The case of a talented artist whose paintings evolved as her dementia progressed suggests that language skills are not necessary, and may even inhibit, some types of creativity. The case is reported in the May 27 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

“This case suggests that our brain wiring may be a major factor in determining the nature of our creativity,” said neurologist Bruce L. Miller, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, who

Eliminating X-ray exam could save patients time and money

When every minute counts in assessing and treating injuries in patients who have sustained severe trauma, multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) is more effective than conventional radiographs (x-rays) in helping radiologists pinpoint spine fractures, according to a new study appearing in the June issue of the journal Radiology.

The study was conducted at Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland, to determine

A heart rhythm disturbance that affects more than 2 million Americans is twice as likely to recur in patients with untreated sleep apnea, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the May 27 edition of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition that causes people to repeatedly stop breathing during sleep.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained heart arrhythmia and can have serious consequences. When the upper chamb

Important step forward for safety of xenotransplantation

This week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from Immerge BioTherapeutics, Inc., announced that they have identified the receptors that are used by porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) in order to enter and infect a cell (PNAS; May 27, 2003; vol. 100, no. 11; 6759-6764). This is a critical discovery because it allows scientists to begin to develop strategies to prevent PERV replication. PERV has

Milestone to Fulfill Metallization Requirements for Chip Manufacturing into Next Decade

Infineon Technologies (FSE/NYSE: IFX) today announced that its Munich Research Labs have demonstrated, by shrinking present film thicknesses into nanotechnology geometries, that the stringent requirements of thin encapsulation films in metallization schemes of future chip generations will be met. The results shows that thin barrier films, key components for advanced copper chip wiring, will meet t

390 million hectares (circa 80% of the total land area) in Europe is currently laid to waste by acid soil toxicity. Now EUREKA project CEREALSTRESSOL is developing new varieties of crops that can cope with adverse due to natural stresses such as drought and due to abiotic, non-living stresses such as acid soil toxicity.

Acid soil toxicity is caused by the leaching of aluminum, manganese and other toxins into the soil through acid rain, acid forming fertilizers as well as the decay of