Warning: Stereotypes may be harmful to patients' health.

A national study led by a USC researcher found people who encountered the threat of being judged by negative stereotypes related to weight, age, race, gender, or social class in health care settings reported adverse effects. The researchers found those people were more likely to have hypertension, to be depressed, and to rate their own health more poorly. They were also more distrustful of their doctors, felt dissatisfied with their care, and were less likely to use highly accessible preventive care, including the flu vaccine.

State-of-the-art molecular analysis of dust samples from the International Space Station (ISS) has been employed to reveal new information about some of the potential bacterial agents present in the astronauts' space environment. The research reported presence of the opportunistic bacterial pathogens that are mostly innocuous on Earth but can lead to infections that result in inflammations or skin irritations. 

The ISS is a unique built environment, experiencing microgravity, space radiation and elevated carbon dioxide, and constant presence of humans. Understanding the nature of the communities of microbes -- the microbiome -- in the ISS is key to managing astronaut health and maintenance of ISS equipment.

The hormone oxytocin, which has been associated with interpersonal bonding, may enhance the pleasure of social interactions by stimulating production of marijuana-like neurotransmitters in the brain, according to a new study.

The research is the first to link oxytocin - dubbed the "love hormone" by psychologists - and anandamide, which has similarly been called the "bliss molecule" for its role in activating cannabinoid receptors in brain cells, to heighten motivation and happiness. 

For years, evolutionary biologists have wondered how ecosystems during the Pleistocene epoch survived despite the presence of many species of huge, hungry herbivores, such as mammoths, mastodons and giant ground sloths.

Observations on modern elephants suggest that large concentrations of those animals could have essentially destroyed the environment, but that wasn't the case.

A new paper argues that the ecosystem was effectively saved by predatory animals that helped keep the population of large herbivores in check. Their findings show that intense, violent attacks by packs of some of the world's largest carnivores -- including lions much larger than those of today and sabertooth cats -- went a long way toward shaping ecosystems during the Pleistocene epoch.

A new way to store methane could speed the development of cleaner-burning natural gas-powered cars that don't require the high pressures or cold temperatures of today's compressed or liquefied natural gas vehicles.

Natural gas is cleaner-burning than gasoline, and today there are more than 150,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles on the road in the U.S., most of them trucks and buses. But until manufacturers can find a way to pack more methane into a tank at lower pressures and temperatures, allowing for a greater driving range and less hassle at the pump, passenger cars are unlikely to adopt natural gas as a fuel.

A new study concludes that even if calories are the same and no weight is lost, children are still healthier with added sugar - and the author say changes in high cholesterol and blood pressure, are noticeable in as little as 10 days.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions -- increased blood pressure, high blood glucose level, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels -- that occur together and increase risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Other diseases associated with metabolic syndrome, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes, now occur in children -- disorders previously unknown in the pediatric population.