The stars of the "Jaws"films--sharks--have recently become the subject of a new engineering research project. The project explores energy conservation and boundary layer control in regard to a shark's surface. The project findings will allow researchers to explore natural solutions for the reduction of skin friction over solid surfaces, which could result in new innovations and applications concerning energy conservation.

  With the holiday season's hustle and bustle in full swing, most of us will race to our favorite coffee shop to get that caffeine boost to make it through the day. However, that daily jolt that we crave might be the reason we need the caffeine in the first place.

  Researchers have captured a key step in the metabolic process that allows materials, such as nutrients and drug treatments, to move in and out of cells. Scientists obtained a snapshot of the tiny protein gate complex that opens and closes pathways through the protective cellular membrane.

  Rapid diagnostic testing used to check for the presence of prion diseases such as "mad cow disease"might fail to identify some highly infectious samples, researchers have found.

  Scientists are discovering that aquatic nanoparticles, from 1 to 100 nanometers, influence natural and engineered water chemistry and systems differently than similar materials of a larger size.

  With end-of-semester finals looming, here's an exam question: Will pulling an all-nighter actually help you score well? To the dismay of college students everywhere, the correct answer is "no."Researchers studied the sleeping patterns and transcripts of 111 students to see the correlation between sleep and their grade-point averages.

  A farm owner thought he'd struck a fine bargain with the Michigan Department of Transportation. MDOT would get fill for nearby highway construction by dredging a pond on his farm near Arnheim, Mich., and he would get the pond. Nobody expected to find a prehistoric forest too. But that's exactly what they uncovered, about 15 feet down.

  Treating breast cancer with a type of heat therapy derived from MIT radar research can significantly increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy, according to results from the fourth clinical trial of the technique reported in Cancer Therapy.

  Scientists have now challenged the widely held assumption that two "genetic bottlenecks"have drastically reduced genetic variability in soybean varieties grown in farmers'fields. The first bottleneck was said to be plant breeders'tendency to use only a few parent soybeans from Asia, called "landraces,"to build the genetic base of U.S. soybean in the 1930s and 1940s. The second bottleneck was breeders'use of a small group of elite varieties as parents in each succeeding round of breeding during the past 60 years.

  Contrary to a widely held assumption, high-trauma nonspine fractures in older women and men, such as from a car crash, are associated with low bone mineral density and an increased risk of a subsequent fracture, according to a new study. These findings suggest that older adults who experience these fractures should be evaluated for osteoporosis.

  Scientists have developed a new X-ray technique that could be used to detect hidden explosives, drugs and human cancers more effectively. They have built a prototype color 3D X-ray system that allows material at each point of an image to be clearly identified.

  The majority of relationships between parents and their adult children improve as parents transition to old age, a researcher has found. The study showed that a majority of parents and children mentioned positive changes in their relationship, even as parents experienced declines in health.

  Consuming higher-than-average amounts of carbohydrates that cause blood sugar levels to spike and fall rapidly could be a risk factor for central vision loss with aging. Diets high in carbohydrates that are quickly digested and absorbed, resulting in a rapid rise in blood sugar levels, are considered high-glycemic-index diets.

  Expanding evidence that tiny strands of RNA -- called microRNAs -- play big roles in the progress of some cancers, UC Davis researchers have identified one that helps jump start prostate cancer cell growth midway through the disease process, eventually causing it to become fatal. The discovery is an important link to finding new treatments targeting this cellular function and reducing cancer deaths among American men.