9-May-2010
McGill-UBC project creates mouse grimace scale to help identify pain in humans and animals
A new study by researchers from McGill University and the University of British Columbia shows that mice, like humans, express pain through facial expressions.
10-May-2010
Medical costs of cancer have nearly doubled over the past 2 decades
A new analysis finds that the costs of treating cancer have nearly doubled over the past two decades and that the shares of these costs that are paid for by private health insurance and Medicaid have increased.
Well Blog
The Science of a Happy Marriage
By TARA PARKER-POPE
Findings suggest that while some people may be naturally more resistant to temptation, men and women can train themselves to protect their relationship.
10-May-2010
Running a marathon halts cellular suicide
Apoptosis, the natural "programmed" death of cells, is arrested in the aftermath of strenuous exercise. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Physiology studied peripheral blood mononuclear cells, isolated from whole blood samples taken from people after finishing a marathon, finding that the balance between expression of pro- and anti-apoptotic genes is shifted after the race.
10-May-2010
Chemical remains of dinobird found
A 150-million-year old "dinobird" fossil, long thought to contain nothing but fossilized bone and rock, has been hiding remnants of the animal's original chemistry, according to new research. The sensational discovery by an international team of palaeontologists, geochemists and physicists was made after carrying out state-of-the art analysis of one the world's most important fossils -- the half-dinosaur/half-bird species called Archaeopteryx.
10-May-2010
Panel recommends standardizing prescription container labeling
To promote the establishment of universal standards for prescription medication labels -- and to address the widespread problem of patient misinterpretation of medication instructions -- an advisory panel formed by the US Pharmacopeial Convention recently issued a set of recommendations to bring consistency to labeling on dispensed prescription packaging.
Stray grey whale navigates the North-West Passage
11:26 11 May 2010
The whale was hunted to extinction outside the Pacific over 200 years ago – now a 13-metre-long specimen has been spotted in the Mediterranean
10-May-2010
Did phosphorus trigger complex evolution -- and blue skies?
The evolution of complex life forms may have gotten a jump start billions of years ago, when geologic events over millions of years caused large quantities of phosphorus to wash into the oceans. According to this model, proposed by Dominic Papineau of the Carnegie Institution for Science, the higher levels of phosphorus would have caused vast algal blooms, pumping extra oxygen into the environment which allowed larger, more complex types of organisms to thrive.
11-May-2010
For comfort, mom's voice works as well as a hug
What Madison Avenue knew decades ago has been observed in brain chemistry. A simple phone call from mom can calm frayed nerves by sparking the release of a powerful stress-quelling hormone, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
11-May-2010
A woman's touch: Physical contact increases financial risk taking
A woman's touch is all it takes for people to throw caution to the wind.
Green machine: Cementing greener construction
17:34 11 May 2010
A lot of carbon dioxide is emitted in the production of cement – but it is set to become a net absorber of the greenhouse gas
Witness brain scan won't reveal whether the face fits
18:25 11 May 2010
Using fMRI to monitor brain activity of witnesses in court reveals no more than what they say they remember
11-May-2010
High-dose vitamin D linked with increased risk of falls, fractures among older women
Women age 70 years or older who received a single annual high dose of vitamin D had a higher rate of falls and fractures compared to women who received placebo, according to a study in the May 12 issue of JAMA.
Really?
The Claim: ‘White-Coat Hypertension’ Is Nothing to Worry About
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
For some patients, going to the doctor can be nerve-racking. But is this a sign of something more serious?
Scientists design new drug type to kill lymphoma cells
A new type of drug designed to kill non-Hodgkin's lymphoma tumor cells could lead to potential nontoxic therapies for cancer patients.
Neanderthals not the only apes humans bred with
THIS WEEK:  13:24 12 May 2010
A growing body of evidence suggests that our ancestors got it on with extinct hominid species, including Neanderthals and other Homo species
Welcome to the family, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
EDITORIAL:  15:43 13 May 2010
Is there any reason not to allow the squat, rugged, cold-loving apes into the fold with Homo sapiens?
Mapping Ancient Civilization, in a Matter of Days
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
In four days of flying over a jungle, archaeologists using lidar (light detection and ranging) surpassed the data they collected in 25 years of ground exploration.
*Graphic: Laser Survey of a Maya City
Nanotube transistor will help us bond with machines
14:10 12 May 2010
A transistor controlled by a key biological chemical could pave the way for electronic devices plugged straight into the nervous system
11-May-2010
DNA could be backbone of next generation logic chips
In a single day, a solitary grad student at a lab bench can produce more simple logic circuits than the world's entire output of silicon chips in a month.
