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Good news: we're living longer. Bad news: longer in sickness

Life expectancy has gone up by six years on average throughout the world since 1990, according to a survey led by scientists at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. The extensive survey analyzed records from 188 countries. Japan tops the list with an average life expectancy of 83 years. While there's reason to rejoice in the news, it's worth mentioning that living with disabilities and illness has also been prolonged. The same advances that helped us live longer have also prolonged our suffering and this is where scientists are trying to invest their energy: focus less on extending life expectancy and more on the quality of our last years on this planet.

Simple blood test predicts which breast cancer patient will have a relapse months in advance

The trend is clear: medicine is becoming more and more personalized. Ultimately, when you'll enter a hospital for a diagnosis or treatment, a (likely digital) doctor will use tailored solutions to address your health needs, all based on your past medical and genetic records. Considering diagnosis, just a few drops of blood will be enough to diagnose a plethora of afflictions. Take the latest news coming from the The Institute of Cancer Research in London, for instace. There, British doctors were able accurately predict which breast cancer patient will relapse next by tracking key mutations of residual cancer cells found in the blood. It's a very powerful tool - one that will probably become standard practice soon.

Can Hearing Aids Also Save Your Memory?

If you’ve ever lived with someone hard of hearing, or have struggled with hearing difficulties yourself, you know it can be a hard condition to live with. Thankfully, modern technology has given us a wide variety of hearing implements that can let us salvage this precious physical sense. But hearing loss can come with several […]

University of California 3D printed fish are the most advanced microbots we built to date

Nanoengineers from the San Diego University of California used innovative, self-developed 3D printing methods to create multipurpose, fish-shaped microbots - that they call microfish - which can swim around efficiently through liquids, powered by hydrogen peroxide and are magnetically controlled.

Are you a hoarder? Complete this checklist [infographic]

We're all guilty of bringing home useless items like flyers or old computer electronics from time to time, hoping that one day we'll use them. Don't kid yourself. It rarely happens. For some people though, hoarding seems to be a way of life, bordering obsessive compulsive disorder. In fact, psychologists class hoarding behavior as a distinct disorder which affects 2 to 5 percent of Americans.

Research moves closer to a universal flu vaccine

Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) have discovered a way to give antibodies the ability to fight a wide range of influenza subtypes. Their work has great potential to one day eliminate the need for repeated seasonal flu shots.

Modafinil is the first confirmed drug that makes you smarter

Though initially made for narcoleptics (people having trouble sleeping), many soon caught on that modafinil can enhance cognitive abilities. Right now, it's a favorite among students who use it when preparing for exams with visible results, they claim. But modafinil isn't the first such "smart drug" we've come across. It's likely that you've seen some TV or internet ads marketing 'smart pills' that supposedly enhance cognitive abilities, but with mere anecdotal evidence backing it up. In contrast, modafinil really seems to be a legit smart drug, according to a systematic review of reports documenting the effects of the drug. The meta-analysis was made by a team at University of Oxford and Harvard Medical School.

Raise'em right! Only we're not - modern parenting may hinder brain development

Several cultural beliefs and modern social practices may hinder children's mental, moral and emotional development, finds a study by an interdisciplinary body of research presented recently at a symposium at the University of Notre Dame.

Yawning is contagious, unless you're a psychopath

When someone yawns near us, we naturally feel an irresistible urge to yawn in response. Even dogs seem to yawn when humans do it. This contagious behavior has fascinated psychologists and behaviorists for many years, and while there are many reasons scientists have proposed for why people yawn (it's a bit complicated, what we know for sure is that's important and actually has a purpose), social cohesion might play an important role. The more emphatic you are, the likelier it is you'll yawn in response. On the contrary, psychopaths barely register yawns and seem impenetrable.

Scientists create vomiting machine to study viral infections

Inventions are at the very core of human development, and quite often, the scope of the invention is not easy to grasp. Such is the case with a new "vomiting machine" which will be used to study noroviruses - fast spreading viruses that cause acute gastroenteritis.

It just got a lot more annoying: mutated lice stop responding to common treatment

Just in time for back-to-school season, a group of researchers report that lice in more than 25 states have become resistant to the common over-the-counter treatments. Every year, up to 12 million kids aged 3 to 11 get infested with head lice, which apart from being extremely unpleasant and annoying can create complications when a child overly scratches its scalp, forming wounds that can get infected. Now that lice populations have grown resistance to insecticides, it will be increasingly difficult to get rid of them.

Looking into someone's eyes for 10 minutes alters your state of mind and can cause hallucinations

Staring straight into someone's eyes can be pretty intense, and is usually avoided by most people. But a team of researchers has shown that it's even weirder than you'd think: it actually alters your consciousness, and often causes hallucinations.

