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Take a moment to think about what your ears do. The human ear has a complex system for turning mere sound waves into electric messages for your brain, and it serves to keep you balanced. In order to turn sound waves (which are mechanical energy) into the electrochemical energy that sends messages to the brain, […]
“We found that adding low amounts of physical activity to one’s daily routine, such as 75 minutes of brisk walking per week, was associated with increased longevity: a gain of 1.8 years of life expectancy after age 40, compared with doing no such activity,” explained Harvard Medical School Professor of Medicine I-Min Lee. 75 minutes […]
Your ear is a fascinating place – seriously, that’s not some psychotic pick up line. Deep in the inner ear of mammals lies a natural battery, a place filled with ions that produces an electrical potential which drives your neural impulses. Now, a team of researchers have shown this battery can power a device without […]
Some people in the world have a different perception of what’s good to eat and what’s not. For instance, it’s customary to this day in many culture around the globe to eat substances that are considered non-foods in the west, like dirt, clay, sand or raw starches like rice, weird roots and so on. A […]
Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease for both patients and their families that typically affects the elderly in large proportions. Detecting the disease in its early phase gives the best chances for effective treatment. A team of scientists recently performed an extensive survey in a group of 20-somethings, marking the earliest ever detection of early-onset dementia warning signs and […]
A team of dutch researchers have devised a window into metastasis, literary. The scientists implanted a glass window in the abdomen of a mouse through a surgical procedure, allowing them to perform high-resolution imaging of cancer metastasis. “Visualization of the formation of metastasis [spread of cancer cells] has been hampered by the lack of long-term […]
An increasing number of people are starting to take their breakfast in the form of a sandwich, be it pork roll, bacon and eggs, sausage, or even a hamburger. While tasty and full of energy, this breakfast is a ticking bomb for your body, a tremendous amount of fat which makes your body very unhappy. […]
Researchers have shown that it’s genes, and not the Sun which increases the risk of melanoma in redheads. Doctors previously believed that their pale skin, often covered with freckles just didn’t provide as much protection towards UV’s, but new research showed that genetic factors of the skin pigment are the real culprits here. “We’ve […]
Asthma is a chronic, inflammatory disease that causes the airways of the lungs to swell and narrow, leading to wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. It affects millions of people worldwide, and despite the fact that treatment exists for it, getting the right dosage and regime requires extremely detailed information about the disease […]
According to two new studies, after smoking is banned indoors the number of people suffering from heart attacks considerably drops within months. Some of the researchers believe this data offer substantial evidence to the claim that second-hand smoke does in fact affect people’s health. Besides the obvious health benefit, the researchers argue that preventing second-hand […]
The origins of vision is a widely debated subject, since genetic relationships between early animals capable of sight are inconsistent. A team of researchers has conducted an extensive computer analysis that tests every proposed hypothesis on the origin of vision to date, and found a common ancestor dating from 700 million years ago. Their findings […]
Silver nanoparticles are often used for extensive medical treatments or antimicrobial health tonics. They’re even used in skin care products, which is rather ironic considering they’ve been linked with argyria, a condition in which the skin turns grayish-blue. Although scientists have known for quite a while that too much silver can cause this condition, the exact mechanisms […]
Detecting the extent of soft-tissue diseases, such as breast cancer, typically requires invasive medical procedures, like a biopsy. A team of researchers at the A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering has developed a new self-assembled nanoparticle which acts as a safe fluorescent probe, used to generate 3-D pictures of cancer cell structures in living tissue. Two-photon microscopy (TPM) uses […]
The long held belief that women are better multitaskers than men seems to finally be debunked, according to a new Swedish study. “On the contrary, the results of our study show that men are better at multitasking than women,” Timo Maentylae, a psychology professor at Stockholm University, said. Surprising or not, the female ability to […]
Some people never forget a face, some people do it all the time; and then there’s the people who actually can’t differentiate between one face and another, suffering from a condition called facial blindness. For the first time, researchers have managed to pinpoint two places in the brain (in the fusiform gyrus) which are responsible […]
Strangely enough, it was computer simulation that provided the mathematical support for the grandmother hypothesis – a famous yet controversial theory which suggests adult humans have longer lifespans as a result of grandmother babysitting. Longevity genes The simulation indicates that without any estimate of the brain size, an animal with a chimp-like lifespan can evolve […]
The pyramids, art, all of the world’s great inventions, literary works, just about any valuable intellectual work can be traced back to food – cooked food. If you care to go as far back as our very roots, that is. Previous research showed that cooked food made it easier and more efficient for our guts to […]
