DURHAM, N.C. — By taking advantage of the vagaries of the natural world, Duke University engineers have developed a novel approach that they believe can more efficiently harvest electricity from the motions of everyday life.

Very low body fat linked to increased risk of death

Dialysis patients with low body fat are at increased risk of death—even compared to patients at the highest level of body fat percentage, according to research being presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego.

SEOUL, South Korea — The nonprofit body that oversees Internet addresses approved Friday the use of Hebrew, Hindi, Korean and other scripts not based on Latin characters in a decision that could make the Web dramatically more inclusive.

By Richard Balmforth

KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine closed schools and banned public meetings including election rallies and restricted travel on Friday for a three-week period after confirming its first death from H1N1 flu.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Friday the U.S. will overturn a 22-year-old travel and immigration ban against people with HIV early next year. The order will be finalized on Monday, Obama said, completing a process begun during the Bush administration.

Scientists in California are reporting development of a new generation of the microcapsules used in carbon-free copy paper, in which capsules burst and release ink with pressure from a pen. The new microcapsules burst when exposed to light, releasing their contents in ways that could have wide-ranging commercial uses from home and personal care to medicine. Their study appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a weekly publication.

Bad drivers may in part have their genes to blame, suggests a new study by UC Irvine neuroscientists.

People with a particular gene variant performed more than 20 percent worse on a driving test than people without it – and a follow-up test a few days later yielded similar results. About 30 percent of Americans have the variant.

Toyota Industries Corporation’s announcement follows similar press releases in August by Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Showa Shell Sekiyu KK.

Research has shown that diabetes increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and the risk of memory loss in people who don’t have Alzheimer’s disease. But it hasn’t been clear whether people with Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes have more rapid memory loss than those who have Alzheimer’s disease but no diabetes.

Deep brain stimulation may be a safe and effective treatment for Tourette syndrome, according to research published in the October 27, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.