A new molecular drug that mimics exercise might help Diabetes patients

Researchers at University of Southampton, England report finding an alternative pathway to activate a key enzyme involved in cellular glucose uptake, mimicking the effects of exercise (some of it). In type two diabetes the enzyme in question is "lazy" and drugs are usually used to activate it, allowing glucose to enter the cell and produce energy (adenosine triphosphate or ATP for short). It's not clear yet whether the new molecular compound, for now simply called 'compound 14', is better than current treatments.

Psychosis and violence are not really linked together, study finds

Television has perpetuated the already classic image of a violent, psychotic criminal, up to the point where we basically associate the two. We often tend to think of violent people as psychotic, and psychotic people as violent. But as a new study has found, that's not really the case: there's no strong correlation between violence and psychosis.

Be sarcastic! It's good for you, scientists find

Using and understanding the intricacies of sarcasm is a fine art; one does not simply “become” sarcastic – you must dive into it, let it embrace you. You must become sarcasm. But jokes aside, sarcasm is a strange thing – we don’t know exactly how it appeared and why. The best theory seems to be […]

New nanotechnology will be able to target and destroy blood clots

A research group has come up with an innovative way of dealing with blood clots through nanotechnology. This technology has the potential to save many lives every year, as blood clots are often associated with life-threatening events.

A language that sounds like birdsong, whistled Turkish, uses both brain hemispheres

One of the most peculiar languages in the world, whistled Turkish, is challenging the long-standing idea that the left brain hemisphere is solely responsible for processing language and extracting meaning. Any language, be it spoken, written or signed is processed in the left hemisphere, but whistled languages are processed equally by both sides of the brain. It's a striking discovery that suggests people devoid of left hemisphere processing abilities, following a stroke for instance, can still communicate using their right hemisphere. Just whistle.

'Pink Viagra' pill for low libido women seeks FDA approval, but is it safe?

A drug called Flibanserin, also known under the name of Addyi, is marketed as the first designed to boost a woman's sexual desire. This week the FDA will decide whether to approve the drug or not, however looming safety concerns could count against Sprout Pharmaceuticals, the parent company marketing the Flibanserin.

Coca Cola give millions of dollars to scientists who say soft drinks don't cause obesity

Taking a page from the oil industry “sponsorship” philosophy, Coca Cola spent millions funding scientists to say that soft drinks don’t make people fat. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with a company funding scientists to study its products, when the result is already known before the study actually starts, that’s not exactly science – that’s […]

Octopus genome finally unraveled, and this is a big deal

The mystery of the octopus genome has finally been solved, and this will allow researchers to answer some intriguing questions: how does it regenerate so well? How does it control its 8 flexible arms and over 1000 suckers? How do they camouflage and mimic the environment, and most importantly - how did a relative of the snail become so incredibly smart?

This book can clean murky waters and save lives

Books and education save lives - but the Drinkable Book took things to the next level. Using the bacteria-killing properties of silver and copper, a US researcher has developed a low cost, light and cool way of purifying drinking water: through a book.

Fighting with addiction? Play tetris, new study finds

The results of a new study show the benefits of playing tetris when fighting with an addiction or craving - a minimum of three minutes at a time can reduce cravings for drugs, food and other activities like sex and sleeping by almost 20%.

The Komodo Dragon Chilli is 400 times hotter than a jalapeno - and it's available in supermarkets

The Komodo Dragon Chilli doesn’t look like much; it’s pretty small, reddish (but not very bright) and a bit shriveled; but this pepper measures 1.4 million Scoville units – the official measure of chilli potency. Yes, that’s a lot. “Do not consume whole,” reads the mildly unnerving warning label on the packet. “Do not touch without gloves.” The […]

A drug used for decades for liver diseases could effectively slow down Parkinson's

It seems like re-purposing drugs can be a gold mine for future drug development. Now, scientists have discovered that a drug used for decades in liver treatments might effectively slow down Parkinson's disease.

New diseases threatens world's tadpole population

A new highly infectious diseases has been observed in tadpoles from three continents, threatening global populations. The disease, which was identified and described by British scientists, is a distant relative of an oyster disease. “Phylogenetic analyses revealed that this infectious agent was affiliated with the Perkinsea: a parasitic group within the alveolates exemplified by Perkinsus […]

Drinking guidelines are irrelevant for casual drinkers, scientists claim

A study conducted by researchers from the University of Sheffield found that people ignore drinking guidelines, especially as most of them rarely drink during the week but might party heavily during the weekend or on holiday.

