Researchers have thawed ice estimated to be at least a million years old from above Lake Vostok, an ancient lake that lies hidden more than two miles beneath the frozen surface of Antarctica.
Omega-3 fatty acids protect the brain against Parkinson's disease, according to a new study. Parkinson's disease is caused by the progressive death of the neurons responsible for producing dopamine, a neurotransmitter closely linked with movement control.
Driving down a country road at night your car's headlights illuminate a deer in your path, and the creature doesn't move. Depending on your speed and other conditions, chances are good you will hit the deer. And if you do, it's because you are in what is fittingly defined as the "collision mode,"according to a new study. Scientists have clearly quantified the stopping motor volume (the amount of space it takes for an animal -- including one in a vehicle -- to come to a complete stop) and sensory volume (the amount of space an animal senses around it) for any animal.
A guideline developed by the American Academy of Neurology recommends a routine electroencephalogram and brain scans be considered when diagnosing and treating adults who experience their first unprovoked seizure. Evidence shows such tools often detect brain abnormalities that caused the seizure and predict seizure recurrence.
University of Cincinnati research on college drinking is presented at a national mental health conference. Students involved with drinking run into problems in 4 main areas, neglecting responsibilities which can take a toll on grades as well as job performance, dangerous behavior such as drinking and driving, significant interpersonal problems such as getting into arguments and physical confrontations, and legal problems.
Geologists have found a new, exceptionally preserved deposit of fossils in 425 million year old Silurian rocks in Ontario. The fossils include complete fish (only the second place on Earth where whole fish of this age have been found), various shrimp and worm like creatures, including velvet-worms, which look "rather like a dozen headless Michelin men dancing a conga."
Nitric oxide is a very important regulator of blood pressure and blood flow to the heart and other organs. Several drugs such as nitroglycerin and sodium nitroprusside act by providing NO, but each of these drugs have drawbacks. Investigators have developed a drug that releases NO directly, which is unlikely to be toxic because it is a vitamin B12 derivative.
One gene for pea pod color generates green pods while a variant of that gene gives rise to the yellow-pod phenotype, a feature that helped Gregor Mendel first describe genetic inheritance. However, some genes have the strange ability to be expressed spontaneously in either of two possible ways and researchers describe how such noisy gene expression affects as the progression of bacterial infections or the growth of a population of cancerous cells.
Women who live in urban areas have denser breasts, making them more likely to develop breast cancer, according to a new study. Breast tissue in women may be fatty or glandular or a mixture of both. Women with more glandular breasts show denser tissue on a mammogram and are known to have nearly four times the risk of developing breast cancer than women with fatty breasts.
Storing carbon dioxide deep below the earth's surface could be a safe, long-term solution to one of the planet's major contributors to climate change. University of Leeds research shows that porous sandstone, drained of oil by the energy giants, could provide a safe reservoir for carbon dioxide. The study found that sandstone reacts with injected fluids more quickly than had been predicted -- such reactions are essential if the captured carbon dioxide is not to leak back to the surface.
Jurors presented with gruesome evidence, such as descriptions or images of torture and mutilation, are up to five times more likely to convict a defendant than jurors not privy to such evidence, research reveals.
In an effort to find an answer to the problem of identifying smuggled special nuclear material, researchers say a neutron scatter camera they are developing may be able to detect radiation from much greater distances and through more shielding than current detection instruments.
Researchers have discovered that using an immune system gene to enhance a vaccine used to study HIV in macaque monkeys provides the animals with greater protection against simian HIV than an unmodified vaccine.
