A new method described in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine uses stem cells from cord blood to re-educate a diabetic's own T cells and consequently restart pancreatic function reducing the need for insulin.

Stem Cell Educator therapy slowly passes lymphocytes separated from a patient's blood over immobilized cord blood stem cells (CBSC) from healthy donors. After two to three hours in the device the re-educated lymphocytes are returned to the patient. The progress of the patients was checked at 4, 12, 24 and 40 weeks after therapy.

C-peptide is a protein fragment made as a by-product of insulin manufacture and can be used to determine how well beta cells are working. By 12 weeks after treatment all the patients who received the therapy had improved levels of C –peptide. This continued to improve at 24 weeks and was maintained to the end of the study. This meant that the daily dose of insulin required to maintain their blood glucose levels could be reduced. In accordance with these results the glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) indicator of long term glucose control also dropped for people receiving the treatment, but not the control group.

Dr Yong Zhao, from University of Illinois at Chicago, who led the multi-centre research, explained, "We also saw an improved autoimmune control in these patients. Stem Cell Educator therapy increased the percentage of regulatory T lymphocytes in the blood of people in the treatment group. Other markers of immune function, such as TGF-beta1 also improved. Our results suggest that it is this improvement in autoimmune control, mediated by the autoimmune regulator AIRE in the CBSC, which allows the pancreatic islet beta cells to recover."

Source: Medical Xpress

However, there is an increased risk of individuals who have experienced previous traumatic brain injury going on to commit violent crime according to a large Swedish study led by Seena Fazel from the University of Oxford, UK, and colleagues at the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and Swedish Prison and Probation Service, and published in this week's PLoS Medicine.

The authors say: "The implications of these findings will vary for clinical services, the criminal justice system, and patient charities."

In their study, the authors identified all people with epilepsy and traumatic brain injury recorded in Sweden between 1973 and 2009 and matched each case with ten people without these brain conditions from the general population. The investigators linked these records to subsequent data on all convictions for violent crime using the personal identification numbers that identify Swedish residents in national registries.

Using these methods, the authors found that 4.2% of people with epilepsy had at least one conviction for violence after their diagnosis compared to 2.5% of the general population. However, after controlling for the family situation (in which individuals with epilepsy were compared with their unaffected siblings), the association between being diagnosed with epilepsy and being convicted for violent crime disappeared. In contrast, the authors found that after controlling for substance abuse or comparing individuals with brain injury to their unaffected siblings, there remained an association between experiencing a traumatic brain injury and committing a violent crime.

The authors say: "With over 22,000 individuals each for the epilepsy and traumatic brain injury groups, the sample was, to our knowledge, more than 50 times larger than those used in previous related studies on epilepsy, and more than seven times larger than previous studies on brain injury."

They continue: "In conclusion, by using Swedish population-based registers over 35 years, we reported risks for violent crime in individuals with epilepsy and traumatic brain injury that contrasted with each other, and appeared to differ within each diagnosis by subtype, severity, and age at diagnosis."

The authors suggest that the lack of a causal association with epilepsy and violent crime may be valuable for patient charities and other stakeholders in tackling one of the causes of stigma associated with this condition. In contrast, improved screening and management of some patients and prisoners with traumatic brain injury may reduce offending rates,

The study relied on conviction data and the authors explain their rationale: "Although we relied on conviction data, other work has shown that the degree of underestimation of violence is similar in psychiatric patients and controls compared with self-report measures, and hence the risk estimates were unlikely to be affected…We have no reason to think that this would be different for these two neurological conditions. Overall rates of violent crime and their resolution are mostly similar across western Europe, suggesting some generalisability of our findings."

In an accompanying Perspective, psychiatrist Jan Volavka, professor emeritus from the New York University School of Medicine (uninvolved in the research) says: "Comparing the conviction rates before and after the diagnosis would provide another perspective on the effect of the illness on violent crime." However, he says: "Among the major strengths of the study are the very large sample size, comprising the entire population of Sweden, and the follow-up of 35 years. The findings are of major public health importance and provide inspiration for further research".

