24-May-2010
Viral infection linked to juvenile diabetes
Researchers from Italy have found a statistically significant association between enteroviral infection and diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in children. They report their findings today at the 110th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego, Calif.
24-May-2010
Can bacteria make you smarter?
Exposure to specific bacteria in the environment, already believed to have antidepressant qualities, could increase learning behavior according to research presented today at the 110th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego.
Model demonstrates infectious cause of asthma
Scientists from the University of Massachusetts have developed an animal model that shows how an early childhood lung infection can cause asthma later in life. They present their data today at the 110th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego.
24-May-2010
9/11 attacks linked to loss of male babies
The stress caused by psychological shock from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, felt even by people with no direct link to the event, may have led to an increased number of male children being miscarried in the US. Researchers writing in the open-access journal BMC Public Health found that the fetal death rate for boys spiked in Sep. 2001, and that significantly fewer boys than expected were born in December of that year.
24-May-2010
Caltech-led team first to directly measure body temperatures of extinct vertebrates
Questions about when, why, and how vertebrates stopped relying on external factors to regulate their body temperatures and began heating themselves internally have long intrigued scientists. Now, a team led by researchers at Caltech has taken a critical step toward providing some answers. They have developed the first method for the direct measurement of the body temperatures of large extinct vertebrates -- through the analysis of rare isotopes in the animals' bones, teeth and eggshells.
Oldest Human Species Found: May Have Been Cannibal? 
26 May 2010
Potential new species Homo gautengensis walked upright, looked somewhat apelike, swung from trees, and played with fire, study suggests.
The history of ice on Earth
16:39 24 May 2010
Our planet's history is marked by wild swings in temperature. Follow the advance and retreat of the ice sheets in our timeline
24-May-2010
Male antelopes trick females into extra sex opportunities
Scientists have caught male topi antelopes in the act of faking fear in front of females in heat as a way to improve their chances of having sex. The male antelopes, observed in southwest Kenya, send a false signal that a predator is nearby only when females in heat are in their territories. When the females react to the signal, they remain in the territory long enough for some males to fit in a quick mating opportunity.
Banned: doctor who linked MMR vaccine with autism
18:18 24 May 2010
The UK medical regulator has found Andrew Wakefield guilty of serious professional misconduct, and ruled that he should be banned from practising
24-May-2010
Do we clamp the umbilical cord too soon?
The timing of umbilical cord clamping at birth remains controversial. The cord has been clamped early to facilitate resuscitation and stabilization of infants. Now, a new review paper by researchers at the University of South Florida suggests clamping should be delayed in normal births to tap the physiological benefits of "nature's first stem cell transplant."
Vital Signs: Regimens:
Eat Your Vegetables, but Not Too Many
25-May-2010
'Nature's batteries' may have helped power early lifeforms
Researchers at the University of Leeds have uncovered new clues to the origins of life on Earth.
Dementia: Sing me the news, and I'll remember it
THIS WEEK:  12:54 25 May 2010
Teaching people with dementia new information by singing might enable them to live independently for a bit longer
New Way Bacterium Spreads in Hospital
25-May-2010
Medicine's secret archives
In an article published in the journal Trials, researchers at the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care compiled over 60 examples illustrating how the dissemination of medical knowledge has been impeded. For this purpose, they assessed hundreds of citations. A wide range of interventions was affected: from drugs and vaccines to medical devices such as ultrasound or devices for wound care. The collection reads like the script for a crime series.
Really?
Throat Exercises Can Relieve Sleep Apnea
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
Can exercises to strengthen the throat help to reduce sleep apnea symptoms?
From Trees and Grass, Bacteria That Cause Snow and Rain
By JIM ROBBINS
The bacterium pseudomonas syringae, a living organism that freezes at higher temperature, serves as the nuclei for raindrops and snowflakes.
Remarkable Creatures
Tracking the Ancestry of Corn Back 9,000 Years
By SEAN B. CARROLL
The combined detective work of botanists, geneticists and archaeologists has been able to identify the wild ancestor of maize.
25-May-2010
From Big Leagues, Hints at Sibling Behavior
By ALAN SCHWARZ
A study has found that younger siblings tend to take more risks not only in normal life but also in Major League Baseball.
25-May-2010
Study: Benchmarks and 'leapfrogs' drive up CEO pay
Why have CEO salaries skyrocketed over the past 20 years? Much of the blame lies in the practice of compensation benchmarking, say the authors of a study to be published next week in the American Journal of Sociology.
25-May-2010
Dangerous lung worms found in people who eat raw crayfish
If you're headed to a freshwater stream this summer and a friend dares you to eat a raw crayfish -- don't do it. You could end up in the hospital with a severe parasitic infection.
26-May-2010
New pathway to cheap insulin
In a German-Indo collaboration, researchers from the Helmholtz-Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig, Germany, have now developed a new method to cheaply produce insulin for the treatment of diabetes. The group's results have now been published in the open access online research magazine Microbial Cell Factories. With this, all information is freely accessible for everyone and is not subject to patent law.
26-May-2010
Vaccine hope for skin cancer sufferers
Nottingham scientists have been given the green light to test a vaccine which they hope could reverse, and even cure malignant melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer.
26-May-2010
Slow-release NSAIDs pose greater risk of GI bleeding
A study conducted at the Spanish Centre for Pharmacoepidemiological Research revealed that the risk of gastrointestinal complications due to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use varies by specific NSAID administered and by dosage. The study further determined that NSAIDs with a long half-life or slow-release formulation are associated with a greater risk of GI bleeding or perforation. Study findings are published in the June issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology.