Maiden voyage for first true space sail
THIS WEEK:  18:00 12 May 2010
Next week Japan hopes to demonstrate the first sail to harness the sun for propulsion through space
Ancient DNA set to rewrite human history
Nature
12-May-2010
Of microorganisms and man
More than 150 years ago, Darwin proposed the theory of universal common ancestry, linking all forms of life by a shared genetic heritage from single-celled microorganisms to humans. Until now, the theory that makes ladybugs, oak trees, champagne yeast and humans distant relatives has remained beyond the scope of a formal test. This week, a Brandeis biochemist reports in Nature the results of the first large scale, quantitative test of the famous theory that underpins modern evolutionary biology.
12-May-2010
Easter Island discovery sends archaeologists back to drawing board
Archaeologists have disproved the fifty-year-old theory underpinning our understanding of how the famous stone statues were moved around Easter Island. Fieldwork led by researchers at University College London and the University of Manchester, has shown the remote Pacific island's ancient road system was primarily ceremonial and not solely built for transportation of the figures.
Doubt Is Cast on Many Reports of Food Allergies
By GINA KOLATA
Part of the confusion is over what is a food allergy and what is a food intolerance, a researcher says.
Fossils resolve extinction puzzle
Researchers have revealed remarkably well preserved fossils of soft-bodied marine creatures that are between 470 and 480 million years old.
12-May-2010
The joke is on us: A new interpretation of bared teeth in archaeological artifacts
Bared teeth are a prominent and eye-catching feature on many historical and archaeological artifacts, and are commonly interpreted as representing death, aggression and the shamanic trance. But a study in the forthcoming issue of Current Anthropology argues that the bared-teeth motif often expresses something a bit less sinister: the smile.
12-May-2010
Scripps Research study overturns decade-old findings in neurobiology
In findings that should finally put to rest a decade of controversy in the field of neurobiology, a team at the Scripps Research Institute has found decisive evidence that a specific neurotransmitter system -- the endocannabinoid system -- is active in a brain region known to play a key role in the processing of memory, emotional reactions and addiction formation.
13-May-2010
Cheese found to improve the immune response of the elderly
Scientists in Finland have discovered that cheese can help preserve and enhance the immune system of the elderly by acting as a carrier for probiotic bacteria, reports FEMS Immunology & Medical Microbiology.
13-May-2010
Sniff of local anesthetic in the dentist's chair could replace the needle
Modern dentistry has eliminated much of the "ouch" from getting a shot of local anesthetic. Now a new discovery may replace the needle used to give local anesthetic in the dentist's chair for many procedures. The discovery could lead to a new generation of intranasal drugs for noninvasive treatment for dental pain, migraine, and other conditions, the scientists suggest in American Chemical Society's bi-monthly journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.
13-May-2010
Rise in immigration may help explain drop in violent crimes, says CU-Boulder study
During the 1990s, immigration reached record highs and crime rates fell more precipitously than at any time in US history. Cities with the largest increases in immigration between 1990 and 2000 experienced the largest decreases in rates of homicide and robbery, a University of Colorado at Boulder researcher has found.
14-May-2010
Spitting cobras track first, predict later
Spitting cobras spray venom in the eyes of their victims with remarkable accuracy, but how do they achieve this accuracy when they cannot steer the jet of venom? Bruce Young from University of Massachusetts, Lowell, USA, and an international team of collaborators have found that cobras initially track their prey's movements, but at the moment when they spit, they predict where the victim's eyes will be 200 meters in the future and aim there.
14-May-2010
Muscle mass in elderly boosted by combining resistance exercise and blood flow restriction
Researchers have determined that moderately and temporarily restricting the flow of blood through muscles -- a practice adopted by bodybuilders who noticed that it made light weights feel heavier -- can be combined with low-level resistance exercise training to produce muscle-mass increases in older men.
Early Feathers Too Weak for Flight
Poor flight ability suggests that early birds lived in trees and would launch themselves off branches to glide.
14-May-2010
New twist on potential malaria drug target acts by trapping parasites in cells
Harvard School of Public Health researchers and colleagues seeking to block invasion of healthy red blood cells by malaria parasites have instead succeeded in locking the parasites within infected blood cells, potentially containing the disease.
Giant Plumes of Oil Found Forming Under Gulf of Mexico
By JUSTIN GILLIS
The discovery of the plumes, one as large as 10 miles long, is evidence that the leak from the well could be substantially worse than estimates that BP and the government have given.
When Will We Be Able to Build Brains Like Ours?
Sooner than you think -- and the race has lately caused a 'catfight'