Lasers are at the cutting edge of surgery. However, there is still a lot that scientists do not know about the ways in which laser light interacts with living tissue. Now, some of these basic questions have been answered in the first investigation of how ultraviolet lasers -- similar to those used in LASIK eye surgery -- cut living tissues.
Severely restricting calories leads to a longer life, scientists have proved. New research now has shown for the first time that such a diet also can maintain physical fitness into advanced age, slowing the seemingly inevitable progression to physical disability and loss of independence.
The coal tit is among the top ten two-timers worldwide. That is what research by biologists shows. Older coal tit males were particularly successful at cheating on their partner. They produced significantly more 'cuckoo kids'than younger males.
New research examined the effectiveness of ICS in preventing asthma and other respiratory illness due to inhalation exposures experienced by NYC firefighters after the World Trade Center collapse. Two years post-collapse, those firefighters treated with ICS reported positive feedback.
As housing developments sprout across the United States, smart growth proponents have urged communities to cluster developments in concentrated pockets, instead of the more standard and familiar "sprawl."Now a new study finds that while cluster development is indeed much easier on the surrounding environment, the location of housing developments is key.
Watching comedy shows helps children tolerate pain for longer periods of time, according to a new study. Laughter has long been viewed as good medicine, and although there are many programs that bring humor into pediatric hospitals, little research has been done on the utility of humor for children or adolescents undergoing stressful or painful procedures, such as blood draws and treatments for cancer.
Seismologists in recent years have recast their understanding of the inner workings of Earth from a relatively benign homogeneous environment to one that is highly dynamic and chemically diverse. This new view of Earth's inner workings depicts the planet as a living organism where events that happen deep inside can affect what happens at its surface, like the rub and slip of tectonic plates and the rumble of the occasional volcano.
PiRNAs, a recently discovered class of tiny RNAs, play an important role in controlling gene function. Derived mostly from so-called "junk DNA,"piRNAs had escaped the attention of generations of geneticists and molecular biologists until last year when Yale scientists discovered them in mammalian reproductive cells, and named them.
When a study in her lab showed that mate tea drinkers saw a significant increase in the activity of an enzyme that raises HDL cholesterol while lowering LDL cholesterol, the scientist headed for Argentina where mate tea has been used medicinally for centuries.
Proteins in the bacteria that causes Legionnaire's disease work together to survive. The bacteria that causes the disease -- Legionella pneumophila -- replicates inside macrophage, which are cells that are part of the immune system and "eat"cellular debris and toxins.
Taxonomists, ecologists and philosophers explored the world's southernmost forest and tundra ecosystems to estimate the diversity of the dominant vegetation, namely tiny bryophytes and lichens. Much of today's conservation strategies focus on "charismatic mega fauna"such as pandas, tigers, and whales; or on vascular plants such as giant redwoods and orchids.
Ordinary people worry about the extra, and often burdensome, responsibilities which could come with scientists'promises of 'personalized medicine,'according to new evidence.
Biologists genetically manipulated nematode worms so the animals were attracted to worms of the same sex -- part of a study that shows sexual orientation is wired in the creatures'brains. "They look like girls, but act and think like boys,"says one of the scientists. "The [same-sex attraction] behavior is part of the nervous system."
Postmenopausal women are at an age when the incidence and exacerbation of the chronic health conditions associated with obesity become more prevalent. Obesity can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea, cancer, osteoarthritis and mental health problems, all of which can be significantly reduced by weight loss.