The research paper is available for free here: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001148

Source: Public Library of Science - via ZeitNews.org

Announced on January in Yangon, Myanmar, a joint team from Fauna & Flora International (FFI), Biodiversity And Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) and People Resources and Conservation Foundation (PRCF), caught pictures of the monkey on camera traps placed in the high, forested mountains of Kachin state, bordering China.

World's first images of Mynamar snub-nosed monkey caught on film. Credit: FFI/BANCA/PRCF

“The Myanmar snub-nosed monkey was described scientifically in 2010 from a dead specimen collected from a local hunter,” said Frank Momberg of FFI, who organised the initial expeditions that led to the monkey’s discovery. “As yet, no scientist has seen a live individual,” he added.

“These images are the first record of the animal in its natural habitat,” said Ngwe Lwin, the Burmese national who first recognized the monkey as a possible new species. “It is great to finally have photographs because they show us something about how and where it actually lives,” he added.

Myanmar snub-nosed monkey with infants. Credit: FFI/BANCA/PRCF

Heavy snows in January and constant rain in April made expeditions to set the camera traps difficult. “We were dealing with very tough conditions in a remote and rugged area that contained perhaps fewer than 200 monkeys,” said Jeremy Holden, who led the camera trapping team. “We didn’t know exactly where they lived, and I didn’t hold out much hope of short term success with this work.” But in May a small group of snub-nosed monkeys walked past one of the cameras and into history. “We were very surprised to get these pictures,” said Saw Soe Aung, a field biologist who set the cameras. “It was exciting to see that some of the females were carrying babies – a new generation of our rarest primate.”

As with most of Asia’s rare mammals, the snub-nosed monkey is threatened by habitat loss and hunting. The team is now working together with the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forest (MOECAF), local authorities and communities to help safeguard the future of the species. In February this year, FFI and MOECAF will hold an international workshop in Yangon aiming to create a conservation action plan for the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey.

In addition to the world’s first images of the snub-nosed monkey, the camera trapping also caught photos of other globally threatened species including red panda, takin, marbled cat, Malayan sun bear and rare pheasants such as Temminick’s tragopan, documenting the importance of this area for biodiversity conservation.

Source: Fauna & Flora International - via ZeitNews.org

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have successfully tested a controllable endoscopic capsule, inspired by science fiction, that has the ability to "swim" through the body and could provide clinicians with unprecedented control when photographing the inside of the human body.

The capsule is designed to be swallowed like a pill and can be equipped with a camera. Once inside the patient's digestive track, a doctor can "steer" the capsule through the body using an MRI machine, photograph specific areas of interest, and view those pictures wirelessly.

With current endoscopic capsule technology, the capsule tumbles randomly through the digestive track and clinicians have no control over what areas of the body are being photographed. The ability to steer a capsule, aim a camera, and take pictures of specific areas of concern is a major leap forward with the potential for broad medical implications.

"Our goal is to develop this capsule so that it could be used to deliver images in real time, and allow clinicians to make a diagnosis during a single procedure with little discomfort or risk to the patient," said Noby Hata, a researcher in the Department of Radiology at BWH and leader of the development team for the endoscopic capsule. "Ideally, in the future we would be able to utilize this technology deliver drugs or other treatments, such as laser surgery, directly to tumors or injuries within the digestive track."

BWH researchers Hata and his colleague, Peter Jakab, have successfully tested a prototype of their capsule in an MRI machine and proved that the capsule can be manipulated to "swim" through a tank of water. The next step in their research is to successfully test the capsule inside a human body. There is no reason to believe the capsule would move differently in a human than it does in a tank of water.

Source: Medical Xpress - via ZeitNews.org

And the more urgent the issue, the more people want to remain unaware, according to a paper published online in APA’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology®.

“These studies were designed to help understand the so-called ‘ignorance is bliss’ approach to social issues,” said author Steven Shepherd, a graduate student with the University of Waterloo in Ontario. “The findings can assist educators in addressing significant barriers to getting people involved and engaged in social issues.”

Through a series of five studies conducted in 2010 and 2011 with 511 adults in the United States and Canada, the researchers described “a chain reaction from ignorance about a subject to dependence on and trust in the government to deal with the issue.”

In one study, participants who felt most affected by the economic recession avoided information challenging the government’s ability to manage the economy. However, they did not avoid positive information, the study said. This study comprised 197 Americans with a mean age of 35 (111 women and 89 men), who had received complex information about the economy and had answered a question about how the economy is affecting them directly.

