Time lived with obesity linked with mortality
Monash University researchers have found the number of years individuals live with obesity is directly associated with the risk of mortality.
Study shows Native Americans modified American landscape years prior to arrival of Europeans
Study has important implications to how "sensitive" landscapes are to land-use and farming strategies
Primordial soup gets spicier
'Lost' samples from famous origin of life researcher could send the search for Earth's first life in a new direction
Changes in taste function related to obesity and chronic ear inflammation
Children with chronic inflammation of the middle ear can experience changes in their sense of taste, and these changes may be related to childhood obesity, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Ancient trash heaps gave rise to Everglades tree islands
Garbage mounds left by prehistoric humans might have driven the formation of many of the Florida Everglades' tree islands, distinctive havens of exceptional ecological richness in the sprawling marsh that are today threatened by human development.
Navy Sonar May Mimic Killer Whale Sounds
by John C. Cannon
Sonar drives beaked whales long distances from their favorite deep-water habitats, according to the first study conducted during actual U.S. Navy exercises.
Vladimir Komarov: The Unsung Space Hero
Analysis by Jennifer Ouellette
There is a new book coming out next month detailing the life and times of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.
Biofilm reorganization: Back to the theoretical drawing board
Microcinematic image analysis finds existing theories of bacterial self-organization are lacking
Radiation Worrying You? Take a Vitamin
With astronauts facing risks from radiation on long-duration space missions, NASA has recommended a simple solution.
By Irene Klotz
Biggest-Ever Bunny Didn't Hop, Had No Enemies
No floppy-eared Easter-type bunny, this rabbit had small ears, smallish eyes and enormous heft.
By Jennifer Viegas
Cheap catalyst made easy
CWRU researchers aim to bring fuel cells within reach
First image of protein residue in 50 million year old reptile skin
Published in the journal Royal Society Proceedings B: Biology, the brightly-coloured image shows the presence of amides – the organic compounds, or building blocks of life – in the ancient skin of a reptile, found in the 50 million year-old rocks of the Green River Formation in Utah, USA.
Newly discovered virus implicated in deadly Chinese outbreaks
Tick-borne disease identified as emerging threat
Spinal cord processes information just like areas of the brain
Patrick Stroman's work mapping the function and information processing of the spinal cord could improve treatment for spinal cord injuries.
Patterns: For Heart Risk, No Telltale Body Shape
By RONI CARYN RABIN
A major new analysis challenges the long-held idea that obese people who carry their extra weight mainly around the middle - those with an “apple” shape - are at greater risk for heart disease than “pears,” whose fat tends to cluster on their thighs and buttocks.
Quantum computing device hints at powerful future
By Jason Palmer
One of the most complex efforts toward a quantum computer has been shown off at the American Physical Society meeting in Dallas in the US.
Religion may become extinct in nine nations, study says
By Jason Palmer
A study using census data from nine countries shows that religion there is set for extinction, say researchers.
Watson computer's ability to diagnose illness tested
Watson, IBM’s celebrity supercomputer, has already trounced the two best human Jeopardy! players. But does the computer, which uses natural language processing to interpret complex, nuanced questions and provide accurate answers in English, have a bedside manner?
Low-Dose Radiation Risks Unknown
Scientists struggle to calculate long-term effects of low-dose exposures in Fukushima.
By Gwyneth Dickey Zakaib
Trigger found for autoimmune heart attacks
Joslin Diabetes Center research may point toward new ways to diagnose and treat heart disease in people with type 1 diabetes
Arthritis drug could help beat melanoma skin cancer
A breakthrough discovery by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Children's Hospital Boston promises an effective new treatment for one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
UCSB scientists get glimpse of how the 'code' of life may have emerged
A portion of the "code" of life has been unraveled by a UC Santa Barbara graduate student from the town of Jojutla, Mexico.
A life without pain is a life without smell
by Ferris Jabr
A handful of people around the world have never known the meaning of physical pain – not because they live incredibly sheltered lives, but because their nerves lack a crucial ion channel that helps transmit signals between adjacent nerve cells.
Best-ever quantum measurement breaks Heisenberg limit
by Mark Buchanan
PHYSICISTS have made the most accurate quantum measurement yet, breaking a theoretical limit named for Werner Heisenberg.
