Dental amalgam tooth fillings do not adversely affect children's brain development and neurological status, researchers report in the Journal of the American Dental Association. Dental amalgam contains elemental mercury combined with other metals such as silver, copper, tin and zinc to form a safe, stable alloy.

  Low blood levels of vitamin D have long been associated with disease, and the assumption has been that vitamin D supplements may protect against disease. However, this new research demonstrates that ingested vitamin D is immunosuppressive and that low blood levels of vitamin D may be actually a result of the disease process. Supplementation may make the disease worse. Increased vitamin D intake affects much more than just nutrition or bone health. The Vitamin D Nuclear Receptor (VDR) acts in the repression or transcription of hundreds of genes, including genes associated with diseases ranging from cancers to multiple sclerosis.

  Ancient Mayan temple builders used dazzling lustrous pigments. Studying tiny shards of paint from the Mayan city of Copan, a physical and chemical sciences researcher found evidence of mica that would have made the buildings glitter when hit by the sun.

  In a healthy intestinal system there is a great variety of natural bacteria. Today many people have an imbalanced flora of intestinal bacteria. Now a new study shows that children with only a limited variety of bacteria in their feces one week after birth more often developed atopical eczema by the age of 18 months. In the study feces were examined from children in Göteborg, London, and Rome.

  Astronomers will observe a newly discovered asteroid on Jan. 27-28 and Feb 1-4, 2008, as the object called 2007 TU24 passes within 1.4 lunar distances, or 334,000 miles, from Earth. The asteroid, estimated at between 150 and 600 meters in diameter -- about 500 feet to 1,900 feet, or the size of a football field, at 360 feet, to the size of Chicago's 110-story Sears Tower, at 1,454 feet -- was discovered in October 2007. It poses no threat to Earth, but its near approach gives astronomers a golden opportunity to learn more about potentially hazardous near-Earth objects.

  A new study introduces personality types used frequently in consumer research to the realm of self-improvement. According to the research, people are better able to exercise self-control when they choose goal-pursuit strategies -- such as diets or money management -- that "fit" with a promotion or prevention focus. "Self-control is not just about doing the right things, but also about doing things the right way," the researchers explain.

  ESA's orbiting gamma-ray observatory, Integral, has made the first unambiguous discovery of highly energetic X-rays coming from a galaxy cluster. The find has shown the cluster to be a giant particle accelerator. The Ophiuchus galaxy cluster is one of brightest in the sky at X-ray wavelengths. The X-rays detected are too energetic to originate from quiescent hot gas inside the cluster and suggest instead that giant shockwaves must be rippling through the gas. This has turned the galaxy cluster into a giant particle accelerator.

  Researchers have identified subtle genetic variations that predict the efficacy of two widely used antidepressant drugs. They found that certain variants in the gene for a protective transporter protein that pumps drugs and other substances out of the brain compromise the effectiveness of the antidepressants citalopram (trade name Celexa) and venlafaxine (Effexor).

  Researchers have found that a low concentration of vitamin E in the blood is linked with physical decline in older persons. The study included 698 people age 65 or older who were randomly selected from the population registry in two municipalities close to Florence, Italy.

  A biochemist has mapped several proteins that can regulate the activity of the human exosome and which play a role in the degradation of RNA molecules. He has also discovered that PM/Scl-75, one of the components from which the exosome is built, is cut as soon as a cell dies.

  A sludgy substance seen on the ultrasound images of about 15 percent of pregnancies is in fact a bacterial biofilm in the amniotic fluid, according to an expert on the slimy structures. "Doctors kept seeing this stuff on the ultrasound and we wanted to figure out what it was," the researcher said. "We suspected it was bacteria but didn't know for sure."

  A review of epidemiological data has found evidence that people who spend fewer years in school may experience a slight but statistically significant delay in the realization that they're having cognitive problems that could be Alzheimer's disease.

  The contraceptive pill gives women substantial and long-lasting protection against ovarian cancer, according to a new report. The researchers found that the protection against ovarian cancer lasted for more than 30 years after women had stopped taking the Pill. They also found that the longer the Pill was used the greater the protection and that taking the Pill for 15 years halved the risk of ovarian cancer.

  A new study finds that the development of bullous lung disease occurs in marijuana smokers approximately 20 years earlier than tobacco smokers. A condition often caused by exposure to toxic chemicals or long-term exposure to tobacco smoke, bullous lung disease (also known as bullae) is a condition where air trapped in the lungs causes obstruction to breathing and eventual destruction of the lungs.