Analyzing several years’ worth of pharmaceutical advertisements, researchers found that 6 out-of 10 claims in prescription drug ads on television were misleading or false and over-the-counter drug ads were even less reliable. The analysis, appearing in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, found that potentially misleading claims are prevalent throughout consumer-targeted drug advertisements on television. […]
An investigation into the purported health risks associated with electromagnetic fields has shown that media reports alone may cause suggestible people to develop symptoms of a disease. Electromagnetic hypersensitivity has been the focus of previous studies, but scientists are still divided as to whether everyday electromagnetic fields (EMF) have any physiological effects. People who believe […]
Mathematical models of social contagion suggest that America’s obesity epidemic won’t plateau until at least 42 percent of adults are obese. The figures run counter to recent assertions by some experts that the obesity rate, which has been at 34 percent for the past five years, may have peaked. The new projections, by Harvard University […]
A simple, portable magnetic field generator inside a spaceship should be sufficient to deflect the dangerous highly charged particles of the solar wind away from a spacecraft and the astronauts inside, according to research in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. Space weather – the term used to describe the slew of various particles and cosmic […]
Washington University School of Medicine researchers are taking the first direct look at one of the human brain’s most fundamental “foundations”: a brain signal that never switches off and may support many cognitive functions. Their findings, appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are an important step forward in understanding the functional […]
Reporting in Nature Physics, Purdue University researchers say they have created a hybrid molecule whose associated quantum state can be intentionally manipulated with an externally applied electrical field – a required step in the construction of a quantum computer. “If you want to build a quantum computer you have to be able to control the […]
Astronomers have been observing an unusual M-dwarf star with an extremely active and complex magnetic field that is stronger than our own Sun’s, and a huge hydrogen hot-spot that covers half of its surface. Typically, M-dwarf stars – the most common type of star in the galaxy – are cold, quiet and dim. But a […]
The world could be headed toward a testosterone fueled apocalypse triggered by lop-sided sex ratios, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers, from China and the UK, say that cultures like China and India that favor male babies have bred an enormous surplus of men […]
At this year’s Annual Meeting of the American Society of Plant Biologists, long-standing renewable energy advocate Professor Chris Somerville, Carnegie Institution and Stanford University, urged greater coordination among biofuel researchers. Somerville is encouraged by recent initiatives into biofuels, but suggests that a pooling of plant biology knowledge may be needed before a transition from fossil […]
A study appearing in the British Journal of Psychiatry documents evidence of structural brain abnormalities in people who habitually lie, cheat and manipulate others. The researchers, from the University of Southern California, built on previous research that showed there is heightened activity in the prefrontal cortex – the area of the brain that enables most […]
