I just uploaded the new design... much cleaner CSS, better crossbrowser compatibility, lots of PHP code (with the addition of popular posts, at the top of some pages). I got rid of the background in order to get a better switch template from black to white (try it, in the sidebar) - let me know if the design is too minimalist for your taste. Speaking of that, be sure to vote in the poll, or express yourself in the comments section of this post. Tell me what you like / don't like, if you're experiencing issues or not (browser, screen resolution, PHP code not working, broken links).

Last but not least, some interesting links to articles I found interesting :

- Tigecycline data reveals MRSA efficacy
- HIV/AIDS bigger threat than biological weapons
- Using microbes to mine metals and clean up spoil
- White Blood Cells Tweaked to Produce Insulin
- Risk of HIV transmission highest in early stage of infection
- Three additional cases of H5N1 avian influenza in Vietnam
- Cells That Go Back in Time

A major breakthrough in stem cell research – a new tool that could allow scientists to harvest stem cells ethically - will be announced at the Institute of Physics' conference Physics 2005 in Warwick later today (Tuesday 12th April).

If increased precipitation and sea surface heating from global warming disrupts the Atlantic Conveyer current – as some scientists predict – the effect on the ocean food chain in the Atlantic and other oceans could be severe, according to a new study just published in Nature.

A collaborative effort led by The Burnham Institute's Gen-Sheng Feng has created a mouse with improved glucose tolerance and insulin activity in the liver, and generated new findings about insulin-signaling in the liver that could prove useful in understanding the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. These results, to be published by Nature Medicine in May, were made available to the scientific community by advance posting online at the journal's website on April 10th.

Pronounced head-bobbing behavior during walking is a characteristic of diverse species of birds, but how this behavior benefits the birds and under what circumstances it proves useful have remained uncertain. Researchers this week report findings that strongly suggest that for some birds head bobbing is critical for the stabilization of their visual world, despite the motion of their bodies, and thereby enables the accurate detection of objects such as food items.

The current goal to reduce sickness and death from infections that patients acquire in hospitals has created a renewed focus on identifying ways to reduce the problem at its source. Hospital water for drinking, bathing, showering, to make ice cubes or to rinse medical equipment is increasingly being recognized as a significant source of microbes that may contribute to many of these life-threatening infections.

BLAST is one of the most common and useful tools for Genetic Research. This paper describes a software application we have termed Windows .NET Distributed Basic Local Alignment Search Toolkit (W.ND-BLAST), which enhances the BLAST utility by improving usability, fault recovery, and scalability in a Windows desktop environment.

An upcoming expedition to study the Yukon and Mackenzie Rivers is not simply a research project for R. Max Holmes, an associate scientist at The Woods Hole Research Center. It is also a means to integrate education and outreach into his work.