26-May-2010
Giving credit to the right Dr. Wong: Seeking a unique ID for scientists
Which D. K. Wong gets credit for the next miracle cure? Is it Daniel Keith Wong, Danny Karl Wong, or Danellia Kay Wong? Scientists and publishers are trying to develop a new identity system -- similar to a social security number -- that would eliminate the alphabet soup of uncertainty that exists among authors of scientific papers with easily confused names. That's the topic of an article in Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly news magazine.
27-May-2010
Artificial sweeteners, without the aftertaste: Scientists find bitter-blocking ingredient
Researchers have discovered a chemical that specifically blocks people's ability to detect the bitter aftertaste that comes with artificial sweeteners such as saccharin. The key is a molecule known only as GIV3727 that specifically targets and inhibits a handful of human bitter taste receptors, according to a report published online on May 27 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.
27-May-2010
Nobel winner ties mental illness to immune defect
A Nobel Prize-winning University of Utah geneticist discovered that bone marrow transplants cure mutant mice who pull out their hair compulsively. The study provides the first cause-and-effect link between immune system cells and mental illness, and points toward eventual new psychiatric treatments.
Scientists Challenge ‘Breakthrough’ on Fossil Skeleton
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
The fossil skeleton known as Ardi has now drawn critics who dispute claims that the species lived in dense woodlands or that it is a member of the human lineage.
27-May-2010
Supplement may prevent alcohol-related brain, skull defects
The dietary supplement CDP-choline, sold as a brain-boosting agent and under study for stroke and traumatic brain injury, may block skull and brain damage that can result from alcohol consumption early in pregnancy, Medical College of Georgia researchers report. Alcohol consumption in early pregnancy increases levels of a little-known lipid called ceramide, significantly increasing suicide among cells critical to skull and brain formation, Dr. Erhard Bieberich, biochemist at the Medical College of Georgia, reports in Cell Death and Disease.
Exchange meat for sex? No thank you
15:52 27 May 2010
It turns out that there is no support for the widespread belief that male chimps trade meat for sex
27-May-2010
Ultrasound could boost tissue implant success
New research shows low-intensity ultrasound stimulation would be able to enhance the survival of implanted tissue graft, which could vastly increase the rates of success of a broad range of tissue-graft therapies.
  Arizona man is first to take artificial heart home
  17:07 27 May 2010
A compact pump has allowed the recipient of an artificial heart to go home. New Scientist looks at what this means for the future of transplants
27-May-2010
 To double spud production, just add a little spit
When it comes to potentially doubling the output of the world's fourth largest food crop, the secret may be in the spit. Researchers at Cornell University, as well as the University of Goettingen and National University of Colombia, have discovered that when a major South American pest infests potato tubers, the plant produces bigger spuds. The secret to this increased yield is found that the saliva of the Guatemalan potato moth larvae.
Drug defeats deadly Ebola virus infection
11:24 28 May 2010
An RNA-based drug provides protection after infection with the Ebola Zaire virus – the first drug that has been shown to do so
May 28, 2010
Safety Rules Can’t Keep Up With Biotech Industry
Mystery fossil a 'squid ancestor'
28-May-2010
Teenagers who died didn't take Miaow Miaow
17:40 28 May 2010
Report finds two teenagers whose deaths were linked to the 'legal high' had not taken the drug, says Helen Thomson
Rutgers cell biologist pinpoints how RNA viruses copy themselves
Nihal Altan-Bonnet, assistant professor of cell biology, Rutgers University in Newark, and her research team have made a significant new discovery about RNA (Ribonucleic acid) viruses and how they replicate themselves. Certain RNA viruses -- Poliovirus, Hepatitis C virus and Coxsackievirus -- and possibly many other families of viruses copy themselves by seizing an enzyme from their host cell to create replication factories enriched in a specific lipid.
How short can a planet's year be?
18:19 28 May 2010
A planet has been found which takes under 18 hours to complete its orbit – but it's probably not the shortest year possible
28-May-2010
Cold sore virus may contribute to cognitive and brain abnormalities in schizophrenia
Exposure to the common virus that causes cold sores may be partially responsible for shrinking regions of the brain and the loss of concentration skills, memory, coordinated movement and dexterity widely seen in patients with schizophrenia, according to research led by Johns Hopkins scientists.
29-May-2010
Revealing the ancient Chinese secret of sticky rice mortar
Scientists have discovered the secret behind an ancient Chinese mortar made from sticky rice, that delicious "sweet rice" that is a modern mainstay in Asian dishes. They also concluded that the mortar -- a paste used to bind and fill gaps between bricks, stone blocks and other construction materials -- remains the best available material for restoring ancient buildings. Their article appears in American Chemical Society's monthly journal, Accounts of Chemical Research.
30-May-2010
Acupuncture's molecular effects pinned down
Scientists have identified the molecule adenosine as a central player in parlaying some of the effects of acupuncture in the body. Building on that knowledge, scientists were able to triple the beneficial effects of acupuncture in mice by adding a medication approved to treat leukemia in people.
30-May-2010
From butterflies' wings to bank notes -- how nature's colors could cut bank fraud
Scientists have discovered a way of mimicking the stunningly bright and beautiful colors found on the wings of tropical butterflies. The findings could have important applications in the security printing industry, helping to make bank notes and credit cards harder to forge.
Observations
The hidden health power of spices and herbs is revealed in recent studies
30-May-2010
U of A discovery offers promising research for spinal-cord injury treatments
University of Alberta researchers have identified one of the body's natural self-repair mechanisms that kick in after spinal cord injury which could lead to the development of more effective treatments.