Doomsayer - Slashdot User

Submission + - FCC Relaxed Media Ownership, ignores public (nytimes.com)

Submitted by

anthrax

on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @03:39PM

anthrax writes: "Completely ignoring Congress and public comments, the FCC voted to relax ownership rules which prevented broadcasters from owning newspapers in the nation's 20 largest media markets. After holding several public hearings that overwhelmingly opposed the relaxation or the rules, and Congressional hearing where Democratic and Republican (even Ted "The Internet is Tubes" Stevens) voiced opposition to the move, the FCC voted 3 to 2 to change the rules. Not hard guessing the political affiliation of the votes."

Submission + - Artificial Blood Vessels Grown on a Nano-Template (eurekalert.org)

Submitted by

Invisible Pink Unicorn

on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @09:52AM

Invisible Pink Unicorn writes: "Researchers at MIT have found a way to induce cells to form parallel tube-like structures that could one day serve as tiny engineered blood vessels. The researchers found that they can control the cells' development by growing them on a surface with nano-scale patterning. The work focuses on vascular tissue, which includes capillaries, the tiniest blood vessels, and is an important part of the circulatory system. The team has created a surface that can serve as a template to grow capillary tubes aligned in a specific direction. The cells, known as endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), not only elongate in the direction of the grooves, but also align themselves along the grooves. That results in a multicellular structure with defined edges — a band structure. Once the band structures form, the researchers apply a commonly used gel that induces cells to form three-dimensional tubes."

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