PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- The twin birth rate in the U.S. has surged over the last 30 years, mostly because of reproductive technologies including in vitro fertilization. Though it's partly the cause, IVF could also be the most promising solution to reducing unintended twin births, argues Dr. Eli Adashi in a new editorial in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

There are two premises.

First, scientific research has demonstrated that when we look at other people's facial expressions, we tend to imitate them in an imperceptible and subconscious manner through a process known as facial mimicry. The hypothesis is that this behaviour helps us understand the emotions we are watching.

The second thing we need to know is that our expressions, just like our face, are asymmetrical: they are more pronounced and begin earlier (facial expression is a dynamic process) on one half of the face compared to the other. This asymmetry is thought to give expressions a special "flavour": those that begin and are more pronounced on the left, for example, are judged as being more authentic.

Consuming a diet with a high glycemic index, a classification of how rapidly carbohydrates elevate blood sugar levels, was independently associated with an increased risk of developing lung cancer in non-Hispanic whites, according to a new epidemiologic study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

ORLANDO, Fla.--High school football players with ill-fitting helmets are at greater risk for more severe concussions, according to a study presented today at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).

"This study suggests that incorrect helmet fit may be one variable that predisposes a football player to sustain a more severe concussion," said senior study author Joseph Torg, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine at Temple University Health System, who has identified acceptable tackle techniques for the NFL.

Researchers have developed an artificial skin that can stretch, sense pressure, and emit light, demonstrating a level of multi-functionality seen in the skin of cephalopods like octopuses. The artificial skin, which outperforms some previous models in terms of stretchiness, could be used on soft electronics and robots that change their shape and color display. The development that made the skin's creation possible is a hyperelastic, light-emitting capacitor (HLEC), which Chris Larson and colleagues designed using two ionic, hydrogel electrodes embedded in a matrix of silicone. The HLEC device is many times more elastic than existing stretchable light emitters based on organic semiconductors.

An analysis of more than 14 million reviews on RateMyProfessors.com, a site where students write anonymous reviews of their professors, found that words like "brilliant" and "genius" are most often used to describe male professors, and in academic disciplines in which there are fewer women and African-Americans.

The findings are reported in PLOS ONE, a pay-to-publish journal which has been criticized recently for a lack of peer review and, ironically, being biased against female authors.