Scientists think they've figured out why green tea helps you lose weight

Green tea is one of those things that’s really healthy for you, but its health benefits have been greatly exaggerated; one of the things which has been consistently reported about green tea is that it helps you lose weight, but scientists didn’t know how (or if) this happens. Now, a team from Poland believe they’ve […]

Simple device shows where your patient's veins are

No one likes to take a shot, and if there’s one thing we hate more than taking a shot is having to take more shots because someone missed your vein. But as any doctor will tell you, finding a vein is sometimes difficult – here’s where VeinViewer enters the stage. Designed by Memphis-based company Christie Medical Holdings, […]

How long does food stay fresh? Learn what expiration dates really mean

Experts did the math and they estimate that $165 billion worth of perfectly edible food gets tossed each year, due to it passing it's expiration date. But most of these dates are largely made up.

Why you're freezing in the office: AC thermostat is optimized for a 154 pounds, 40-year-old man

Women often complain the AC is turned way too high at work. Many are forced by necessity to come to work on a hot summer day with a spare sweater or a freaking Snuggie, while men coworkers seem to be all fine, comfortable wearing only shorts and a T-shirt. Clearly, some people feel colder or hotter than others when exposed to the same temperature. However, I think nowadays it's no secret that most women get terribly uncomfortable in the conditions set by most thermostats at work. Now, a new study suggests that the way climate control in office buildings has been designed in the past couple of decades is discriminatory and doesn't reflect reality. That's because although in most workplaces today you'll find men and women in equal proportion, the AC is geared to provide the optimal comfort conditions for a 154 pounds, 40 year-old man. This profile may have been representative 50 years ago, but today it's outdated. It's time to align thermostats with today's needs.

Semen regulates female's gene expression and behavior (curbs depression, for instance)

There's more to seminal fluid, which makes up to 70% of semen's composition, than procreation. Scientists are only recently beginning to understand how the seminal fluid is interacting with the female brain and body, and findings so far may be surprising for some. For instance, in animals - including humans - semen affects the female reproductive tract, to maximize the changes of conception. But it doesn't stop here. The influence of semen on females might go even beyond this. In experiments on fruit flies, scientists found the females had altered gene expression post semen exposure, while males produce more seminal proteins when there are more rivals. Suddenly, semen just got a heck of a lot more complicated.

Australian scientists reportedly found a cure for hangover

CSIRO, Australia's peak science body has reportedly discovered one of the more sought after cures in human history: the cure for a hangover. The secret? A simple fruit, the pear.

The age of the centenarians: elderly population over 100 years to increase ten fold by 2035

If you were born in 1900, you could call yourself lucky if you'd seen a day past your 50th birthday. The XXth century, however, marked an amazing leap in longevity thanks to the advent of vaccines, increased public health awareness and medical discoveries. In time, the leading causes of death and illness have shifted from infectious and parasitic diseases to noncommunicable diseases and chronic conditions. Sure, more people die today of cancer and heart disease than ever before, but it sure beats dying of typhoid. The extra decades in lifespan sure don't sound bad, either. Life expectancy at birth now exceeds 83 years in Japan—the current leader—and is at least 81 years in several other countries. The trend seems to be accelerating, especially for those at the extreme lifespan end. The population of adults 85 and older is projected to increase 351 percent by 2050, while those older than 100 will increase 10-fold between 2010 and 2050.

New vaccine against Ebola is 100% effective in Guinea trial

“Having seen the devastating effects of Ebola on communities and even whole countries with my own eyes, I am very encouraged by today’s news,” said Børge Brende, the foreign minister of Norway, which helped fund the trial.

Sugar with that? Sweetening coffee or tea really changes your drink

Coffee and tea taste bitter to most people because of the caffeine. Of course, some like their coffee dark, but most people, including yours truly, can't have a sip without at least a lump of sugar inside. Apparently, we're on to something. Adding sugar to coffee or tea not only cuts the bitterness, but changes the chemistry of the drink at a fundamental level, according to Dr. Seishi Shimizu at University of York.

This GMO rice tackles global warming by emitting 100 times less methane

Following a three-year-long trial in the rice of fields of China, scientists report a new genetically modified strain that promises to dramatically reduce the otherwise huge carbon footprint of rice farming. The new GMO crop emits only 1% of the methane - a highly potent greenhouse gas - that an unaltered rice paddies leaches out into the atmosphere. So far, the crop looks extremely advantageous but the unfavorable social climate against GMOs doesn't help at all, particularly in China where the public is very sensitive and no genetically modified rice variety has been allowed on its fields apart from this trial. China is the second largest producer of rice in the world.

