|  Gene regulation differences between humans, chimpanzees very complex  | Changes in gene regulation have been used to study the evolutionary chasm that exists between humans and chimpanzees despite their largely identical DNA. However, scientists have discovered that mRNA expression levels, long considered a barometer for differences in gene regulation, often do not reflect differences in protein expression -- and, therefore, biological function -- between humans and chimpanzees. | Read More » Incoming comet ISON appears intact to NASA's hubble  | A new image of the sunward plunging Comet ISON taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on October 9, 2013, suggests that the comet is intact despite some predictions that the fragile icy nucleus might disintegrate as the Sun warms it. The comet will pass closest to the Sun on November 28. | Read More » Frog-killing fungus paralyzes amphibian immune response  | A fungus that is killing frogs and other amphibians around the world releases a toxic factor that disables the amphibian immune response, investigators report. | Read More » Complex diseases traced to gene copy numbers  | Researchers have connected very rare and precise duplications and deletions in the human genome to their complex disease consequences by duplicating them in zebrafish. | Read More » How subtle movements, facial features could predict your demise  | Research shows that interviewers -- who were not health professionals -- could better predict mortality than physicians or individuals themselves. This is likely, the researchers report, because they were attuned to facial expressions, responsiveness and overall agility. | Read More » Mathematical study of photosynthesis clears the path to developing new super-crops  | How some plant species evolved super-efficient photosynthesis had been a mystery. Now, scientists have identified what steps led to that change. | Read More » Brain scans may aid in diagnosis of autism  | The investigators found that brain connectivity data from 19 paths in brain scans predicted whether the participants had autism, with an accuracy rate of 95.9 percent. | Read More » Depression twice as likely in migraine sufferers  | The prevalence of depression among those with migraine is approximately twice as high as for those without the disease (men: 8.4% vs. 3.4%; women 12.4% vs. 5.7%), according to a new study. | Read More » Astronomer helps research team see misaligned planets in distant system  | NASA's Kepler space telescope has helped astronomers see a distant planetary system featuring multiple planets orbiting their host star at a severe tilt. | Read More » Mysterious ancient human crossed Wallace's Line  | Scientists have proposed that the most recently discovered ancient human relatives – the Denisovans – somehow managed to cross one of the world's most prominent marine barriers in Indonesia, and later interbred with modern humans moving through the area on the way to Australia and New Guinea. | Read More » Gravitational waves help us understand black-hole weight gain  | Supermassive black holes: every large galaxy's got one. But here's a real conundrum: how did they grow so big? A new article pits the front-running ideas about the growth of supermassive black holes against observational data -- a limit on the strength of gravitational waves, obtained with CSIRO's Parkes radio telescope in eastern Australia. | Read More » Unique skull find rebuts theories on species diversity in early humans  | Paleoanthropologists have uncovered the intact skull of an early Homo individual in Dmanisi, Georgia. This find is forcing a change in perspective in the field of paleoanthropology: human species diversity two million years ago was much smaller than presumed thus far. However, diversity within the Homo erectus, the first global species of human, was as great as in humans today. | Read More » Pacific Ocean temperature influences tornado activity in US  | A researcher has found that the temperature of the Pacific Ocean could help scientists predict the type and location of tornado activity in the US. | Read More » Could Hurricane Sandy happen again? Maybe, says geologist  | Almost a year after Hurricane Sandy, parts of New York and New Jersey are still recovering from billions of dollars in flood damage. A geologist sees the possibility of damage from storms smaller than Sandy in the future. | Read More » Jellyfish energy consumption study will improve bio-inspired robotic designs for navy  | Jellyfish are one of the most energetically efficient natural propulsors on the planet, according to a professor of mechanical engineering. He led a study highlighting the motion of the jellyfish. | Read More » Statin, osteoporosis drug combo may help treat parasitic infections  | Researchers have discovered that a combination of two commonly prescribed drugs used to treat high cholesterol and osteoporosis may serve as the foundation of a new treatment for toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. | Read More » Study in teens & young adults may help predict if health insurance expansion will cut ER use  | As the nation prepares for more uninsured Americans to gain health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, a question hangs over crowded emergency rooms: Will the newly insured make fewer ER visits than they do today? A new study suggests that while the number of ER visits will likely stay about the same, clinic visits will likely go up. | Read More » Increase seen in donor eggs for in vitro fertilization, improved outcomes  | Between 2000 and 2010 in the United States the number of donor eggs used for in vitro fertilization increased, and outcomes for births from those donor eggs improved. | Read More » 'Traffic-light' labeling increases attention to nutritional quality of food choices  | A simple, color-coded system for labeling food items in a hospital cafeteria appears to have increased customer's attention to the healthiness of their food choices, along with encouraging purchases of the most healthy items. | Read More » Psychologists report new insights on human brain, consciousness  | A study by psychologists is a step toward neuroscience research on consciousness. "The difference between being conscious and unconscious is a bit like the difference between driving from Los Angeles to New York in a straight line versus having to cover the same route hopping on and off several buses that force you to take a 'zig-zag' route and stop in several places," said lead author of the study. | Read More » Making sense of conflicting advice on calcium intake  | In recent years, studies have reported inconsistent findings regarding whether calcium supplements used to prevent fractures increase the risk of heart attack. Now, in an assessment of the scientific literature, a researcher says patients and health care practitioners should focus on getting calcium from the diet, rather than supplements, when possible. | Read More » Infertility problems? Eating tips to boost fertility  | Women who watch their weight and closely follow a Mediterranean-style diet high in vegetables, vegetable oils, fish and beans may increase their chance of becoming pregnant. | Read More » Costly cigarettes and smoke-free homes  | Researchers say high-priced cigarettes and smoke-free homes effectively reduce smoking behaviors among low-income individuals – a demographic in which tobacco use has remained comparatively high. | Read More » Vitamin D does not contribute to kidney stones  | Increased vitamin D levels may prevent a wide range of diseases, according to recent studies. However, some previous studies led to a concern that vitamin D supplementation could increase an individual's risk of developing kidney stones. | Read More » Brain may flush out toxins during sleep  | Using mice, researchers showed for the first time that the space between brain cells may increase during sleep, allowing the brain to flush out toxins that build up during waking hours. These results suggest a new role for sleep in health and disease. | Read More » Researchers advance toward engineering 'wildly new genome'  | In two parallel projects, researchers have rewritten the genetic code of the bacterium E. coli. In the first study they created a genetically and biochemically novel organism by erasing every example of a single codon from the entire genome. In the second, they tested whether all codons could be swapped to a synonymous codon in 42 separate genes, while eliminating every instance of 13 codons throughout each of those genes. | Read More » Why lithium-ion-batteries fail  | Materials in lithium ion battery electrodes expand and contract during charge and discharge. These volume changes drive particle fracture, which shortens battery lifetime. Scientists have quantified this effect for the first time using high-resolution 3-D movies recorded using x-ray tomography at the Swiss Light Source. | Read More » Adaptability to local climate helps invasive species thrive  | The ability of invasive plants to rapidly adapt to local climates -- and potentially to climate change -- may be a key factor in how quickly they spread. | Read More » Scientists estimate 16,000 tree species in the Amazon  | Researchers, taxonomists, and students from The Field Museum and 88 other institutions around the world have provided new answers to two simple but long-standing questions about Amazonian diversity: How many trees are there in the Amazon, and how many tree species occur there? | Read More » Web-based map allows users to see intricate patterns in U.S. Population  | A new web-based mapping site allows users to see stark racial boundaries, subtle shifts in income, and intricate patterns of race, age, household size and income for any location in the United States | Read More » Bats discover surround sound  | A new study by researchers shows that the furled leaves of Heliconia and Calathea plants where Spix's disc-winged bats make their home