In 2010, a research team garnered attention when it published evidence of finding the first animals living in permanently anoxic conditions at the bottom of the sea. But a new study, led by scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), raises doubts.

One alternative scenario is that cadavers of multicellular organisms were inhabited by bacteria capable of living in anoxic conditions, and these "bodysnatchers" made it seem that the dead animals were living, said Joan Bernhard, a geobiologist with WHOI and the lead author of the new study published in the December 2015 issue of the scientific journal BMC Biology.

Research from the University of Rochester finds that caring for others dips during adolescence. But when young people feel supported from their social circles, their concern for others rebound.

A product called the OFF! Clip-On repellent device could be an effective tool for preventing bites from the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the primary vector of Zika, chikungunya, dengue, and yellow fever, though DEET, a permethrin or even good old-fashioned DDT will also do the trick, unless you are a Joe Mercola or SourceWatch reader and think science is a vast, right-wing conspiracy out to give you cancer. 

A genome-wide association study has identified genetic variants associated with being a morning person. The authors identified 15 locations in DNA (loci) associated with "morningness."

It has no wheels or legs or anything to help itself along, and yet it is able to move and to move quite fast. In terms of mobility, the snake is a masterpiece of engineering, and it is no coincidence that it should be studied to uncover the physics underlying its locomotion. Giancarlo Cicconofri, SISSA research fellow, and Antonio DeSimone, SISSA professor and head of MathLab, the School's laboratory for mathematical modelling and scientific computing, have developed a mathematical model to describe in detail slithering, one of the characteristic ways in which snakes move by propagating lateral undulations along the body, and described in their model as "snake in a tube".

An ensemble consisting of a binary mixture of particles of equal size can partition itself into its component fractions - provided that the two species differ in their diffusion constants.

CHICAGO-- American grocery shoppers face an array of front of pack (FOP) nutrition and health claims when making food selections. But relying on the front of pack (FOP) claims to determine the nutrition quality of the food may not be a consumer's best option. In the January issue of the Journal of Food Science study, published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), researchers from The Ohio State University and Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia examined and analyzed front of pack nutrition claims on more than 2,200 breakfast cereal and prepared meals released for sale between 2006 and 2010. What they found was that no type or number of front of pack claims could distinguish "healthy" foods.

A new analysis indicates that states’ Web-based and phone-based tobacco cessation programs can help people quit smoking, but certain personal characteristics may lead individuals to prefer one type of program over the other. 

Quitline (telephone-based counseling) programs are effective tools for people who are trying to give up smoking, and the evidence for Web-based cessation services is building. Research has found that only one percent to two percent of adult tobacco users in the United States access state quitlines each year, however. Also, sustained use of Web-based interventions is low, with most users visiting some cessation websites fewer than three times.

CHICAGO-- Cooks, chefs and food manufacturers are looking for natural ways to reduce sodium in recipes in nearly every culture. A big challenge to doing that is taste. Consumers typically describe reduced-sodium foods as lacking in taste and flavor. Findings of a study in the January issue of the Journal of Food Science, published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), found that Vietnamese fish sauce added to chicken broth, tomato sauce and coconut curry reduced the amount of sodium chloride by by 10-25 percent while still maintaining the perceived deliciousness, saltiness and overall flavor intensity.

WASHINGTON, DC -- As brain cells age they lose the fibers that receive neural impulses, a change that may underlie cognitive decline. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine recently found a way to reverse this process in rats. The study was published Feb. 3, 2016 in The Journal of Neuroscience. Researchers caution that more studies are needed, but the findings shed light on the mechanisms of cognitive decline and identify potential strategies to stem it.

"There's a tendency to think that aging is an inexorable process, that it's something in the genes and there's nothing you can do about it," said study co-author Gary Lynch. "This paper is saying that may not be true."