Squealing brakes cost auto manufacturers several hundred million dollars a year in warranty repairs and are among consumers’ top 20 vehicle complaints – even in luxury cars. Now, acoustics researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a solution that could stop the problem of noisy brakes once and for all.

In disc brakes, squeal can occur when the brake pads contact the rotor while the vehicle is moving at low speeds, setting up a vibration that manifests itself as an an

Researchers at Johns Hopkins’ Wilmer Eye Institute and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals have identified an experimental medicine that stops the blinding blood vessel growth associated with diabetic eye diseases and possibly macular degeneration in laboratory mice.

By injecting a fused protein called VEGF-TRAP (R1R2) into the eyes or bloodstreams of mice, scientists halted new blood vessel growth in the rodents’ eyes and stopped existing blood vessels from leaking. Study results were publ

Mayo Clinic researchers have identified a new member of the important B7 family of immune system “co-stimulators.” Co-stimulators are molecules that are capable of turning the immune system on or off — and in the process, profoundly affecting human health.

Mayo Clinic researchers named this newest molecule B7-H4. It inhibits the action of T cells, the immune system warriors whose basic job is to attack invaders. Turning off T cells helps transplant patients accept foreign organs. But turni

Acrylamide, a possible human carcinogen that has been found in a variety of fried and starch-based foods, appears to exert its mutagenicity (the capacity to induce mutations) by forming DNA adducts and introducing genetic mutations, according to a study in the June 18 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. DNA adducts can interfere with the DNA replication process and lead to mutations and, in theory, to tumor formation.

Exposure to acrylamide has been shown to increase the

Fifteen days after the launch of Mars Express, Europe has reaffirmed its trust in Soyuz: next stop Venus in 2005!

Just two weeks after the flawless launch of Mars Express on its way towards the Red Planet, ESA and the European-Russian company Starsem reinforced their relationship with the signature of the Venus Express launch services agreement.

The contract was signed at Le Bourget (Paris) Air Show, Tuesday, 17 June 2003, by David Southwood, Director of Science for the European Sp

Transplant research takes a hopeful step

Researchers at Kansas State University have successfully transplanted cells from one species to another without triggering an immune system rejection response or requiring drugs to suppress the immune system.

This hopeful news for transplant medicine is reported in the online edition of the journal Experimental Neurology, published by Elsevier.

Researchers transplanted umbilical cord matrix stem cells from a pig into the bra