To test the links among dependence, trust and avoidance, researchers provided either a complex or simple description of the economy to a group of 58 Canadians, mean age 42, composed of 20 men and 38 women. The participants who received the complex description indicated higher levels of perceived helplessness in getting through the economic downturn, more dependence on and trust in the government to manage the economy, and less desire to learn more about the issue.

“This is despite the fact that, all else equal, one should have less trust in someone to effectively manage something that is more complex,” said co-author Aaron C. Kay, PhD, of Duke University. “Instead, people tend to respond by psychologically ‘outsourcing’ the issue to the government, which in turn causes them to trust and feel more dependent on the government. Ultimately, they avoid learning about the issue because that could shatter their faith in the government.”

Participants who felt unknowledgeable about oil supplies not only avoided negative information about the issue, they became even more reluctant to know more when the issue was urgent, as in an imminent oil shortage in the United States, according the authors. For this study, 163 Americans, with a mean age of 32 (70 men and 93 women), provided their opinion about the complexity of natural resource management and then read a statement declaring the United States has less than 40 years’ worth of oil supplies. Afterward, they answered questions to assess their reluctance to learn more.

“Beyond just downplaying the catastrophic, doomsday aspects to their messages, educators may want to consider explaining issues in ways that make them easily digestible and understandable, with a clear emphasis on local, individual-level causes,” the authors said.

Another two studies found that participants who received complex information about energy sources trusted the government more than those who received simple information. For these studies, researchers questioned 93 (49 men and 44 women) Canadian undergraduate students in two separate groups.

The authors recommended further research to determine how people would react when faced with other important issues such as food safety, national security, health, social inequality, poverty and moral and ethical conflict, as well as under what conditions people tend to respond with increased rather than decreased engagement.

Source: American Psychological Association - via ZeitNews.org

Despite the majority of children enjoying the subject at school and viewing scientists positively, fewer than 17 per cent are interested in pursuing a career in science, according to research from King’s College London, published today. Researchers also found that parents and children still see science careers as predominantly ‘for boys’.

The ASPIRES research team, led by Louise Archer, Professor of Sociology of Education at King’s, is tracking children’s science and career aspirations over five years, from ages 10 to 14. To date they have surveyed over 9000 primary school children and carried out more than 170 interviews of parents and children. After the age of 10 or 11 children’s attitudes towards science often start to decline, suggesting that there is a critical period in which schools and parents can do much to educate the next generation of the options available to them.

Professor Archer said: "Children and their parents hold quite complex views of science and scientists and at age 10 or 11 these views are largely positive. The vast majority of children at this age enjoy science at school, have parents who are supportive of them studying science and even undertake science-related activities in their spare time. They associate scientists with important work, such as finding medical cures, and with work that is well paid.

"Nevertheless, less than 17 per cent aspire to a career in science. These positive impressions seem to lead to the perception that science offers only a very limited range of careers, for example doctor, scientist or science teacher. It appears that this positive stereotype is also problematic in that it can lead people to view science as out of reach for many, only for exceptional or clever people, and ‘not for me’.

Professor Archer says the findings indicate that engaging young people in science is not therefore simply a case of making it more interesting or more fun. She said: "There is a disconnect between interest and aspirations. Our research shows that young people’s ambitions are strongly influenced by their social backgrounds – ethnicity, social class and gender – and by family contexts. More needs to be done to make science a conceivable career option for a broader range of pupils, such as incorporating explicit teaching about science-related career opportunities at Key Stage 3."

The research also showed that parents and children still see science careers as predominantly masculine and ‘for boys’. Interviews revealed most children still only recognise a very small number of ‘famous scientists’ who are overwhelmingly white men, with very few women and ethnic minority scientists identified.

The investigation found further evidence to suggest that families, teachers and schools play a part in creating gender patterns of subject choice.

Professor Archer said: 'For many girls – especially those from working class backgrounds – science careers did not fit with their interest, aptitudes and ideas of what constitutes ‘normal’ or desirable femininity. In our research parents of girls commented that a career in science was not very ‘sexy’, not very ‘glamorous’.

