Ivermectin, a workhorse of a drug that a few weeks ago earned its developers a Nobel prize for its success in treating multiple tropical diseases, is showing early promise as a novel and desperately needed tool for interrupting malaria transmission, according to new findings presented today at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Meeting.

Only 2 percent of Internet pages with information on firearm storage correctly identified all four practices that encompass safe gun storage.

In frontier days, gun safety was a given but in the modern era most kids don't grow up around guns - and movies contain a lot of gun violence without any real exposure to the consequences so children unfamiliar with firearms may regard them as toys or not realize that are loaded.

Women are more likely than men to have a bachelor's degree and a white-collar job. They are also more likely to earn less than male counterparts, finds a new study spanning two generations in the United States.

The scholars analyzed U.S. Census socioeconomic data of more than 180,000 people at two points in time. The study looked at Latino and Asian immigrants in 1980 and then at their children's generation 25 years later (in 2005), as well as non-Hispanic whites whose parents were not immigrants.

In 1980, men led women by a significant margin in bachelor's-degree attainment, white-collar jobs and earnings, the study found. This held true for all three groups: Asians, Latinos and whites.

A team of researchers have built the world's first sonic tractor beam that can lift and move objects using sound waves. Tractor beams can grab and lift objects, a concept that has been used by science-fiction writers and has since fascinated scientists and engineers.

Researchers have now built a working tractor beam that uses high-amplitude sound waves to generate an acoustic hologram which can pick up and move small objects. 

Recent negative publicity surrounding police after several shootings of civilians appears to have diminished the motivation of some police officers but did not decrease their willingness to carry out their duties, according to a new psychology paper.

This is in contrast to recent comments by FBI Director James Comey, who attributed the rise in homicides in some cities to police apprehension at the prospect of cellphone videos and the possibility that such recordings could go viral. As a result, he claimed, some police may be reluctant to engage in face-to-face encounters in their communities. 

Alcohol and nicotine use have long been known to go hand in hand but other than a commonality in reckless behavior, the reasons why have been speculation.  

Previous surveys have shown that more than 85 percent of U.S. adults who are alcoholics also smoke cigarettes. Now, researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have found that nicotine cancels out the sleep-inducing effects of alcohol, which they believe sheds light on the reason alcohol and nicotine usage are so closely linked.

During the most recent study, rats were fitted with sleep-recording electrodes and given alcohol and nicotine. The researchers found that nicotine acts via the basal forebrain to suppress the sleep-inducing effects of alcohol.