This little Asus LCD monitor is put to the test with some extreme tools: a nail and hammer and most important: a crossbow with steel tip bolts It's simply amazing. Have a look!

Can we act on stopping the process of infection, without the risk to develop strains resistant to antibiotics ? Small molecules that interrupt the chemical signals by which bacteria communicates by blocking the process of infection have been identified. The discovery, published in Molecular Cell, as well as representing a new option in the treatment of infections, reduces the risk of growth of bacteria strains resistant to antibiotics. Bacteria will exchange information with a system of intercellular communication, called quorum sensing, which allows them to perceive and respond to changes in density and to coordinate actions of the group. As soon as the conditions are favorable to population growth, for example if they are within a host, the bacteria sends chemical signals to molecules that bind to receptors inside: LuxR-type proteins or proteins of the type LuxN, located on membrane of each cell. In this way the infection proceeds without hitches. " Blocking the communications of the enemy has always been a winning weapon. The researchers searched the key to succeeding, and found in an old acquaintance. In a previous study Bassler and colleagues had discovered that a class of molecules called lactose acilomoserina (AHL), is able to compete with the signals acting on LuxN proteins, preventing them from binding to the receptor. In the recent study, researchers have realized that the AHL can also bind to proteins of the LuxR type. In this way was brought into light the AHL the ability to bind to both receptors, although the two proteins have two completely different structure and location mechanisms.

A highly resistant and self lubricating material has been discovered, thanks to the formation of an oxide surface that captures the water vapor Hard as diamond and slippery as a sheet of ice. The secret of the extraordinary characteristics of Bam, a special alloy-ceramics produced by blending a mix of boron, aluminum and magnesium (AlMgB14) with titanium boride (TiB2), was unveiled by researchers of Ames Laboratory, in Iowa (Usa ), who had accidentally discovered it a decade ago. In 1999, researchers tried to obtain a substance capable of generating electricity if overheated, when, unexpectedly, found in the hands a league owned by the exceptional and seemingly inexplicable. The Bam is tough, despite possessing a complex structure, asymmetrical and not compact. Moreover, says Alan Russel of Iowa University, it is inherently slippery. One characteristic that, according to researchers, could be due to the formation on the surface of boron oxide, which can attract water molecules present in the air.

Researchers have made a fabric, made from polyester fibres which is coated with millions of small silicone filaments. This the most water-resistant clothing which was ever created by man. Because of the nanometre-scaled filaments, a coating which stops water particules from going through the coating to the polyester fibres which are underneath. This mixture between a hydrophobic surface and a nanostructure coating leads to a super-hydrophobic effect. This is similar to the surface of Lotus leaves. There are many applications for this: from stain resistant clothing (see video) to reducing water drag in submarines or swimmers. This could lead in a drag decrease of up to 20%. Here's a little video from the Today Show with a stain resistant shirt which usese nano-technology (Nano-Tex material).

It was finally demonstrated how atoms arrange themselves inside the materials. This opens new possibilities for designing ultraresistant objects. Glass is a material called 'amorphous', whose atoms that is, are not disposed in a regular type structures crystal. The substance is not considered a solid but, rather, a liquid with very high viscosity. An international research team, led by Paddy Royall University of Bristol (Great Britain), in collaboration with Japanese and Australian scholars, is now able to demonstrate that during the solidification particles have in-shaped structures that prevent the icosahedron formation of crystals. Unlike solid crystalline form, in which the atoms are fixed to one another by chemical bonds into regular geometric structures, glass appears' solid 'just because the movement of each particle is physically prevented by the presence of other neighbouring atoms. The particles, that is, hinder each other. It was thus finally confirmed, with a simulation test, a 50 years old theory that explains many of the characteristics of this material and that could allow us to build, for example, non-crystalline metals much more resistant than traditional ones.

An experimental study opens a way for gene therapy as a possible treatment for cases that do not respond to medicines in cases of Epilepsy. Research on Brain. Almost one third of people suffering from epilepsy don't respond to prescription drugs. To date, the only possibility for many of them is to undergo an operation to remove the area affected by the disease in the brain, but an alternative to surgery could rise by gene therapy. An experimental study of the Department of Neuroscience of Mario Negri in Milan, led by Noah, has shown that it is possible to induce the sick cells to produce a protein with anticonvulsant properties. And what this substance does is significantly reduces the recurrence of seizures. The research, conducted in collaboration with international groups led by Gunther Sperk University of Innsbruck (Austria), Asla Pitkanen University of Kuopio (Finland), and Matthew During dell'Ohio State University (USA), was just published on Brain magazine.

In the blood of alligators and crocodiles proteins were discovered with high antibacterial and antifungal activity. Unlike men, alligators can combat fungi, viruses and bacteria without the body being previously subjected to these micro-organisms. The researchers have demonstrated the McNeese State University and Louisiana State University who collected the blood from alligators and analyzed the white blood cells, which are the cells appointed to immune defense.

A study conducted by an Italian and published on Pnas shows that healthy cells, if required to "diet", have an increased resistance to stress caused by the drugs compared with those ill. Fasting can be a weapon against the heavy effects of chemotherapy. Just as the fight against cancer concentrates its efforts on the so-called magic bullets, drugs capable of selectively target diseased cells from laboratories of the University of Southern California shows a new paradigm: protect healthy cells and then go furiously only against those sick . A team led by biologist Italian Valter Longo, which involved the United States laboratories and the hospital Gaslini of Genoa, has discovered a kind of magic screen that healthy cells (as a result of caloric restriction) have as a defense against chemotherapy. The results of the study appeared on Pnas Early Edition (here a link to the video.)