Featured Articles

A Window Into Life In A Bubble (In A Bubble ..)

A Window Into Life In A Bubble (In A Bubble ..)

Jan 15 2009 | comment(s)

What is life is a valid question to some because they would simply like to make some.  Yet others, although they don't know what it is, search for life in other planets like Mars. How do you find life if you don't know what it is?



Cancer Screening And Early Prevention: False Positives And True Negatives

Cancer Screening And Early Prevention: False Positives And True Negatives

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, according to Ben Franklin. But what if the prevention causes more harm than benefit? And what if the prevention doesn't prevent much of anything at all?
Working Under the Shadow of Big Science

Working Under the Shadow of Big Science

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

If you haven't already, you should read this interesting guest post at Olivia Judson's blog:

Many of the best-known scientists of our day are men and women exceptionally talented in herding the resources — human and otherwise — required to plan, construct and use big sophisticated facilities.
Stimulus package may help scientists too

Stimulus package may help scientists too

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

The economic crisis may actually help science. Cross your fingers - part of the stimulus package is tagged for expansion of the NSF, NIH and other entities.

From Science online:

Poland: First Country Making Available A Technological Breakthrough In Migraine Treatment

Poland: First Country Making Available A Technological Breakthrough In Migraine Treatment

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

Pain clinics and physiotherapists have been using large, complex pieces of equipment with cables to relieve back or joint pain but a company says they have developed a breakthrough in anti-pain treatments. They claim people suffering from headaches will soon be able to use this technique to treat them at home rather than depend on drugs with numerous side-effects.

The technique is called CEFALY(R) and was demonstrated for the first time at the international medical fair MEDICA in Düsseldorf last November. A polish company (Medic-Mar http://www.medicmar.com.pl) has made Poland the first country where Cefaly is available for patients suffering from headaches.

They say their technological breakthrough is two-fold, involving miniaturization and perfect precision.

Pharmacogenomics Group Claims To Match Gene Expression To Drug Efficacy

Pharmacogenomics Group Claims To Match Gene Expression To Drug Efficacy

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

The pharmaceutical industry is currently facing some key challenges, like an increase in drug development costs, a decrease in the number of drugs being approved and scrutiny from regulatory authorities. Patients themselves are also demanding more effective and safer drugs.

Pharmacogenomics says they can help to guide drug development and therapy by correlating gene expression with a drug's efficacy.

Cold Case Rome - Chemical Warfare In 256 AD

Cold Case Rome - Chemical Warfare In 256 AD

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

A researcher from the University of Leicester has identified what looks to be the oldest archaeological evidence for chemical warfare--from Roman times.  At the meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, Simon James presented CSI-style arguments that about twenty Roman soldiers, found in a siege-mine at the city of Dura-Europos, Syria, met their deaths not as a result of sword or spear, but through asphyxiation.
Fatty Acids Help Premature Baby Brains, Says Study

Fatty Acids Help Premature Baby Brains, Says Study

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

Adelaide researchers say they have made a world breakthrough in treating premature babies at risk of developmental disorders.  A six-year study led by Dr Maria Makrides from the Women's and Children's Health Research Institute and Professor Bob Gibson from the University of Adelaide has demonstrated that high doses of fatty acids administered to pre-term infants via their mother's breast milk or infant formula can help their mental development.

The findings were published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Eating Cereal Affects Baby Gender Study Refuted

Eating Cereal Affects Baby Gender Study Refuted

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

Last year a  study by Mathews, Johnson and Neil (2008) in their article "You are What your Mother Eats" that was published in the April 22, 2008 Proceedings of the Royal Society B implied that children of women who eat breakfast cereal are more likely to be boys than girls.
MSX Gene Family 'Evolutionary Key' To Cleft Palate, Says Researcher

MSX Gene Family 'Evolutionary Key' To Cleft Palate, Says Researcher

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

Forsyth Institute scientist Peter Jezewski, DDS, Ph.D., says that duplication and diversification of protein regions ('modules') within ancient master control genes is key to the understanding of certain birth disorders. Tracing the history of these changes within the proteins coded by the Msx gene family over the past 600 million years has also provided additional evidence for the ancient origin of the human mouth. 
Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae - Stellar Cannibals Lead To Blue Stragglers In Space

Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae - Stellar Cannibals Lead To Blue Stragglers In Space

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

Researchers have discovered that the mysterious overweight stars known as blue stragglers are the result of 'stellar cannibalism', where plasma is gradually pulled from one star to another to form a massive, unusually hot star that appears younger than it is. The process takes place in binary stars ­ star systems consisting of two stars orbiting around their common centre of mass. This helps to resolve a long standing mystery in stellar evolution.
Paradox Lost - Quantum Physicists Say They Have Resolved Hardy's Annihilation Problem

Paradox Lost - Quantum Physicists Say They Have Resolved Hardy's Annihilation Problem

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

Two University of Toronto quantum physicists, Jeff Lundeen and Aephraim Steinberg, say they have shown that Hardy's paradox(1), a proposal that has confounded physicists and science journalists trying to explain it since the 1990s, can be both confirmed and resolved.    So take one more quantum problem out of the realm of 'impossible.'
Zebrafish, Skin Pigmentation And The Evolution Of Race

Zebrafish, Skin Pigmentation And The Evolution Of Race

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

A series of papers in the journal Zebrafish provides a comprehensive look at future directions of research on pigment biology, stating that model organisms such as zebrafish can advance the scientific understanding of the genetic basis of human skin color and race.

