed a date – 1434 A.D., plus or minus 11 years – to the parchment of the controversial Vinland Map, possibly the first map of the North American continent. Collaborators from the Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education (SCMRE), Suitland, Md., the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, N.Y., used carbon-dating techn

For the first time in the controversial saga of the famous Vinland Map, scientists say they have shown with certainty that the supposed relic is actually a 20th-century forgery. The findings are reported in the July 31 print issue of Analytical Chemistry, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

The Vinland Map — a drawing that suggests Norse explorers charted North America long before Columbus — has given scientists and historians

A new report urges politicians not to forget rural businesses as they consider the lessons learnt from the devastating foot and mouth crisis. The study (1), by Newcastle University’s Centre for Rural Economy, highlights that many small firms are still struggling from the effects of the 2001 foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak and will take several years to fully recover. It recommends small businesses receive consistent and lasting support – both financial and advisory – from the Governmen

A Lords report published today by the Select Committee on Animals in Scientific Procedures found that animal experiments are currently necessary to develop human and veterinary medicine, and to protect humans and the environment. However, the report says that more should be done to fund and promote “alternative” methods known as the Three Rs – reduction, refinement and replacement. This is important for both human health and animal welfare. The Committee recommends setting up research units on the Th

Authors of a study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET caution that the provision of zinc supplementation to pregnant women in developing countries could impair the early mental development of their children. Zinc deficiency is common in developing countries due to a diet that is low in animal protein and high in fibre. Supplements given to Bangladeshi pregnant women have previously been shown to improve infant growth and to reduce susceptibility to infectious diseases. In a follow-up study, Sally Gra

Studies might improve understanding of leading cause of mental retardation in girls By studying gene mutations in patients with the complex set of behavioral and neurological symptoms that accompany Rett syndrome, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Huda Zoghbi and her colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine have designed a mouse model that faithfully recapitulates the disease down to its distinctive hand-wringing behavior. The development of the mouse, reported in the July

A drug widely used to treat patients with heart failure is as effective for black patients as it is for white patients, according to researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

The results of this analysis do not support the hypothesis that black patients with heart failure may not respond as well to angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors as white patients with heart failure, said Dr. Daniel Dries, lead author of the study in today’s issue of the Journal of the Americ

Material could be used to make better filters, more efficient sensors, and faster catalysts

For the first time, scientists have created a material with a gradient of gold nanoparticles on a silica covered silicon surface using a molecular template. The material, which was developed at North Carolina State University (NCSU) and tested at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National

MIT engineers are excited about a new technique for repairing cartilage that could have significant advantages over the procedure now commonly used. This could affect people disabled by osteoarthritis, which slowly destroys the tissue that cushions joints. Hundreds of thousands others damage cartilage through sports-related injuries and other accidents. The new technique involves growing cartilage cells within a novel “designer” gel outside the body, then ultimately delivering the cell-seede

Studies of cirrus clouds by some 450 scientists may lead to improved forecasts of future climate change. During July in southern Florida, scientists from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. will join others to investigate high tropical cirrus clouds composed of tiny ice crystals.The researchers hope to determine how the clouds form, how they limit the amount of sunlight reaching the surface of the Earth and how they trap heat rising from the surface and lower atmos

An enzyme whose activity is affected by alcohol may prove useful in identifying recent alcohol or marijuna use even though it does not seem to be a good marker for genetic predisposition to alcoholism, a new international study finds. The researchers also found that the activity level of the enzyme, adenylyl cyclase, steadily dropped in people who had abstained from drinking for days to weeks and was generally lower in people with a history of major depression, according to the study published in th

Popeye was right — eat your spinach. In fact, add some fresh-cut apples to that spinach salad.

Two new animal studies by researchers at the University of South Florida Center for Aging and Brain Repair and James A. Haley Veterans Hospital bolster a growing body of evidence that certain fruits and vegetables may protect the brain against the ravages of age. The complementary research papers appear in today’s issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

“If these pre-clinical fin

One or two drinks a day can raise the risk of developing hypertension in some men, according to two Japanese studies. The studies, published in the July issue of Alcohol: Clinical Experience and Research, found that men who had as few as one or two glasses of alcohol on a regular basis had a much higher incidence of hypertension than those who did not drink at all. Several U.S. studies have found that moderate drinking habits can actually decrease the risk of heart disease. A

Prey have evolved a suite of tricks to avoid falling victim to a predator. They may escape, hide, protect, become toxic/inedible or defend themselves. In principle, they could also scare the predator away, but this is risky when predators are big. Recent work led by a Dutch research team and published in the July issue of Ecology Letters revealed that a plant-feeding thrips insect overcomes this differential size problem by killing the eggs of its enemy, a plant-inhabiting predatory mite. Th

French birds love the smell of perfumed nests. In an article published this month in Ecology Letters, scientists from the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique report that a small cavity-nesting bird on the island of Corsica, the blue tit, adorns its nests with fragments of strongly perfumed plants, including lavender and mint. The chemical compounds of these plants are economically important as they are used for aromatic house cleaners and herbal medicines. The researchers also discovered that t