Arizona Man Gets First Dissolvable Stent in US.

An Arizona man on Wednesday became the first in the nation to have a dissolvable stent inserted into his artery. Abbott Laboratories' Absorb stent was approved this week by the FDA for use in the U.S. on patients with coronary artery disease Video

Innovative device allows 3-D imaging of the breast with less radiation.

Preliminary tests have demonstrated that a new device may enable existing breast cancer imagers to provide up to six times better contrast of tumors in the breast, while maintaining the same or better image quality and halving the radiation dose to patients. The advance is made possible by a new device developed for 3D imaging of the breast by researchers at the Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Dilon Technologies and the University of Florida Department of Biomedical Engineering. In breast cancer screening, mammography is the gold standard. But about half of all women who follow standard screening protocol for 10 years will receive a false-positive result that will require additional screening, particularly women who have dense breast tissue. Used in conjunction with mammography, imaging based on nuclear medicine is currently being used as a successful secondary screening alongside mammography to reduce the number of false positive results in women with dense breasts and at higher risk for developing breast cancer. Now, researchers are hoping to improve this imaging technique, known as molecular breast imaging or breast specific gamma imaging, with better image quality and precise location (depth information) within the breast, while reducing the amount of radiation dose to the patient for these procedures.While a mammogram uses X-rays to show the structure of breast tissue, molecular breast imagers show tissue function.Continue

Massive anthrax outbreak wounds Russia’s venison sector

Massive anthrax outbreak wounds Russia’s venison sector: An outbreak of anthrax has killed 1,500 northern deer in Russia and, with the figure set to rise, fears over exports of venison have begun to surface. Read

AGRIBUSINESS: How to use pig manure to make roads.

AGRIBUSINESS: How to use pig manure to make roads. A team of US researchers has been studying ways to convert elements of pig manure for making new roads. A statement from North Carolina A&T State University, in Greensboro, NC, United States, shows that Prof Elle Fini and a team of researchers has found a way to extract the rich oil that is found in pig waste, and mix it with rocks to form a new type of asphalt durable enough for highway traffic, which they call ‘Bio-Adhesive’. AGRIBUSINESS: How to use pig manure to make roads. The extensive research, which has included putting samples of the new material through rigorous vehicle simulators and tests to determine its durability, has proven to be a success according to the press release. Fini and a group of partners have set up a company called Bio-Adhesive Alliance. The team carried out tests to see if it will rock or sag too much because it shouldn’t do that. Also it shouldn’t crack at low temperatures. The vision of the alliance is to help the farmer and the construction industry by providing a cost effective solution.. The team believe its a win/win solution as all parties benefit and nothing is wasted. In the course of processing, the foul, aroma is filtered out, and the by-products of the bio-adhesive can be used by farmers as fertilizer.

Silicon Valley’s ‘bloody’ veggie burger enters New York.

Silicon Valley’s ‘bloody’ veggie burger enters New York .Impossible Foods has launched a plant-based burger that bleeds, begging the question as to whether the Silicon Valley firm has fired the starting gun on an era of meat-free meat? The

Red meat linked to kidney damage.

Red meat linked to kidney damage according to researchers at the University of Singapore have found that you are more likely to suffer from kidney failure if you eat a lot of red meat. Read

Zero budget farming makes farmer millions.

The Art of Living has been working in the field of organic farming since 2008. It has trained more than 2 million farmers and unemployed youth in this sustainable and profitable method of farming. Sri Sri Institute of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Trust (SSIAST) has brought a wave of change in the life of these farmers. 44-year-old Rajiv Kumar from Sheikhpur district of Bihar had 4 acres of land that was lying barren and earning him no income. With only a dry riverbed near-by, water shortage was scarce in the region. He was thus unable to utilise this land for cultivation. In 2009, Rajiv was unemployed with seven family members to feed. In an attempt to salvage the land, he attended a Zero Budget workshop conducted by Mr. Balakrishan of the Art of Living. He learnt water conservation and methods to replace nutrients in the soil. Different crops were grown at the same time and cow dung and cow urine were used as fertilizers. This kept the cost of farming at a minimum with the farmer only investing in water and seeds. Rajiv implemented the techniques he had learnt in the workshop by growing flowers on his land. Rajiv dug pits every 30 feet, filled it with water, and sowed different types of flowers and fruits around it. This helped increase the ground water flow. As plants need moisture, and not water, cultivating near a pit of water provided better irrigation and prevented water wastage. The water supply is now available 24x7: Rajiv has created a thriving nursery of flowers of excellent quality. Along with flowers, he now grows Rosewood, Mango, Teak, Lemon, Pomegranate, Papaya, and Lakshmi Taru. Instead of using chemical pesticides, he sows a Neem plant every 30 feet and sprinkles ash from the agnihotra puja he performs. This effectively keeps his nursery healthy. Rajiv was unemployed before the training, but now he is ready to train others in this method of farming. On an average, around 500 people from across the land visit his nursery and marvel at the flowers. Today, he sells his flowers and fruits to numerous customers including the Forest Department of Bihar. While the average per capita income of Bihar is Rs. 28,000, Rajiv is earning more than Rs. 400,000 per annum. more