Its been a bad week for science, particularly for the science related to food production.

The notoriously flawed "Seralini Study" about tumors in rats fed GMOs is being republished in another journal after having been retracted. Another paper has come out making a rather questionable link between autism and proximity to pesticide applications on farms.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (June 26, 2014) – It's tough being the parent of a child with food allergies. Constant vigilance is needed for everything your child eats, when a single food item containing a hidden ingredient can be fatal. Although worry is a factor for anyone caring for a child with food allergies, according to a study published in the July issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the scientific publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), there is increased anxiety and strain for caregivers of children allergic to milk and eggs.

A recent experiment was able to demonstrate that the articulation of vowels systematically influences our feelings - and vice versa.

The research project looked at the question of whether and to what extent the meaning of words is linked to their sound. The specific focus of the project was on two special cases; the sound of the long 'i' vowel (/i:/) and that of the long, closed 'o' vowel (/o:/). Psychologist Prof. Ralf Rummer and phoneticist Prof. Martine Grice were interested in finding out whether these vowels tend to occur in words that are positively or negatively charged in terms of emotional impact. So they carried out two fundamental experiments.

MINNEAPOLIS – Older veterans who have experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI) are 60 percent more likely to later develop dementia than veterans without TBI, according to a study published in the June 25, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study also found that veterans with a history of TBI developed dementia about two years earlier than those without TBI who had developed dementia.

When it comes to organic, the last thing you expect is cheap but a new battery may end up being just that. 

USC researchers have developed a water-based organic battery that is long lasting and made from cheap, eco-friendly components. It used no metals or toxic materials and is intended for use in power plants. Power plants are not in the storage business, they are in the generation business, but if solar and wind power become viable we are going to need high-capacity storage to even out the ups and downs of Mother Nature.

An electric discharge experiment simulates early Earth conditions using relatively simple starting materials. The reaction is ignited by a spark, simulating lightning, which was likely very common on the early Earth.

The 1958 reaction samples were analyzed by Parker and his current mentor, Facundo M. Fernández, a professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech. They conducted liquid chromatography- and mass spectrometry-based analyses and found that the reaction samples from 1958 contained peptides. Scientists from NASA's Johnson Space Center and Goddard Space Flight Center were also involved in the analysis.

Pathological thought can be helpful, especially the Asperger’s variety. Ludwig Wittgenstein became the arguably greatest philosopher, overseeing the postmodern. The mathematician Paul Erdös is another good example.

 

TORONTO, June 26, 2014 – Women with chronic physical illnesses are more likely to use mental health services than men with similar illnesses; they also seek out mental health services six months earlier than those same men, according to new study from St. Michael's Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES).

"Chronic physical illness can lead to depression," said Dr. Flora Matheson, a scientist in the hospital's Centre for Research on Inner City Health. "We want to better understand who will seek mental health services when diagnosed with a chronic physical illness so we can best help those who need care."

Current guidelines to help prevent bloodstream infections during intravenous feeding may need
revisions to strengthen protections for patients, a new study finds.

Researchers at the United Kingdom's University of Southampton found that current guidelines do not account for other independent factors that can affect the growth of potentially deadly microorganisms. Their study was published today in the OnlineFirst version of the Journal of
Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (JPEN), the research journal of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.).

COLLEGE STATION – Scientists with Texas A&M AgriLife Research have found a "Trojan horse" way to deliver proteins into live human cells without damaging them.

The finding, published in this month's Nature Methods, is expected to be easily adopted for use in medical research to find cures and treatments for a wide range of diseases, according to the team's lead scientist, Dr. Jean-Philippe Pellois, an associate professor of biochemistry at Texas A&M University.