Archaeologists and restorers, are preserving and studying 4th-century tunics ascribed to St. Ambrose. In the course of examining the valuable silk garments, they have made surprising scholarly discoveries regarding the development of early relic worship.

Born in Trier, Germany, Saint Ambrose began his career as a politician, becoming elected, in 374, the influential Bishop of the emperor’s residence of Milan. He enacted relic worship, and would become frequently quoted in the catechism. The Ambrosian chants are associated with him, and he is honored as a Doctor of the Church. Surprisingly though, the tunics at Sant’Ambrogio, which are associated with the saint and worshipped as relics, are little known.

There are sex differences in the development of tolerance to THC, the key active ingredient in cannabis, according to a new paper. 

Psychology professor Rebecca Craft of Washington State University believes that estrogen levels are why female rats are at least 30 percent more sensitive than males to the pain-relieving qualities of THC and develop tolerance to THC more quickly. These sensitivities could increase vulnerability to negative side effects like anxiety, paranoia and addiction.

Many unknowns

Conventional photovoltaic technology uses large, heavy, opaque, dark silicon panels while  organic photovoltaic technology enables more translucent and more flexible solar panels in a range of colors to be manufactured.

But even silicon solar panels are not viable yet so for something to replace those, it will have to have greater efficiency, longer duration and low production cost - or at least some combination of those. Legacy solar panels have not improved in decades and policy makers are jaded by claims of how much money this will save.

In a new study, scientists have adapted a chemical approach to turn diseased cells into unique manufacturing sites for molecules that can treat a form of muscular dystrophy.

In general, small, low molecular weight compounds can pass the blood-brain barrier, while larger, higher weight compounds tend to be more potent. In the new study, however, small molecules became powerful inhibitors when they bound to targets in cells expressing an RNA defect, such as those found in myotonic dystrophy.

Among the viable extensions of the standard model, an intriguing class of models involve the concept of a "hidden sector" of new particles only weakly coupled to the standard model one. These particles could be produced in the decay of heavy standard model particles, be invisible, but unstable, and thus soon decay back into standard model bodies, giving funny experimental signatures that our detectors could spot -if we looked for them carefully enough.

For breast cancer patients, there are three common surgical interventions: bilateral mastectomy (the removal of both breasts), unilateral mastectomy (the removal of the affected breast), and lumpectomy (the selective removal of cancerous tissue within the breast) plus radiation. 

Obesity is big business and as a result, so are bariatric surgeries. They are a popular fail safe for people who believe they lack the mental resolve to eat less but is it really the most cost effective way to treat obesity now that health care is government controlled? 

Writing in both BMJ and JAMA, David Arterburn, MD, MPH, weighs the evidence on the benefits and risks of the various types of this surgery.

"It's critical that we find effective—and cost-effective—ways to treat severe obesity," said Dr. Arterburn, an associate investigator at Group Health Research Institute, a Group Health physician, and an affiliate associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Scholars from Tufts University, Harvard University and Boston Children's Hospital are calling for the implementation of taxes and subsidies to improve dietary quality in the United States.  

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields used to be considered the domain of white men, especially in academia, and that has changed, but universities are criticized because of the pace of change - researchers with tenure cannot just be fired and replaced.

There is a sure-fire way to lose weight; if you eat two cheeseburgers at McDonald's, eat one. 

You don't need to read any books, slow cook, give up gluten, give up dairy, fats, carbs or booze; those can all help in the short term, because you are shocking your body and it mobilizes to deal with that, but over the long term just eat less. All diets work if you stick to them.

A new study has again affirmed what every weight loss study done by people not selling you something has found; weight loss differences between popular diets are minimal and likely of little importance to those wanting to lose weight. Staying on the diet is the most important thing - behavioral support and exercise enhance the weight loss but the eating less matters most.