A while ago I reported about one of the most astonishing medical stories, when Richard Lee Norris, a terribly disfigured young male, received the most comprehensive face transplant in history. During the procedure, both jaws, teeth, facial soft tissue from the scalp to the neck and sensory muscles indispensable to facial expression were replaced. After seven […]
Green tea has some absolutely remarkable properties: it has a swarm of antioxidants, it is good for preventing a huge number of diseases (including some cancers), it boosts the immune system and it also helps you lose weight. But now, researchers have found that it can also help regulate and slow down the evolution of […]
You just invested a lot of time, ingredients and love in that perfect sandwich, only for it land on the kitchen floor. Darn it! The 5 second rule immediately pops in your head and you confidently retrieve it, comforting your despair. A team of researchers at San Diego State University, however, has found that the germs do indeed attach themselves […]
Every kid likes sweets, and many adults do too. But sugar is responsible for the poor dental health of a considerable amount of the population – which is why a part of the big pharma started developing sugar-free medicine. But as it turns out, these drugs do much more harm than good. Sugar in medicine […]
Barley is a key ingredient in beer, the third most popular drink in the world after water and tea, an industry which currently amounts to $300 billion a year. The quality of the barley greatly influences the savor of beer, so by growing better quality barley we might be able to brew a beer that’s […]
A recent study concluded a daily vitamin dose taken for years dramatically cuts the risk of cancer; the study was conducted on almost 15,000 men over 50 suggests. It’s not yet clear if the same would apply to younger men and/or women. The decrease was almost 10 percent. “Despite the lack of definitive trial data […]
Be tall, be thin, be beautiful. The media has made sure we’re constantly bombarded by such imperatives, and aside from frustrations, some people have gone to such extremes to fit popular media expectations that they end up hurting themselves. This is, sadly, most evident in the case of women, where eating disorders or anorexia are frequently […]
Kyoto University researchers have produced normal, healthy mouse pups after inseminating a foster mother with eggs and sperm derived from stem cells, exclusively grown in a petri dish. This remarkable accomplishment came after last year scientists produced mouse pups from stem cell grown sperm. Their research might lead to the development of novel techniques through […]
A laudable measure was adopted in Missouri: birth control was made free for women and teens at high risk of unplanned pregnancies. Good results were expected, but nobody really expected them to be this good. Abortion rates saw a massive drop, and the rate of teenage mothers plummeted. If these results were replicated throughout the […]
I know this sounds much like a joke, how black mamba venom can really ease you of your pain – but it’s not. A painkiller just as effective as black mamba venom but without the unwanted side effects has been found by French researchers in the venom. The predator, like many other snakes, uses neurotoxins […]
A group of researchers have successfully tested a novel nanodevice treatment, in which intelligent nanoparticles selectively open and release drugs which target aging cells. The approach could render results when treating patients suffering from diseases involving tissue or cellular degeneration such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, accelerated aging disorders (progeria). It could also boosts results in the cosmetic industry, […]
Graphene is the strongest material ever discovered by man, and naturally its applications has been extended to a variety of fields – most recently genetics. University of Texas at Dallas scientists have used advanced manipulation techniques to shrink a sheet of graphene to the point that it’s small enough to read DNA. This successful attempt now opens […]
For decades now, scientists have known what are the biochemical reactions that trigger a penile erection, however not those that actually maintain it. In a breakthrough, physicians at Johns Hopkins Medicine have finally uncovered the exact biochemical chain of events involved in the process. The findings will hopefully lead to novel medical treatment for patients suffering […]
Australian scientists say that persons with psychopathic tendencies could be spotted through a smell test, correlated with a psychological questionnaire. The link doesn’t lye in the actual odor emanated by a potentially psychopathic person, though, but rather in their sense of smell. The study conducted by Mehmet Mahmut and Richard Stevenson, from Macquarie University, is based on […]
These little spiny African mice can do something no other mammal can: they completely regenerate damaged tissue, a feat once thought impossible. They may not look as impressive as Wolverine, but they held quite the surprise: Acomys kempi and Acomys percivali have skin so brittle and easily torn that one can only ask… why? What […]
In a remarkable feat of science, scientists at Harvard University have surpassed seemingly insurmountable technological challenges have managed to take over the behavior of a lab worm. Using precisely targeted laser pulses at the worm’s neurons, scientists were able to direct it to move in any directions they wanted, and even trick it in thinking […]
