Sleeping pills have been associated with a four-fold increase in suicide risk in the elderly but is it just bad correlation, in that sleeping pills are just a convenient way to commit suicide?   Researchers writing in the BMC Geriatrics say that  after adjusting for the presence of psychiatric conditions sedatives and hypnotics were both associated with an increased risk of suicide.

Anders Carlsten and Margda Waern from Gothenburg University carried out a case control study to determine whether specific types of psychoactive drugs were associated with suicide risk in later life.

A national Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) study led by a Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center physician at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee has found that a course of radiation therapy to the brain after treatment for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer reduced the risk of metastases to the brain within the first year after treatment. The study was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Orlando.

Like human infants, young apes are make noises when you tickle them.  Is that really laughter? The answer to the question is yes, say researchers in Current Biology.

The researchers analyzed the recorded sounds of tickle-induced vocalizations produced by infant and juvenile orangutans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos, as well as those of human infants. A quantitative phylogenetic analysis of those acoustic data found that the best "tree" to represent the evolutionary relationships among those sounds matched the known evolutionary relationships among the five species based on genetics. The researchers said that the findings support a common evolutionary origin for the human and ape tickle-induced expressions.

Electronic memory chips may soon gain the ability to bend and twist, thanks to  engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)(1).   Not too exciting, right?   You probably don't spend a lot of time bending memory chips now but electronic components that can flex without breaking are coveted by portable device manufacturers for less Stretch Armstrong-type reasons; people have a tendency to drop their mp3 players and they could lead to small medical sensors that can be worn on the skin to monitor vital signs such as heart rate or blood sugar, benefitting patients with conditions that require constant maintenance.

Though some flexible components exist, creating flexible memory has been a technical barrier, according to NIST researchers.

Harmless gossip with a girlfriend can do wonders for a woman's mood and a University of Michigan study says they have an answer why: feeling emotionally close to a friend increases levels of the hormone progesterone, helping to boost well-being and reduce anxiety and stress.

A sex hormone that fluctuates with the menstrual cycle, progesterone is also present in low levels in post-menopausal women and in men. Earlier research has shown that higher levels of progesterone increase the desire to bond with others, but the current study is the first to show that bonding with others increases levels of progesterone. The study also links these increases to a greater willingness to help other people, even at our own expense.

When women  apply for faculty positions in math, science, and engineering at major research universities, they are interviewed and hired at rates equal to or higher than those for men, says a new report from the National Research Council.   Women are still underrepresented among those considered for tenure, but those who are considered receive tenure at the same or higher rates than men.

That means the gender gap is closing without quotas and with a consistent expectation of excellence.

The congressionally mandated report examines how women at research-intensive universities fare compared with men at key transition points in their careers. Two national surveys were commissioned to help address the issue.