The itch sensation is triggered by two categories of itch-inducing agents: histamine (involving the histamine receptor) and non-histamine (involving a Mas-like G-protein coupled receptor). While the molecular distinction is crucial for developing effective treatments for the specific forms of itch sensation, it remains unclear as to how the two forms of itch sensations are encoded in the sensory system. A heavily debated school of thought suggests that itch sensation, in response to either histamine and non-histamine inducers, is differentially triggered by distinct populations of sensory neurons, although such model has never been proven.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), known to deplete ozone, are also to blame for global warming since the 1970s, according to a paper in the International Journal of Modern Physics B.

The statistical analysis found that CFCs are the key driver in global climate change, rather than carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which the author says would explain why temperature has not continued to rise as CO2 has - CFCs have gone down a lot.

Marijuana became popular as a recreational drug and as its legalization movement became more popular, studies were conducted on its therapeutic properties. Medical cannabis is often used by sufferers of chronic ailments, including cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder, to combat pain, insomnia, lack of appetite, and other symptoms. But self-reported milder symptoms often claim that only marijuana helps. Women have 50% of prescription-level pain, for example, but men have gotten 80% of the 'medical marijuana' cards, so objective data is lacking.

A naturally occurring protein, diazepam binding inhibitor (DBI) , secreted only in discrete areas of the mammalian brain may act as a Valium-like brake on certain types of epileptic seizures.

 Valium, which is notoriously addictive, prone to abuse and dangerous at high doses, was an early drug treatment for epilepsy, but it has fallen out of use for this purpose because its efficacy quickly wears off and because newer, better anti-epileptic drugs have come along.

Researchers writing in Neuron say DBI calms the rhythms of a key brain circuit and so could prove valuable in developing novel, less side-effect-prone therapies not only for epilepsy but possibly for anxiety and sleep disorders. 

It's not often that the Hallmark Channel gets a shout-out on Science 2.0 but when they send young people into space, I'm in. I got an email about an upcoming movie and it intrigued me so the publicist not only put me in touch with interesting people to interview, they sent along an exclusive clip just for you.  Bonus: There is also a sweepstakes and we all love to win free stuff.

“The stereotype of women’s limited parking skills is deeply anchored in modern culture.” But has rarely been scientifically investigated, prompting Claudia Wolf, M.Sc. and Sebastian Ocklenburg M.Sc. and colleagues at the Fakultät für Psychologie, Institut für Kognitive Neurowissenschaft, Abteilung Biopsychologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany, to perform an experimental study.

New Arctic - New Discoveries

The world is warming, but the Arctic is warming fastest.  The Arctic of today is not the Arctic which 18th or 19th century explorers knew.  Where ships were once likely to be crushed in heavy ice there is now often no ice in summer.  Where ice shove once built natural sea walls we find coastal erosion as waves are now free to erode melting permafrost.  New islands are being discovered, even as older islands erode away into sandbanks.

Do you know, my original title for this was "The Early Bird Gets the PR". I hastily changed it before posting because it was the most cynical title of I'd ever read, of anything, ever. But, it has undeniably happened. We have another earliest bird that has once again knocked Archaeopteryx off of its perch.

Here it is; it's called Aurornis xui, and here is Jon Tennant covering it for Discover.

Does more food labeling related to calories and nutrition make a difference? 

About one third of American kids and teens is overweight or obese, nearly triple the rate in 1963, making it a much bigger health concern than smoking or drug abuse. Meanwhile, a paper in the Journal of Public Health says obese kids are more likely to be paying attention to calorie information in restaurants.  40 percent of kids aged 9-18 read calorie information yet 33 percent are overweight.

What gives?

 Much like in Frank Herbert’s "Dune", a science-fiction epic about characters attempting to rule a planet torn apart by conflict, the issue of balancing desires for resources, and their impact on people, faces much of Africa today. The planet that serves as the stage for that story, a barren desert where control over said resources dictates human events, in many ways mimics the present situation on the African continent.