'We have found considerable evidence that children's interest in school science declines from the age of 10 onwards. The continued under-representation of girls and women in science is already well documented. Yet our research indicates that there is little or no gender distinction in attitudes towards science at age 10, suggesting that there is a critical period between the ages of 10 and 14 in which to engage students.'

The report, Ten Science Facts and Fictions: the case for early education about STEM careers, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, outlines ten key messages from the findings and makes recommendations for addressing the issues. A key proposal is to integrate science careers awareness into the curriculum. The report authors call for greater support to teachers and families to increase knowledge and awareness about the diversity of science careers and encourage increasing public understanding of how science qualifications can broaden young people’s post-16 options.

Professor Archer said: "We are not suggesting ‘careers advice’ at Key Stage 3. However, you can never start careers awareness too early. This research shows a pressing need to integrate an awareness of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers into the mainstream school curriculum.

"STEM subjects are vital for the economic and cultural life of the UK. Children in both primary and secondary schools in England tend to conceive of science as leading to an extremely limited range of careers. More children, and families, would benefit from understanding that science and mathematics have a strong exchange value in the education and labor market."

Nicola Hannam, Director, Education & Skills at the Science Council, welcomed the report. She said: "20 per cent of the UK workforce uses science skills to do their jobs and yet children have a very limited knowledge of the career possibilities science offers. We need to shine a light on the scientists hidden in areas such as food production, healthcare and retail. The ASPIRES research work helps us understand how to be more effective in doing that."

Professor Archer concluded: "This failure to engage young people, particularly girls, with pursuing scientific careers points to the need to develop a better understanding of why this is happening and to create a new vision of why careers in science matter, both within schools and in the wider context of society."

Source: King's College London

Using an optically trapped gold nanoparticle as their listening device, the team says they can now detect sounds made at the bacterial level or use their device to tune (or perhaps to test?) the minuscule MEMS machines of the future.

The nano-ear is pretty simple, considering that it relies on technology that has been laying around in the lab for decades now. Optical tweezers are laser devices that use light to trap or manipulate a small particle in a particular point in space by drawing the particle to the most intense point in the laser beam’s electric field. By trapping a gold nanoparticle in just such a optical trap and measuring the influence of various sound waves on that particle, the found that they can “listen” to very small vibrations.That means sound analysis at extremely low levels. The gold nanoparticle itself is just 60 nanometers (that’s 60 billionths of a meter, or roughly a thousand times smaller than a human hair), which makes it pretty sensitive to very small forces. The researchers used both a “loud” source--a tungsten needle glued to a speaker that vibrates at roughly 300 Hz--and a second source made up of bunches of other gold nanoparticles heated by a second laser to vibrate at just 20 Hz.

The nano-ear could hear them both loud and clear. The sound waves nudge the trapped gold nanoparticle in the same direction that the waves are propagating, allowing for precise measurement of the sound itself based on the particle’s motion. Experiments showed the nano-ear could detect vibrations down to about -60 decibels--or six orders of magnitude lower than human hears can. That means the device could be used to identify microorganisms or processes at the microscopic level by their sound signatures, or to help design and tune microelectrical mechanical systems.

Source: Popular Science - via ZeitNews.org

In the study, "Is Discrimination an Equal Opportunity Risk? Racial Experiences, Socio-economic Status and Health Status Among Black and White Adults," the authors examined data containing measures of social class, race and perceived discriminatory behavior and found that approximately 18 percent of blacks and 4 percent of whites reported higher levels of emotional upset and/or physical symptoms due to race-based treatment.

"Discriminatory behavior very well may be a 'missing link' in the analysis of racial and ethnic health disparities," Bratter said. "It's important to acknowledge and study its impact on long-term health.

Unlike most of the research on this topic, Bratter and Gorman's study examines the health risks of discrimination among both whites and blacks, as opposed to just blacks. Their analysis was based on data from the 2004 wave of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an ongoing collaborative project between U.S. states and territories and the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"This racially comparative focus is important because we examine whether discrimination is equally harmful to the health status of black and white adults – or whether experiencing discrimination is disproportionately harmful to either black or white adults," Gorman said. "For example, since, on average, black adults typically experience more health risks in their social and personal environment than white adults (including higher poverty and lower-quality medical insurance), they may be especially vulnerable to negative health effects as a result of racial discrimination."

