In the rush among people from the region to stock up on bottled water, tissue and other items, however, total sales in that period actually rose by 20 per cent.

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In the case of myelin, the water in healthy tissue flows along well-defined channels.

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Body parts belonging to Ms Blamires were found in the River Aire in Shipley on 25 May and tests confirmed that a small piece of human tissue later found in the water belonged to Ms Armitage.

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In their university-funded study, Dr. Brodin and his colleagues first tested wild European perch caught from a midsize stream in Sweden called the River Fyris and found that levels of the drug in fish tissue were more than six times the level commonly detected in the water.

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Biolase's Waterlase system uses a patented combination of water and lasers to precisely cut hard tissues (bone and teeth) and soft tissue (gums) with minimal damage to surrounding areas.

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And as the decayed material has an extremely high water content Mr Hansen said that most of the laser's energy is absorbed by the infected tissue, which is then vaporised.

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But if water is used in the neti pot, or the solution isn't the right concentration, the tissue in the nose can get swollen, DelGaudio said.

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Since water is critical to most biological processes, following it around can reveal a lot about the health of the tissue involved.

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