Blocking even a single tiny blood vessel in the brain can harm neural tissue and alter behavior, says a study from U.C. San Diego.

All is not lost, though. The effects can be mitigated by  the FDA-approved drug memantine, suggesting treatment that could slow the progress of dementia associated with cumulative damage to miniscule blood vessels that feed brain cells.

If you did not know Arctic hurricanes happen, you are not alone. They even come with a central "eye", extreme low barometric pressure and towering 30-foot waves that can sink ships and cover metal platforms with thick ice, threatening oil and gas exploration.

Climate scientists report the first conclusive evidence that Arctic hurricanes, also known as polar lows, play a significant role in driving ocean water circulation and climate.  Their results point to potentially cooler conditions in Europe and North America in the 21st century than other models predict. 

By using voltage instead of current, researchers say they have made major improvements to magnetoresistive random access memory - MRAM -  a faster, higher-capacity class of computer memory.

Current, magnetic memory is based on spin-transfer torque (STT), which uses the magnetic property of electrons - spin - in addition to their charge. STT utilizes an electric current to move electrons to write data into the memory.  

A research group examining how bacteria cope with stress, for example how the receptor meolecule CadC monitors the acidity in the environment and alerts the cell to take countermeasures to protect itself, led to some answers about protein synthesis, the core biosynthetic process that makes all metabolism possible.

They found that, in the absence of  Translation Elongation Factor P (EF-P, for short), the cell doesn't make enough CadC to carry out its job effectively. 

Two new studies explore the development of reasoning and perspective-taking in young children.

How to Pass the False-Belief Task Before Your Fourth Birthday

A new study found significant correlation between excessive daytime sleepiness and vitamin D - in patients with normal vitamin D levels, progressively higher levels of daytime sleepiness were correlated inversely with progressively lower levels of vitamin D.

But among patients with vitamin D deficiency, sleepiness and vitamin D levels were associated only among black patients.This correlation was observed in a direct relationship, with higher vitamin D levels associated with a higher level of sleepiness among black patients.

Scientists have discovered a new gene mechanism that appears to regulate triglyceride levels and may protect carriers of a gene variant against cardiovascular disease, especially among those with greater intakes of polyunsaturated fat (PUFA).  

Al exercise is good exercise and there is a 100 percent chance you will lose weight if you consume fewer calories than you burn, but if you are interested in optimizing fat and weight loss after the holidays, aerobic training is the best way to go, according to Duke researchers.

They compared aerobic training, resistance training, and a combination of the two in what they say is the largest randomized trial to analyze changes in body composition from the three modes of exercise in overweight or obese adults without diabetes.

So, is it or is it not possible? Can black holes be split?

In my last blog I demonstrated that the laws of thermodynamics forbid the splitting of a single black hole. However, I also demonstrated the same laws don't forbid the splitting of a pair of black holes into many.

This leaves the door wide open for splitting black holes by smashing them together.

Or does it?

Soil organic matter makes up the bulk of terrestrially bound carbon in our biosphere. Those compounds play an important role, not only for soil fertility and agricultural yields but also for controlling the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Climatic change can therefore be slowed down or accelerated according to our management of soil resources. A new study sheds some light on the process.