Historians at University College London say they have discovered part of an ancient Roman law code called the Codex Gregorianus, or Gregorian Code. The discovery was made after researchers pieced together 17 fragments of previously incomprehensible parchment. The fragments were being studied at UCL as part of 'Projet Volterra' – a ten year study of Roman law in its full social, legal and political context.

Corcoran and Salway found that the text belonged to the Codex Gregorianus, a collection of laws by emperors from Hadrian (AD 117-138) to Diocletian (AD 284-305), which was published circa AD 300. Little was known about the codex's original form and there were, until now, no known copies in existence.

A series of articles in the January 26 issue of PNAS illustrates recent progress in applying evolutionary theory to a range of questions in medicine and public health, and may lead to medical students soon being tested on evolution in medical entrance and licensing exams.

So what does evolution – a theory that deals with changes over many generations – have to do with preventing and treating disease in our lifetime? A lot, some scientists say. "There are many ways you can use evolution to improve medical care and medical research," said psychiatrist Randolph Nesse of the University of Michigan.

The Antarctic ozone hole was once regarded as one of the biggest environmental threats facing. But the discovery of a previously unknown feedback shows that it has instead helped  shield this region from carbon-induced warming over the past two decades.

Now, the hole in the ozone layer is steadily closing, and its repair could actually increase warming in the southern hemisphere, according to a study appearing later this in week Geophysical Research letters.

Antioxidants have received a lot of attention in recent years for all the health benefits they supposedly provide. Some studies have suggested that they may play a role in lowering cancer and heart disease risk, slowing the aging process, and treating  neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. But recent research shows that antioxidants may also cause harm--specifically, they may impair muscle function.

It's well known that eating too much salt can be harmful. Despite that fact, many people choose to consume more of it than they need, and that to many in the health community means that something must be done population-wide to reduce salt intake. The latest effort comes from the European Society of Cardiology, who says that a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine illustrates the need for laws that restrict the salt content of processed foods.

Research has documented that most men become much more jealous about sexual infidelity than they do about emotional infidelity. Women are the opposite. The prevailing theory is that the difference has evolutionary origins: Men learned over eons to be hyper-vigilant about sex because they can never be absolutely certain they are the father of a child, while women are much more concerned about having a partner who is committed to raising a family.

Scientists from the Université de Montréal are developing a weight loss pill composed of leptin, the protein that regulates appetite in mammals. The researchers say that leptin may be a good weight loss pill because its levels decrease when we fast and rise when we eat, meaning that increasing them could reduce people's urge to continue eating. The protein has also been proven to suppress appetite when administered intravenously to pathologically obese people.

"Taken orally, such a pill would provide obese people with the sensation of being full. They would eat less and in turn lose weight," says Dr. Cammisotto, one of the researchers on the project.

Putting A Lid On The Spread Of Infection

The common phrase "put a lid on it" can apply to stopping something or setting a limit to it.  For example, putting a lid on spending means the same as a cap on spending.  More generally, the phrase is a request to cease and desist, applied to behaviour such as persistent complaining or playing loud music.

How do you put a lid on the spread of infection?  The answer is simple, effective and quite literal: put a lid on it.

Research conducted at the University of Chicago shows that female elementary school teachers who are anxious about math often pass the phobia on to female students. Published in a recent edition of PNAS, the findings are the product of a year-long study on 17 first- and second-grade teachers and 52 boys and 65 girls who were their students. The researchers found that boys' math performance was not related to their teacher's math anxiety while girls' math achievement was affected.

To determine the impact of teachers' mathematics anxiety on students, the team assessed teachers' anxiety about math. Then, at both the beginning and end of the school year, the research team also tested the students' level of mathematics achievement and the gender stereotypes the students held.

Death By Fraud

Jim McCormick has been charged with fraud over his sales of a totally bogus explosives detection device, as reported in my earlier post  here.  I was beaten to the punch in writing about this bogus device by Barry Leiba back in November 2009.