Guest Editors Keith C. Cheng, MD, PhD, Department of Pathology, Penn State College of Medicine, and David M. Parichy, PhD, Department of Biology, University of Washington, have compiled a  collection of scientific papers and historical perspectives on the study of pigmentation in zebrafish, a vertebrate that shares genetic mechanisms of skin color with humans.
Why Do Women Suffer More From Rheumatoid Arthritis Than Men?

Why Do Women Suffer More From Rheumatoid Arthritis Than Men?

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

Women appear to suffer more from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) than men, according to research published in Arthritis Research and Therapy.
Genetic Variation Involving Serotonin Linked To Social Anxiety

Genetic Variation Involving Serotonin Linked To Social Anxiety

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

A genetic variation involving the brain chemical serotonin has been found to shape the social behavior of rhesus macaque monkeys, which could provide researchers with a new model for studying autism, social anxiety and schizophrenia. Humans and macaques are the only members of the primate family to have this particular genetic trait. 

"We have found very similar gene-based disruptions in social rewards shared by monkeys and by humans," said Michael Platt, Ph.D., associate professor of neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center and author of the study in PLoS One.
People Who Drink 7 Cups Of Coffee Per Day Have 3X Greater Chance Of Hallucinations - Study

People Who Drink 7 Cups Of Coffee Per Day Have 3X Greater Chance Of Hallucinations - Study

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

The last thing scientists want to know is that either caffeine or beer could have negative effects on brain power because, let's face it, without those two things nothing would ever get done.

So we note with some concern a new research study that suggests high caffeine consumption could be linked to a greater tendency to hallucinate.   How much is too much?   7 cups of coffee per day, they say.  Not even a full pot!  So that leaves just beer.
Better Golf Ball Design Helps You Play Better Golf

Better Golf Ball Design Helps You Play Better Golf

Jan 14 2009 | comment(s)

When it comes to improving your golf game, you can spend thousands of dollars buying the latest titanium-induced, PGA player-promoted golf clubs; taking private lessons from the local "I used to be on the Tour" pro; or trying every slice-correcting, swing-speed-estimating, GPS-distance-guessing gadget. But, in the end, it’s about getting that little white sphere to go where you intended it to go.

Don't worry, there are many very smart people trying to help you by designing the ultimate golf ball. Of course, they are also after a slice of this billion dollar industry, as any technological advancement that can grab a few more market share points is worth the investment.
Does Hypnosis Work To Relieve Pain?

Does Hypnosis Work To Relieve Pain?

Jan 13 2009 | comment(s)

The word "hypnosis" conjures a very specific image to most people - usually a man dangling a watch on a chain in front of your eyes and making you count backwards until you fall into some sort of deep trance, where the hypnotist can make you squawk like a chicken or convince you there are bugs in your pants.

Judging by the stupid things subjects often do during a hypnotist's show, people often conclude that hypnosis gives the hypnotist total control over his subjects like a puppeteer pulling strings on a marionette. As a result, people don't often think of hypnosis as a viable medical treatment and end up relegating it to the world of crackpot medicine. Lately, however, hypnotic treatments are being used more and more frequently, often for pain relief purposes.
Applying for government grants is fun!

Applying for government grants is fun!

Jan 13 2009 | comment(s)

Along with a 223-page instruction manual, the NIH offers gems like this to help clear up the confusion:

# What part of the application/award number is the IC and serial number?
NIH's grant application/award numbers consist of the following parts:

* A single-digit Application Type
* A three-digit Activity Code
* A two-letter IC Code
* A six-digit Serial Number
* A two-digit Grant Year (preceded by a dash to separate it from the serial number)
* Additional suffix information that may include the letter "S" and related number for a particular supplement record, the letter "A" and related number to identify an amendment and/or the letter "X" and related number to identify a fellowship's institutional allowance record.
Grass Fed Cattle Can Taste As Good As Grain Fed, Say British Researchers

Grass Fed Cattle Can Taste As Good As Grain Fed, Say British Researchers

Jan 13 2009 | comment(s)

Cattle and sheep grazed on natural grasslands help maintain biodiversity and produce tastier, healthier meat, according to a study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The research, part of the Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) program,   concluded that pasture-based farming is good for the environment, the consumer and the producer but needs stronger support from British policy makers.

Detailed analysis of the nutritional qualities of the plant species present on the natural grasslands showed that they provided grazing animals with a richer more diverse diet than the improved pastures used for more intensive farming. And this richer diet translated into tastier meat.