When people lack a sense of connection with other people, they are more likely to see their pets, gadgets or gods as human-like, according to new research. In one experiment, the team found a correlation between how lonely people felt and their tendency to describe a gadget in terms of humanlike mental states.
Scientists are developing new ways to grow brain cells in the laboratory that could one day be used to treat patients with Parkinson's disease. Stem cell therapy hold the promise of treating disease by growing new tissues and organs from stem cells -- 'blank' cells that have the potential to develop into fully mature or 'differentiated' cells.
Scientists will use a kite-like drifting device that allows researchers to detect and quantify the orientation of larval coral reef fish in the pelagic environment. This invention provides a less labor intensive, more precise way of tracking the dispersal of larval and juvenile marine species.
Researchers have discovered a means of inhibiting one of the world's most voracious parasites. The study targets a protein which aids the parasite in ingestion of immune cell corpses.
Researchers have discovered the secret of why dark sheep on a remote Scottish Island are mysteriously declining, seemingly contradicting Darwin's evolutionary theory.
Why is it difficult to spot even familiar faces in a crowd? A recent study in the Journal of Vision reveals how our brains filter out visual overload -- and could help scientists develop an artificial visual system that approaches the sophistication of human visual perception.
The full recovery of ecological systems, following the most devastating extinction event of all time, took at least 30 million years, according to new research. Previous work indicates that life bounced back quite quickly, but this was mostly in the form of 'disaster taxa' (opportunistic organisms that filled the empty ecospace left behind by the extinction).
Researchers have discovered for the first time a pathway that makes cancerous leukemia cells resistant to treatment. The discovery is the first stage in the development of new drugs that could significantly improve survival rates for leukemia sufferers.
Two of the first hybrid school buses in the US hit the road this month. The buses use an electric motor at street speeds; their V-8 diesel engines kick in at higher speeds. Researchers will study and evaluate the buses' performance over three years.
A survey of some of the top hospitals in the country has found that protocols followed to determine brain death differ significantly among those institutions and often do not follow the standards established by the American Academy of Neurology.
According to Darwin's theory of evolution, individuals in a species pass successful traits onto their offspring through a process called "deterministic inheritance." Over multiple generations, advantageous developmental trends -- such as the lengthening of the giraffe's neck -- occur. An opposing theory says evolution takes place through randomly inherited and not necessarily advantageous changes. Using the giraffe example, there would not be a common neck-lengthening trend; some would develop long necks, while others would develop short ones.
The term 'posttraumatic embitterment disorder' (PTED) was recently introduced to describe a subtype of adjustment disorders, characterized by prolonged embitterment, severe additional psychopathological symptoms and great impairment in most areas of life in reaction to a severe negative but not life threatening life event. The aim of this study is an empirical description and validation of the clinical concept of PTED, by comparing clinically defined PTED patients with patients suffering from other mental disorders on measures of posttraumatic stress and psychopathological distress.
Small differences between individuals at the DNA level can lead to dramatic differences in the way genes produce proteins. These, in turn, are responsible for the vast array of differences in physical characteristics between individuals.
Do antioxidant supplements reduce the risk of cancer and deaths related to cancer? While some trials have suggested that antioxidants have beneficial effects, results from other trials have been negative. It has been unclear which antioxidant compounds are more beneficial (or more harmful), and how individual antioxidants affect target organs and specific patient populations. To examine these issues, Mayo researchers conducted a systematic review on the topic.
