Heart disease is commonly considered a modern condition, but that may change thanks to research conducted by a collaborative team composed of imaging experts, Egyptologists and preservationists who have discovered evidence of the disease, which causes heart attacks and strokes, in ancient Egyptian mummies.

Their results, presented at  the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2009, indicate that  atherosclerosis is not only a disease of modern man, but was present and not unusual in humans living 3000 years ago.

Using six-slice computed X-ray tomography (CT) scans, they systematically examined 20 mummies housed in the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, Egypt to see if heart and blood vessel tissue was present and to learn its condition.

Over consumption is a serious issue in the United States. National Institutes of Health statistics show that two-thirds of American adults are overweight, with associated direct economic medical
costs of $78.5 billion each year. About 70 million Americans are attempting to control their food intake.

Fortunately, if you feel like you're in a losing battle with a triple-chocolate cake, a "mental budget" may help, says a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

To conduct the research, the authors encouraged some participants to set mental budgets and compared them to people who did not set budgets, and examined their consumption of sweet treats.

Out of the estimated 1 million people in the U.S. who suffer from chronic, severe angina -- chest pain due to blocked arteries -- about 300,000 cannot be helped by any traditional medical treatment such as angioplasty, bypass surgery or stents.

Recently, a nationwide study demonstrated that transplanting a potent form of adult stem cells into the heart muscle of patients with severe angina results in less pain and an improved ability to walk. The transplant patients also experienced fewer deaths than those who didn't receive stem cells. The findings of the study were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2009.

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles are found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint and vitamins, and have caused systemic genetic damage in mice, according to a study conducted by researchers at UCLA’s  Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.  The study appears this week in the journal Cancer Research.

Whether you're a liberal or a libertarian, it's generally accepted across the political spectrum that, in some form, the opportunity to make a lot of money drives the economic recessions and depressions the global economy experiences.

Since we seem doomed to repeat the mistakes that brings us to the brink of economic meltdown every few decades, is there perhaps a scientific explanation for our behavior?

According to a study soon to appear in Cortex, monetary gain, or even the mere possibility of receiving a reward, is known to activate an area of the brain called the striatum, and high-risk/high-gain decisions cause higher levels of activation than more conservative decisions.

Researchers from North Carolina State University have identified a gene, FoxJ1, that tells embryonic stem cells in the brain when to stop producing neurons. The research is a significant advance in understanding the development of the nervous system, which is essential to addressing conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.
 
The bulk of neuron production in the central nervous system takes place before birth, and comes to a halt by birth. But scientists have identified specific regions in the core of the brain that retain stem cells into adulthood and continue to produce new neurons.

A study published today in Nature Geoscience says that increasing atmospheric CO2 emissions continue to outstrip the world's natural ability to absorb carbon and claim that drastic cuts in fossil fuel emissions are the only way to mitigate climate change.

The authors report that over the last 50 years the average fraction of global CO2 emissions that remained in the atmosphere each year was around 43 per cent - the rest was absorbed by the Earth's carbon sinks on land and in the oceans. During that time the fraction has likely increased from 40 per cent to 45 per cent, suggesting a decrease in the efficiency of the natural sinks. The team also offers evidence that the sinks are responding to climate change and variability.

The Associated Press, that bastion of scientific knowledge, shares with us a list of "pests that are benefiting or could benefit from global warming", starting with:

_Ticks that transmit Lyme disease are spreading northward into Sweden and Canada, once too cold for them.
_Giant Humboldt squid have reached waters as far north as British Columbia,
threatening fisheries along much of the western North American coast.