Scientists find a way to transform cells into tiny lasers

Scientists have created a mixture of oil and fluorescent dyes that can be safely added to human cells – the dye then gets activated by short pulses of light and starts behaving like a laser, communicating the tissue’s position to doctors. The technology could add new ways for light to be used in diagnosis and treatment […]

Fat is recognized as the sixth basic taste, but it's awful on its own

Distilling tastes and flavors to their most basic constituents is essential to making food the tastiest it can be. We currently know of five basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and the somewhat hard to pin down umami (think savory or anchovies, tomato juice, the likes). Now, a group claims it has pinned down the sixth: fat. Bacon lovers throughout the world might rejoice at the news. However, if you like bacon you should feel grateful you didn't take part in this study because isolated fat molecules are reportedly awful tasting. Distinct yes, but quite awful. In fact, to distinguish from what people generally refer to as "fat", the researchers at Purdue University propose a new term to describe the sixth basic taste: oleogustus.

The first Americans came from Russia's frozen expanse, Siberia, some 23,000 years ago

The first humans to reach the Americas came from Siberia in a single group some 23,000 years ago, at the height of the last Ice Age, says the new study. On their way to Alaska, they hanged around in the northern regions for a few thousands of years before moving deeper into North and South America.

Tell me what music you like and I'll tell you how you think - Music preference connected to cognitive style

Do you enjoy the quiet, elaborate jazz rhythms, or are you more a metal fan? Is classical music your thing, or are you more into hip hop? That may say more about your personality than you think, according to a new research.

Foods and drinks might be labeled for added sugar intake, FDA proposes

Companies in the US might be mandated by the FDA to list the amount of added sugar in their products as a percent of the recommended daily calorie intake. Last year, the FDA proposed to include the amount of added sugars in grams on the Nutrition Facts label. Now, the same agency thinks it would be more informative to consumers if the label is displayed as a percentage to fit a context.

Blind pensioner can see again following bionic eye implant

An 80-year-old man suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) - the most common cause of sight loss in the world - can now see again after being fitted with a bionic eye. The technology was developed at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, and the implant marks the first trial for the Argus II system for AMD.

14,000-year-old molar gives us oldest proof of dentistry, and will make you love your dentist's drill

Just as today -or a little less often, as we tend to abuse our teeth quite a bit nowadyas – early humans had to deal with cavities. An infected 14,000 year old molar may give us a glimpse into how they treated such afflictions, and is the oldest known evidence of dentistry.

About the 28th element essential to sustaining life, discovered by scientists

The scientific world has commonly agreed upon 27 elements that are literally essential for human life. However, a study proved the existence of a 28th element, bromine, which is among the 92 naturally-occurring chemical elements in the entire universe, as vital for tissue development in all animals, from the primitive sea creatures to humans included. The […]

Scientists identify 4 types of drunks - which one are you?

Are you a Hemingway, a Nutty Professor, or a Poppins?? No, that’s not the latest Facebook game (although it’d be really fun to see one implemented), but it’s a classification introduced by researchers at the University of Missouri. Basically, depending on how your personality changes when you start drinking, they’ve defined 4 types: the Hemingways, […]

Gene therapy restores hearing in deaf mice, paving the way for human treatment

Mice with genetic hearing loss could sense and respond to noises after receiving working copies of their faulty genes, researchers report. Because the mice’s mutated genes closely correspond to those responsible for some hereditary human deafness, the scientists hope the results will inform future human therapies.

These images show how different and unique tears really are

In our day to day lives, we don’t give much thought to tears – we usually focus more on the emotions that cause them than the salty droplets themselves. Well, tears are much more complex than we give them credit for, as Dutch artist Maurice Mikkers showed. Tears Caused By Emotional Response: There are actually three […]

No laughing matter: scientists study the effects of laughing gas

Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, is a simple chemical composed of two nitrogen atoms and one oxygen atom (N2O). Despite being used as an anesthetic since the 1800s, the effects it has on the brain are not well understood. In a new study published in this week in Clinical Neurophysiology, MIT researchers reveal some key brainwave changes caused by the gas.

A simple sniff test might diagnose autism in toddlers

Children with autism spectrum disorder do not react as well to pleasant or foul smells compared to non-ASD children. Previously, autistic toddlers were found to have a dampened response to sight, sound and touch. For their study, the researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel used a novel technique to gauge the smell response in both ASD and control groups, with 81% accuracy. The test is unobtrusive and doesn't require a personal account from behalf of the children - something that can be difficult to do with autistic children, who more often than not are highly uncommunicative. If the test can survive the test of time and other trials, it could very well be used to diagnose autism.

Eating green leafy vegetables keeps your brain strong

Something as simple as eating more leafy veggies could significantly slow down cognitive decline and keep your brain healthier for a longer period of time. A new study found that nutrients and vitamins found in plants such as spinach, kale, collards and mustard greens help keep your mental abilities sharp.

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