A greater number of blacks report poor health due to discrimination, and the study did find that black-white disparities in health are shaped in part by the differential exposure of blacks to the harmful effects of discrimination. However, Bratter and Gorman also show that while perceiving discrimination exacerbates some of the economic-based health risks more typically experienced by black adults, patterns differ for white adults. Regardless of social-class position, white adults who perceive unfair treatment relative to other racial groups in either workplace or health care settings report poorer health.

"A relatively small proportion of white adults report unfair treatment that is race-based, but those who do say their health status is harmed more than blacks who report the same experiences," Gorman said.

Both Bratter and Gorman hope that their research will raise awareness about the impact racial discrimination has on health and wellness.

"Ultimately we hope that practitioners and researchers in the medical field recognize the dual contribution of social class and interpersonal treatment in shaping health outcomes among persons of all racial populations," Bratter said.

This study appeared in the September 2011 edition of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior and was funded by Rice University.

Source: EurekAlert - via ZeitNews.org

In ognuno di noi si cela una fabbrica di armi potentissime, potenzialmente imbattibili contro tutti i tipi di tumore. Si chiama sistema immunitario ed è la miglior difesa di cui il nostro organismo può disporre. Solo che non sempre le armi a disposizione sono sufficienti contro i nemici da combattere. Per questo un gruppo di ricercatori del San Raffaele di Milano, insieme a Telethon e a colleghi internazionali, hanno lavorato assieme per sviluppare una tecnologia in grado di aiutare il sistema immunitario nella lotta contro le leucemie. A distanza di poco tempo gli scienziati hanno messo a punto una nuova tecnica di immunoterapia cellulare adottiva, definita TCR gene Editing, in grado aiutare il nostro organismo ad attaccare e sconfiggere più efficacemente i tumori del sangue.

Questo nuovo metodo si rivelato efficace in pazienti con alcuni tipi di tumore, anche in stadio avanzato. L’ immunoterapia cellulare adottiva si basa sul presupposto che il sistema immunitario sia la risposta contro il cancro. Gli scienziati italiani non sono gli unici ad averlo capito. Negli ultimi decenni infatti sono stati condotti diversi studi clinici sperimentali basati sulla somministrazione a pazienti con tumori di cellule del sistema immunitario, chiamati linfociti T, alcuni dei quali sono in grado di riconoscere ed eliminare le cellule tumorali. Non esiste però un solo tipo di linfocita T, ma tante diverse cellule del sistema immunitario specifiche per un determinato antigene, ovvero un piccolo frammento di proteina. Ogni linfocita T riconose e attacca, quindi, tanti tipi di antigeni virali o fungini.

Grazie a questa loro specializzazione, abbiamo un’arma automatizzata in grado di riconoscere il suo nemico, per esempio un virus, e di attaccarlo. A conferire alle cellule questa specificità, è una molecola che si trova sulla superficie del linfocita T. Si tratta del cosiddetto recettore dei linfociti T ( TCR), composto da due catene legate tra loro. Ogni linfocita esprime un solo tipo di TCR, diverso da quello degli altri linfociti T presenti nello stesso individuo. I linfociti che riconoscono antigeni tumorali possono attaccare le cellule tumorali. Purtroppo sono molto rari e spesso non bastano per eliminare il tumore.

Con la nuova tecnica messa a punto dai ricercatori italiani, in uno studio pubblicato su Nature Medicine, la TCR gene Editing possiamo generare rapidamente un numero elevato di linfociti T specifici per un determinato tumore. La procedura è un’evoluzione della TCR Gene Transfer, la tecnica che permette di generare in laboratorio i linfociti anti-tumorali tramite il trasferimento genico, nei linfociti T di un paziente, dei geni di un TCR anti-tumorale, preventivamente isolato dai rari linfociti anti-tumorali.

Tuttavia, i linfociti tumore-specifici prodotti con questa tecnica differiscono da quelli naturali poiché presentano due diversi tipi di TCR, quello endogeno (presente già prima del trasferimento genico) e quello esogeno, anti-tumorale che è stato introdotto tramite la manipolazione genetica.