Harnessing the oscillation of magnetic microscopic beads, MIT scientists have carried out experiments which show that it’s possible to develop a tiny device capable of diagnosing biological samples instantly. Such a tiny lab would allow for fast, compact and versatile medical-testing. Tiny magnetic balls, in the micrometer scale or a millionth of a meter, embedded with biomolecules […]
Leaders, whether they’re heads of states or business executives, are generally less stressed than non-leaders, contrary to popular belief, according to a recent study from Harvard psychologists, recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. For the study, the researchers invited 65 non-leaders from various professions and 148 leaders, mainly recruited from a Harvard […]
After the most recognized physics figure in the world, Albert Einstein, past away on April 18, 1955, the whole world was left in shock, seeing how he was even by then considered the most famous physicist in history. His dying wish was that of being cremated, however an eccentric physician by the name of Thomas Harvey, a […]
In an exceptional feat of medical and technical ingenuity, scientists have been able to restore partial hearing to deaf gerbils by implanting modified human embryonic stem cells in their ears. The success rate is pleasing, and offers solid ground on which human trials with a similar treatment might commence. There are many causes which might […]
We often like to think us humans have achieved a remarkable standard of efficiency and development – but a look at the animal life around us is often enough to humble us. Replicating bacteria and physics The common gut bacteria, Escherichia coli (E. coli, in short) typically takes about 20 minutes to duplicate itself in […]
A feline genetic study has revealed that a particular gene variation in a cat’s chromosome is responsible for the stripped fur so many cat lovers adore. According to the researchers, the same gene gives cheetahs, the house cat’s larger and wilder cousin, stripes instead of the regular spots. The research was lead by Stephen O’Brien of […]
Neuroscientists at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle have created an atlas of the human brain, which highlights the activity of genes across the entire organ. The brain map was created after many hard years of labor, and might help scientists from across the world identify factors that underlie neurological and psychiatric conditions. The human brain is […]
Culturing mammalian cells is currently the only way to make some complex proteins used in certain drugs; but growing such cultures is an extremely difficult and delicate job, because they can harbor human pathogens and must therefore be kept under strict temperature conditions. It’s a difficult job, but it’s definitely worth it; take a look […]
Scientists have finally managed to track sperm patterns in 3D, for the first time in history. Bless their gifted brains, this remarkable achievement revealed some interesting and unexpected things: some sperm swim in corkscrew patterns, while others are hyperactive and hectic. Aydogan Ozcan, the sperm study leader, placed sperm on a silicon sensor chip and […]
No person is the same, thanks to genetic variation. While skin color, hair, or body proportions are elements that might be exactly the same for two persons, you can be sure that one’s face is unique – even in identical twins, if you look extremely closely. While life style, body weight, diet, accidents and so […]
Hans Rosling is one of the most remarkable people on the face of the Earth – even the most educated, well traveled and insightful have their perspectives shifted by Rosling. A professor of global health at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, a member of Time’s most influential 100 people, as well as an accomplished sword swallower, he […]
A team of experts in mechanics, materials, medicine and tissue engineering have managed to create a self replicating gel which can stretch about 21 times its length. The water-based tough gel is also self-healing and biocompatible, which means it could be perfect for people with cartilage injuries. When 1+1 isn’t 2 The new hydrogel (names […]
The findings of a new research at UCLA, suggest that cramming all night before a big test, something that we’ve all went through at least once in a point of our lives with personal mixed results, is generally counter-productive as the sleep deprivation acts its toll on cognitive performance. Whether we’re talking about high school or university, […]
Researchers often study and analyze what goes wrong with the brains of people with dementia; but this is not the case here – researchers from Northwestern Medicinecasked themselves exactly the opposite: what happens with the brains of the so-called ‘Super Agers’, elder people who still have terrific memories. Emili Rogalski identified an elite group of […]
Just think about it: a minimally invasive brain stimulator that significantly reduces seizure duration for epilepsy patients. Such a device exists, but sadly, only works in rats so far. The device was tested on nine rats with a ‘petit mal’ form of epilepsy, and it reduced the length of seizures by approximately 60 percent. Most […]
Dr. Jay Bradner, a physician and chemical biologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, makes beating cancer sound easy – darn easy! Through the wonderful information that epigenetics science has delivered in the past decade, he believes cancer can be defeated simply by re-writing its genetic information such that it forgets that it’s a cancer, and […]
Two recently released studies by teams of international researchers sequenced the genomes of two major strains of the parasitic disease known as malaria. Their findings show that malaria is a lot more resistant than previously thought, but at the same time helps paint a broader picture which will certain aid in developing more effective treatment, […]
