So if you are still unsure whether it's unsafe to drive while talking on a cell phone, come out of your cave.  Multiple recent studies have supported that cell phone use endangers drivers. It seems that every week or so there's a new study out linking increased reaction times to the distraction caused by having a cell phone conversation, often comparing it to other types of impairments such as drinking or listening to the radio. As the research becomes more and more conclusive, scientists have attempted to find comparisons that are relevant than just a number in milliseconds.

How a bacterium overcomes a tomato plant's defenses and causes disease, by sneakily disabling the plant's intruder detection systems, is revealed in new research published in the December issue of Current Biology.

The new study focuses on a pathogen which causes bacterial speck disease in tomato plants. This bacterial invasion causes black lesions on leaves and fruit. Severe infection can cause extensive and costly damage to tomato crops, and researchers believe that understanding more about how this microbe works could lead to new ways of tackling it, and other plant diseases, without the need for pesticides.

Research carried out at MIT's Alcator C-Mod fusion reactor may have brought the promise of fusion as a future power source a bit closer to reality, though scientists caution that a practical fusion powerplant is still decades away.

Fusion, the reaction that produces the sun's energy, is thought to have enormous potential for future power generation because fusion plant operation produces no emissions, fuel sources are potentially abundant, and it produces relatively little (and short-lived) radioactive waste. But it still faces great hurdles.

"There's been a lot of progress," says physicist Earl Marmar, division head of the Alcator Project at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC). "We're learning a lot more about the details of how these things work."

Scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have determined the first 3D structure of ZP3, a protein essential for the interaction between the mammalian egg coat and sperm. The findings, presented in Nature, gives a first glimpse into the molecular architecture of animal egg coats, with important implications for the future of human reproductive medicine and the possibility of developing novel contraceptives.

With up to half of a person's body mass consisting of skeletal muscle, chronic inflammation of those
muscles – which include those found in the limbs – can result in significant physical impairment.

According to University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Kimberly Huey, past research has demonstrated that the antioxidant properties of Vitamin E may be associated with reduced expression of certain pro-inflammatory cytokines, in vitro, in various types of cells. Cytokines are

The first robot that can jump like a grasshopper and roll like a ball could play a key role in future space exploration. The 'Jollbot' has been created by Rhodri Armour, a PhD student from the University of Bath. It's hoped his creation, which can jump over obstacles and roll over smoother terrain, could be used for space exploration or land survey work in the future.

Researchers using functional MRI (fMRI) have determined that the circuitry in the area of the brain responsible for suppressing memory is dysfunctional in patients suffering from stress-related psychiatric disorders. Results of the study will be presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Astronomers have uncovered strong evidence that brown dwarfs form like stars. Using the Smithsonian's Submillimeter Array (SMA), they detected molecules of carbon monoxide shooting outward from the object known as ISO-Oph 102. Such molecular outflows typically are seen coming from young stars or
protostars. However, this object has an estimated mass of 60 Jupiters, too small to be a star. Astronomers have classified it as a brown dwarf.

A Duke University study suggests that evolution can behave as differently as dogs and cats. While the dogs depend on an energy-efficient style of four-footed running over long distances to catch their prey, cats seem to have evolved a profoundly inefficient gait, tailor-made to creep up on a mouse or bird in slow motion.

"It is usually assumed that efficiency is what matters in evolution," said Daniel Schmitt, a Duke associate professor of evolutionary anthropology. "We've found that's too simple a way of looking at evolution, because there are some animals that need to operate at high energy cost and low efficiency."

Namely cats.

A study led by researchers at The University of Nottingham has identified a gene that protects the body from lung cancer.

The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA and funded by a £72,000 grant from the British Lung Foundation, has found that the tumor suppressor gene, LIMD1, is responsible for protecting the body from developing lung cancer — paving the way for possible new treatments and early screening techniques.

Lead researcher Dr Tyson Sharp and his University of Nottingham team, together with US collaborator Dr Greg Longmore, set out to examine if loss of the LIMD1 gene correlated with lung cancer development.