Aspirin and vision loss: a significant association
In a new study, regular aspirin use (defined as once or more per week) was shown to be “significantly” associated…
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…
Parasitic worms could treat obesity disorders
On the list of unwelcome medical conditions, a parasitic worm infection ranks fairly high. But according to an international team…
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…
Ancient faces reconstructed
A new DNA system employed to analyze modern forensic samples has also been used to establish facial characteristics from centuries…
Telling time with matter waves
Berkeley scientists say they have discovered a way to tell time by measuring matter waves, the oscillations of matter whose…
Asteroid belt spotted around Vega
Astronomers say they have spotted evidence for an asteroid belt encircling Vega, a star 25 lights years from Earth and…
Habitable planets galore, suggests Kepler data-crunching
A detailed analysis of the first three years of data from NASA’s Kepler mission, which already has discovered thousands of…
Modern parenting crippling kids’ brains, says Notre Dame prof
Social practices and cultural beliefs of modern life are preventing healthy brain and emotional development in children, according to an…
Fossil analysis indicates dinosaurs used feathers for courtship
A University of Alberta scientist says that fossilized dinosaur tail bones provide strong evidence that feathered dinosaurs used tail plumage…
Antarctic ice sheet warming much faster than previously thought
Remote monitoring equipment on the western part of the massive West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is showing an increase of…
30ft sea level rise may be unavoidable
Climatologists examining the relationship between sea level and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations over the last 40 million years have found…
MRI scans reveal fructose’s effects on brain’s appetite regulators
Scans of the human brain after ingesting fructose have provided insights into how the substance affects brain chemistry and increases…
Ancient mega-piranha had mega-bite
University of Washington (UW) researchers say Megapiranha paranensis, a prehistoric relative of piranhas weighing about 20 pounds, delivered a bite…
Stanford announces peel-and-stick solar panels
Solar cells have traditionally been deployed in heavy, fixed panels, but Stanford scientists aim to change that with the development…
Human hands evolved for punching, not just dexterity, says prof
A University of Utah study suggests human hands evolved not only for the manual dexterity needed to use tools or…
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…
New type of cell division discovered
Scientists trying to understand the cellular mechanics of how cancer begins have discovered a new type of cell division which…
Steroid use found to damage brain’s spatial functioning
Long-term use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) appears to severely impact a user’s ability to accurately recall the shapes and spatial…
Three new species of venomous loris identified
University of Missouri researchers recently identified three new species of slow loris (Nycticebus sp.)that had originally been mistakenly grouped with…
Rethink creation of life in terms of information, argues new theory
Attempts to recreate the emergence of life by mixing and reacting basic chemicals are wrong-headed, argue two US scientists, who…
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…
Are we living in a computer simulation? Physicists propose test to find out
In 2003, British philosopher Nick Bostrom (pictured) published a probabilistic analysis examining the possibility that we might all be living…
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…
Ultrasound used to stimulate tactile sensations in brain
Scientists have provided the first neurophysiological evidence for something that medicos have long suspected: ultrasound applied to parts of the…
Oops. Greenhouse gas levels appear to be significantly underestimated
Measuring greenhouse gas emissions has traditionally relied on estimating emissions from all the activities and processes that might generate the…
Radioactive elements may make extraterrestrial life more likely on exoplanets
An abundance of radioactive elements observed in a number of distant solar systems would make the constituent planets much warmer,…