Chemists have discovered that a chemical reaction in the atmosphere above major cities long assumed to be unimportant in urban air pollution is in fact a significant contributor to urban ozone -- the main component of smog.
Researchers have unlocked new evidence that could help them get to the bottom of our most common phobias and their causes. Hundreds of thousands of people count snakes and spiders among their fears, and while scientists have previously assumed we possess an evolutionary predisposition to fear the unpopular animals, new research seem to indicate otherwise.
Therapeutic cloning, also known as somatic-cell nuclear transfer, can be used to treat Parkinson's disease in mice. For the first time, researchers showed that therapeutic cloning or SCNT has been successfully used to treat disease in the same subjects from whom the initial cells were derived. While this current work is in animals, it could have future implications as this method may be an effective way to reduce transplant rejection and enhance recovery in other diseases and in other organ systems.
No matter how pleasant a meal is, eating causes what's known as oxidative stress. As we digest our food, we create sometimes-harmful molecules known as free radicals. But antioxidants -- healthful compounds in fruits and vegetables -- can help by neutralizing the free radicals.
What many diabetic patients may not know is that the medications that help control healthy insulin levels may lead to unexpected events at the dentist's office. According to a new study, diabetic patients especially need to communicate special needs to their dentists. This is due to harmful interactions that could occur because of the materials and medications used at dental appointments.
Most oceanographers have assumed that the iron needed to fertilize infrequent plankton blooms in the high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll regions of the world's oceans comes almost entirely from wind-blown dust. Earth scientists have now shown that in at least one of three major HNLCs around the globe, the Subarctic North Pacific, the key source of iron is not dust but the volcanic continental margins. Understanding the origins, transport mechanisms, and fate of naturally occurring iron in high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll surface waters is important in calculating climate change.
Empathy is an emotional reaction to the plight of others. Empathy can lead to altruistic behavior, i.e. helping someone with the sole intention of enhancing that person's wellbeing. If we see people in difficulty, for example, we feel the same emotions, and this may prompt us to help them. Yet the relationship between empathy and altruism is still far from clear. One young psychologist has researched the topic and concluded that when we help friends in need, we are prompted by feelings of empathy, and that when we help relatives we do so because we have expectations of reciprocity.
Black carbon, a form of particulate air pollution most often produced from biomass burning, cooking with solid fuels and diesel exhaust, has a warming effect in the atmosphere three to four times greater than prevailing estimates. soot and other forms of black carbon could have as much as 60 percent of the current global warming effect of carbon dioxide, more than that of any greenhouse gas besides carbon dioxide. The researchers also noted, however, that mitigation would have immediate societal benefits in addition to the long term effect of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
A number of promising new drug targets for Huntington's disease, a neurodegenerative disease, have emerged. Scientists have identified a number of candidate drugs to investigate further which encourage cells to "eat" the malformed proteins that lead to the disease.
Plants may cluster the genes needed to make defense chemicals, which may provide a way to discover new natural plant products of use as drugs, herbicides or crop protectants. Using a gene cluster that makes an antifungal compound in oats as a template, they uncovered a previously unknown gene cluster making a related compound in a different species, and now want to extend the search to other plants.
Cigarette smokers who were treated for cerebral aneurysms with coil embolization (blocking of a blood vessel) are at greater risk of developing another aneurysm, say neurological surgeons.
The song of passerine birds is a conspicuous and exaggerated display shaped by sexual selection in the context of male-male competition or mate attraction. At the level of the individual, song is considered an indicator of male 'quality'. Researchers found an association between individual song diversity and the viability of the population as a whole, as measured by the annual rate of population change.
A study involving several Major League Baseball pitchers indicates that the height of the pitcher's mound can affect the athlete's throwing arm motion, which may lead to potential injuries because of stress on the shoulder and elbow.
Researchers have identified a language feature unique to the human brain that is shedding light on how human language evolved. The study marks the first use of diffusion tensor imaging, a noninvasive imaging technique, to compare human brain structures to those of chimpanzees, our closest living relative.
