 26 January 2012
Magic mushrooms get MRI treatment
Brain scans have revealed that psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, makes users' memories more vivid by suppressing activity in certain areas of the brain...
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25 January 2012
Racehorse "speed gene" traced to 18th century British mare
Irish researchers writing in the journal Nature Communications say that the original "speed gene" variant entered the equine Thoroughbred line from a single British mare about 300 years ago...
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24 January 2012
Rising CO2 levels creating crazy fish
Rising oceanic carbon dioxide levels are disrupting a key brain receptor in fish, causing dramatic changes in their brain chemistry, behavior and sensory abilities...
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23 January 2012
IQ plummets for women in social settings
A new study highlights the unexpected and dramatic consequences subtle social signals in group settings can have on individual cognitive functioning, especially for women...
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20 January 2012
Say what? Ambiguity makes language more efficient
To avoid conversational confusion and optimize language, linguists argue that every word should have just one meaning, but a new study from MIT turns that notion on its head, showing instead that ambiguity in words actually makes language more efficient...
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18 January 2012
Why gossip is good for you
Gossip has traditionally had a bad reputation, but a convoluted series of experiments carried out in the US have demonstrated the physiological benefits of gossiping...
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17 January 2012
La Niña cooking up mutated viruses?
The La Niña weather cycle is altering the migratory patterns of birds and scientists speculate that it could possibly be triggering the development of dangerous new strains of influenza...
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16 January 2012
Funding for artificial testicle project will get ball rolling
A joint venture between two US companies to develop an artificial testicle has received funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences...
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13 January 2012
Researchers mull bacterium's link to autism
The bacterium Sutterella was found to be present at "remarkably high levels" in the gastrointestinal tracts of children with autism and scientists are pondering what the connection might be...
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12 January 2012
Milky Way has "billions" of habitable planets
Working with data from telescopes located around the world, an international team of astronomers have shown that planets around stars are the rule rather than the exception and that there are likely billions of planets in our galaxy where humans could live...
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11 January 2012
Disrupted biological clock damages brain
For the first time, scientists at Oregon State University have shown that disrupting the biological clocks found in many animals can cause accelerated neurodegeneration, loss of motor function and premature death...
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10 January
Nicotine patches reduce senior moments
Older people may benefit from the regular use of nicotine patches, according to a study that showed improvements in memory and brain function in a group of senior non-smokers who were suffering mild cognitive impairment...
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