Age-related height loss linked to cognitive health
In the first study of its kind, University of Southern California researchers have identified a number of surprising factors linked…
Knowledge of sport no advantage in sports gambling
Sports gamblers frequently see themselves as cleverer than other gamblers, believing that their intimate knowledge of player statistics, coaching styles,…
Peptide discovery could lead to happiness pill
The neurochemical changes that underlie human emotions are still largely unknown, but UCLA scientists have for the first time identified…
Can nicotine transmit disease through multiple generations?
Nicotine creates heritable epigenetic marks on the genome, say Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute scientists who contend that a grandparent’s…
TV watching a predictor of sperm count
Healthy young men who watch television for more than 20 hours a week have around half the sperm count of…
Car designs may change to protect obese
An analysis of traffic collision fatalities showing that obese drivers are far more likely to die than drivers of normal…
Quadruple helix DNA discovered in human cells
Cambridge University researchers have published a paper in Nature Chemistry showing that four-stranded “quadruple helix” DNA structures exist within the…
Viagra’s surprising weight-loss properties
German scientists investigating why mice given Viagra were resistant to obesity say they have discovered a “quite amazing” anti-obesity effect…
Leadership can be an inherited trait, study finds
Using a large twin sample, an international research team found that a quarter of the observed variation in leadership behaviors…
Are close friends on Facebook the enemy?
“Likes” or positive comments from close friends on Facebook appear to inflate users’ self-esteem and reduce self-control, resulting in higher…
Evidence for HIV in humans in distant past
HIV may have affected humans for much longer than is currently believed, according to a scientist who says that the…
Epigenetics might explain evolutionary puzzle of homosexuality
Epigenetics – how gene expression is regulated by temporary switches, called epi-marks – appears to be a critical and overlooked…
Successful clinical trial for ketamine-like antidepressant
Researchers are reporting a successful phase IIa clinical trial of GLYX-13, a first-of-its-kind ketamine-like antidepressant that takes effect within 24…
Tap water implicated in rise of food allergies
Chemicals known as dichlorophenols, which are used in pesticides and to chlorinate water supplies, could be partially to blame for…
Stabbed or shot? Drink up
Hospital patients with traumatic injuries such as fractures, internal injuries and open wounds were far more likely to survive if…
DNA fluidity has “profound implications” for genetic screening, say Yale scientists
The idea that every cell in our body contains identical DNA is incorrect, with scientists discovering that genetic variations are…
Revealed: how social isolation atrophies the brain
A study in Nature Neuroscience has found that animals socially isolated for prolonged periods make less myelin (the brain’s white…
Significant testosterone deficiency found in obese boys
For the first time, medicos have measured testosterone levels in teens of different weights and found that obese males aged…
Twin-study shows eating disorders influenced by genetics
Genetics may make some women more vulnerable to the pressure of being thin, say Michigan State University researchers who also…
Sexual arousal neutralizes disgust response
Dutch researchers have found that natural responses to disgusting stimuli were lessened significantly when female subjects were sexually aroused. The…
Semen protein acts as “master regulator” in females
Working with fruit-flies (Drosophila melanogaster), University of East Anglia scientists have observed “remarkable” changes in female gene expression after exposure…
Nicotine receptor gets blame for Internet addiction
Internet addiction has a physiological basis, according to German researchers who say a variant of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor makes…
Infant formula found to compromise immune system
Duke University scientists have discovered how breast milk, but not infant formula, fosters colonies of microbiotic flora in a newborn’s…
Tackling obesity by manipulating gut flora
Antibiotics could one day be the standard treatment for regulating weight, suggests a new study inNature Immunology that examines the…
Semen found to induce ovulation
Previously thought to have no physiological effects, the prostatic fluid component of semen contains a protein that can trigger ovulation…
Precise sexual orientation revealed in pupil dilation study
For the first time, researchers have used a specialized camera to measure pupillary changes in people watching erotic videos, the…
Hunter-gatherer study contradicts obesity theory
New findings published in the journal PLoS ONEsuggest that diet – rather than lack of exercise – may be the…
Toxoplasmosis linked to suicide attempts
Spread through contact with cat feces or eating undercooked meat, the parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) has been linked to…