First viable sperm cells grown from scratch
by Ferris Jabr
FOR the first time viable mouse sperm have been grown outside the testes. If the technique can be repeated with human sperm, it could lead to new ways of treating infertile men.
Dangers of Leaving No Resident Behind
By GARDINER HARRIS
When the Three Mile Island nuclear generating station along the Susquehanna River seemed on the verge of a full meltdown in March 1979, Gov. Richard L. Thornburgh of Pennsylvania asked a trusted aide to make sure that the evacuation plans for the surrounding counties would work.
Outcomes improved by longer delays between heart attacks and elective surgeries
Before undergoing elective surgery, patients should consider waiting longer after a heart attack than is currently recommended, according to a study scheduled for publication in the May issue of the journal, Annals of Surgery.
Antibiotics have 'little effect' on cough and phlegm
Taking antibiotics for a bad cough which produces green or yellow phlegm is of little benefit, says Cardiff University research.
Quantum physics explanation for smell gains traction
By Jason Palmer Science and technology reporter, BBC News, Dallas
The theory that our sense of smell has its basis in quantum physics events is gaining traction, say researchers.
Acupuncture is equally effective with simulated needles
Simulated acupuncture - sometimes referred to as placebo - is just as beneficial as real acupuncture for treating nausea in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy, according to a study from Karolinska Institutet and Linköping University in Sweden.
Great Depression did not significantly improve life expectancy in the US
LSHTM study of statewide bank crises finds no major impact of the depression on mortality
MRSA infection shown to be seasonal
New study from Rhode Island Hospital shows second half of year more common for MRSA infection
Researchers reveal remarkable fossil
525-million-year-old discovery of 'feathered helmet from beyond the clouds'
Study: Teachers unaware of growing gender gaps in classrooms
A gap in reading and math scores still exists in lower grades, with boys continuing to outpace girls in math, and girls ahead of boys in reading, two University of Illinois education professors say.
Mayo Clinic researchers tie Parkinson's drugs to impulse control problems
Mayo Clinic researchers found that dopamine agonists used in treating Parkinson's disease result in impulse control disorders in as many as 22 percent of patients.
Acupuncture for pain no better than placebo and not without harm
Although acupuncture is commonly used for pain control, doubts about its effectiveness and safety remain.
Mosquito needle helps take sting out of injections
by Paul Marks
LOOK away now if you are afraid of needles. A motorised, harpoon-like needle sounds painful, but in fact hurts far less than a regular injection because it resembles a mosquito's mouth parts.
World's wind and waves have been rising for decades
by Wendy Zukerman
Wind speeds and wave heights over the world's oceans have been rising for the past quarter-century.
Giffords' husband hopes she'll be at April launch
The astronaut husband of wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said Thursday there's a "pretty good chance" she will attend his space shuttle launch next month.
Arctic sea ice ties for smallest area this winter
Even at its biggest, Arctic sea ice extent this winter was among the smallest ever seen, apparently tying with 2006 for the least amount of ice covering the region around the North Pole, U.S.
Bones Can Reveal Deceased's Weight
The shape of bones can give a general idea about the weight a person carried in life. Cynthia Graber reports.
BrainGate neural interface system reaches 1,000-day performance milestone
Demonstrating an important milestone for the longevity and utility of implanted brain-computer interfaces, a woman with tetraplegia using the investigational BrainGate system continued to control a computer cursor accurately through neural activity alone more than 1,000 days after receiving the BrainGate implant.
Fukushima men stood in radioactive water without boots
Wendy Zukerman
Three workers exposed to up to 180 millisieverts of radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have been transferred to a specialist radiation research centre in Chiba city.
Algae and bacteria hogged oxygen after ancient mass extinction, researchers say
After the biggest mass extinction in Earth's history -- 250 million years ago -- ocean algae and bacteria rebounded so fast that they consumed virtually all the oxygen in the sea, slowing the recovery of the rest of animals for several million years.
New lead on deadly pancreatic cancer
Mouse model reveals mechanism of potential therapy for lethal tumours.
Alison Abbott
Randomly Selected Leaders May Make Politics More Efficient
By Marianne English
Injecting randomly selected politicians into legislatures could create a more efficient political process, according to a group of scientists.
Look into my eyes to predict my amputation risk
by Wendy Zukerman
A glimpse in an eye might soon be enough to diagnose the nerve damage associated with diabetes.