actually help to amplify and transmit the social calls of the bats. | Read More » World's first mapping of America's rare plants  | The results of a major international research project show that climate stability plays a crucial role in the distribution of plants on Earth. Rare species in the Americas are restricted to areas of California, Mexico, the Caribbean islands, parts of the Andes mountains, the south of South America, and the region around Rio de Janeiro. The flora in most of North America and the Amazon basin, however, are dominated by widespread species. | Read More » Home schooled children leaner than traditionally schooled kids  | The results of a recent study show kids that are home-schooled are leaner than kids attending traditional schools. | Read More » 3D images from PET/CT scans help surgeons envision tumors  | A hologram-like display of a patient's organs based on molecular PET/CT images helps surgeons plan surgery by allowing them to see detailed anatomical structure, peel away layers of tissue, and see all sides of a tumor, before entering the operating room to excise it. | Read More » Toxin-emitting bacteria being evaluated as potential multiple sclerosis trigger  | A research team has identified a bacterium it believes may trigger multiple sclerosis, a chronic, debilitating disorder that damages myelin forming cells in the brain and spinal cord. | Read More » Vertebral augmentation for spinal fractures offers greater survival, overall cost savings  | A study of 69,000 Medicare patient records shows that people with spine compression fractures who undergo operations to strengthen back bones with cement survive longer and have shorter overall hospital stays than those who stick with bed rest, pain control and physical therapy. | Read More » Scientists discover genetic disease that causes recurrent respiratory infections  | Scientists have discovered a rare genetic disease that predisposes patients to severe respiratory infections and lung damage. | Read More » Tiny 'LEGO brick' -style studs make solar panels a quarter more efficient  | Most solar cells are made using thick layers of material to absorb sunlight, but have been limited in the past by relatively high costs. Many new, lower cost designs are limited as their layer of light-absorbing material is too thin to extract enough energy. In new research, scientists have demonstrated that the efficiency of all solar panel designs could be improved by up to 22 per cent by covering their surface with aluminium studs that bend and trap light inside the absorbing layer. | Read More » Housework isn't as healthy as people think  | Claiming housework as exercise may be a mistake finds research. For the same amount of time people who included housework in their self recorded moderate to vigorous physical activity tended to be heavier than those whose time was spent in other forms of exercise. | Read More » A mother's high cholesterol before pregnancy can be passed on to children  | What leads to high cholesterol? Your genes and lifestyle factors may not explain it all. A study has connected some of the risk for high cholesterol in adults to their mother's cholesterol levels before she even became pregnant. | Read More » Unlocking a brighter future for locked-in syndrome  | A team of researchers has found that stroke patients living with Locked-In Syndrome who cannot move, swallow or even breathe on their own, can regain a remarkable level of independence with technological help. | Read More » High blood pressure during pregnancy could elevate risk of future stroke  | High blood pressure during pregnancy could dramatically raise a woman's lifetime risk of stroke, according to a study. | Read More » Overnight dialysis boosts kidney health, reduces risk of heart disease  | Receiving dialysis at home while sleeping not only improves kidney health and quality of life for people with kidney disease, it could also decrease their risk of heart disease. | Read More » More US teens susceptible to HSV-1 infection, a cause of genital herpes  | A new study suggests a growing number of US adolescents lack antibodies that may help protect them later in life against an increasingly important cause of genital herpes. The findings show that fewer of today's teens have been exposed in their childhood to herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), a common cause of cold sores, than US adolescents in previous years. Without these antibodies, today's teens may be more susceptible to genital infections also caused by the virus. | Read More » All probiotics are not the same in protecting preemies from common, life-threatening illness  | Treating premature infants with probiotics, the dietary supplements containing live bacteria that many adults take to help maintain their natural intestinal balance, may be effective for preventing a common and life-threatening bowel disease among premature infants. | Read More » | |
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