La presenza di due TCR diversi sulla stessa cellula comporta sia problemi di efficacia che di sicurezza. Il TCR anti-tumorale deve infatti competere con quello endogeno per accedere alla membrana cellulare e dunque per poter riconoscere il tumore. I linfociti generati con la TCR Gene Transfer sono dunque meno efficaci rispetto ai rari linfociti anti-tumorali che originano naturalmente.

Inoltre, poiché ogni TCR è formato da due catene, i linfociti prodotti esprimono quattro diverse catene che possono appaiarsi in modo scorretto formando nuovi TCR con specificità imprevedibili che possono riconoscere e danneggiare tessuti sani del paziente, provocando reazioni di autoimmunità.

Con la nuova tecnica, la TCR Gene Editing, i ricercatori hanno superato i limiti, mettendo a punto una procedura attraverso la quale è possibile, sostituire il TCR endogeno con il TCR anti-tumorale, generando un numero elevato di linfociti che esprimono alti livelli del solo TCR anti-tumorale. Questa tecnologia consente dunque di produrre, potenzialmente per ogni paziente, linfociti T efficaci e sicuri quanto quelli anti-tumorali naturali.

Questo è stato possibile grazie all’utilizzo di Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFN), molecole artificiali in grado di riconoscere sequenze specifiche di dna (scelte a priori dagli scienziati) e di provocare tagli nella sua doppia elica. Questo taglio nel dna provocato dalle ZFN interrompe l’informazione genetica e rende la cellula incapace di produrre la proteina codificata dal gene colpito dalle ZFN. L’editing del dna con le ZFN è stato applicato alla terapia genica per la prima volta dal gruppo di Luigi Naldini, direttore dell’ Istituto San Raffaele Telethon per la Terapia Genica che ha partecipato a quest’ultimo studio,  ed è stato riconosciuto come metodo dell’anno alla fine del 2011 dalla rivista Nature.

Ora ai ricercatori non resta che preparare questa tecnica all’uso clinico. “Il passo successivo per questa strategia innovativa per l’immunoterapia del cancro, ancora in fase preclinica, è la produzione di reagenti e protocolli utilizzabili in contesto clinico”, dice Chiara Bonini coordinatrice del nuovo studio e responsabile dell’Unità di Ematologia Sperimentale dell’IRCCS San Raffaele. I ricercatori, inoltre, sperano che questa nuova tecnica possa offrire risposte importante anche per altri tipi di tumore, oltre alle leucemie.

Fonte: Wired.it

It’s an important step forward in the effort to build the future ITER reactor.

Scientists have achieved a milestone: they have managed to stop the growth of instabilities inside a nuclear fusion reactor. How? Here’s a look at this energy source, which despite being challenging to control, is nevertheless extremely promising.

Nuclear fusion is an attempt to reproduce the energy of the Sun in an Earth-based reactor system. When gas is heated to several million degrees, it becomes plasma. Sometimes in the plasma, an instability will appear and grow large enough to perturb the plasma, making it vibrate despite the presence of the magnetic field in which it is contained. If the plasma touches the walls of the reactor, it will cool rapidly and create large electromagnetic forces within the structure of the machine.

The challenge is to reduce the instabilities deep within in the interior of the plasma so that they don’t amplify, while at the same time allowing the reactor to continue to function normally. Thus it is necessary to work within the specific configuration of these fusion reactors, where the plasma is strongly confined by a magnetic field. By adjusting an antenna that emits electromagnetic radiation, physicists from EPFL’s Center for Research in Plasma Physics were able to quench the instabilities when they appear, in the precise region where they are forming, and without perturbing the rest of the installation.

From theory to practice

The physicists first conducted simulations to verify the extent to which specific radiation frequencies and locations of application would suppress the growth of instabilities. Then they carried out tests to confirm their calculations. The beauty of their approach is that they were able to use antennas that are used as part of the system to heat the plasma, and that are already present in the Joint European Torus (JET), the largest reactor currently in use. Surprisingly, the simulations and the tests showed that heating and instability suppression can be combined, by aiming the radiation slightly off-center in the plasma.

The next step will be to add a detector system that will make it possible to neutralize instabilities in real time over longer time periods. These improvements can then be implemented in the ITER fusion reactor, currently in development in Southern France.

Source: Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne - via ZeitNews.org