As has been demonstrated, even after complete spinal paralysis the human spinal cord is able to trigger activity in the leg muscles using electrical pulses from an implanted stimulator.

Now a team of researchers has succeeded in identifying the mechanisms the spinal cord uses to control this muscle activity. These mechanisms still work even if the neural pathways from the brain are physically interrupted as the result of a spinal cord injury. It is the first time throughout the world that the spinal-cord activation patterns for walking have been decoded, say the authors of a new paper. 

Up to 10% of adults living in developed countries fish for food and recreation and a new paper finds that in the Mediterranean Sea that could be up to 10% of the total production of fisheries - a large amount that is basically un-regulated outside buying a license. 

A small pilot study has shown that most of the children in a new oral immunotherapy treatment program were able to eat 100 grams of wheat bread without side effects, a promising way to mitigate the risk of accidental ingestion by people with this allergy. 

Microbiologists rarely wash their jeans. The reason is because they know how to keep the color looking new without getting odors - they freeze their pants. 

Freezing can even work in more extreme scenarios, like with waste water. 

When waste water freezes, it is purified through the formation of a cleaner layer of ice. Then the clean layer of ice can be removed from the rest of the waste water, and the remaining waste water is more concentrated, which can be treated as needed with a lot less outside processing. Energy is required only for breaking the ice and transporting it from the waste water pool.


Credit: Lappeenranta University of Technology, LUT

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently warned that statins could affect the memory, attention span and other cognitive abilities of people who it drug to control high cholesterol.

Despite cultural claims in the US that the FDA is too liberal in approval, a new review found that they were instead being far too conservative. It was the precautionary principle becoming a vice, according to a systematic review of 25 clinical trials incorporating nearly 47,000 people, led by Brian R. Ott, M.D., professor at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

Long before oxytocin was the miracle spray that could make people feel more trusting, our ancestors used lavender. Unsurprisingly, it still works today, according to a new psychology paper.

Nederlandse Vereniging voor Psychonomie member psychologists Roberta Sellaro and Lorenza Colzato investigated whether the calming olfactory fragrance of lavender has a positive effect on mutual trust. Aromatherapists already knew that aromatic compounds can alter mood and even claim cognitive, psychological or physical wellbeing effects. “Mutual trust is the social glue of society,” says Sellaro. “Interpersonal trust is an essential element for social co-operation bargaining and negotiation.”

Trust Game