Barcelona, Spain: Obesity is on the rise throughout the world, and in some developed countries two-third of the adult population is either overweight or obese. This brings with it an increased risk of serious conditions such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and osteoarthritis. Many of these conditions do not appear to affect the parts of the body where the excess fat accumulates, but rather to involve body systems that are remote from the fat accumulation. Now an international group of scientists has taken an important step towards understanding the links between obesity and the related, yet physically distant, diseases it causes, the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics will hear today.

Every day humans and animals face ambiguous circumstances. If we become sick after eating, we blame the food; however, if we then fall ill without having eaten that food, the causal link becomes ambiguous. New findings from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan and New York University reveal where and how such ambiguous associations are processed in the brains of rats.

In Japan, where the suicide rate is quite high but guns are banned, they use rope. So it is accurate to state that rope ownership is closely tied to suicide rates in that country.

Using that same methodology, it is easy to do the same with guns and suicide. States with higher estimated levels of gun ownership had higher incidents of gun-related suicides, according to a new paper in the American Journal of Public Health which covers 33 years, from 1981 to 2013, and the authors claims is the most comprehensive analysis of the association between gun ownership and gender-specific suicides rates among the 50 U.S. states. 

Tempe, Ariz. -- Evolution can be an emotionally charged topic in education, given a wide range of perspectives on it. Two researchers from Arizona State University are taking an in-depth look at how college professors handle it.

In a first-of-its kind study, scientists from ASU School of Life Sciences have found that a majority of professors teaching biology in Arizona universities do not believe that helping students accept the theory of evolution is an instructional goal. In fact, a majority of study participants say their only goal is to help students understand evolution.

RICHLAND, Wash. - Like the poet, microbes that make methane are taking chemists on a road less traveled: Of two competing ideas for how microbes make the main component of natural gas, the winning chemical reaction involves a molecule less favored by previous research, something called a methyl radical.

Reported today in the journal Science, the work is important for understanding not only how methane is made, but also how to make things from it.

Climate scientists have long recognized the importance of forest conservation and forest regrowth in climate mitigation and carbon sequestration -- capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. But the detailed information required to make accurate estimates of this potential has remained elusive.

Now, an international team of 60 scientists, working together as the 2ndFOR Network, has completed studies on the effects of forest conservation and secondary forest regeneration across 43 regions in Latin America.

The properties of nano-structures depend on sizes and shapes. The synthesis of tailored nano-structures is thus important already for researching properties, not to mention optimizations toward applications. The ability to control the size, shape, and distribution of nano-particles in larger structures provides opportunities to systematically investigate, for example, catalytic and electro-optical properties and to discover new applications, whether in form of novel research techniques or medical devices.

Why does delaying bedtime create chronic sleepiness?

We may be creeping a little closer to knowing, thanks to a paper on fruit flies in Cell. 
Fruit flies have sleep remarkably similar to people and researchers say they found a group of brain cells in charge of so-called sleep drive that becomes more active the longer flies are kept awake. The same mechanism, they say, also plays a role in putting the flies to sleep and keeping them that way.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- People with intellectual disabilities are more susceptible to exploitation and abuse, and the rise of the Internet only increases their vulnerability.

A first-of-its-kind study co-authored by a Michigan State University scholar finds that adults with Williams syndrome -- who are extremely social and trusting -- use Facebook and other social networking sites frequently and are especially vulnerable to online victimization.

Roughly a third of study participants said they would send their photo to an unknown person, arrange to go to the home of a person they met online and keep online relationships from their parents.

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