Researchers have developed a way of examining brain tissue with near-infrared light to detect signs of Alzheimer's disease. The new technique may help identify ways to predict and prevent deadly disease.
A compound found in soybeans almost completely prevented the spread of human prostate cancer in mice, according to a new study in Cancer Research. Researchers say that the amount of the chemical, an antioxidant known as genistein, used in the experiments was no higher than what a human would eat in a soybean-rich diet.
The discovery of a new bird comes with a twist: It's a white-eye, but its eye isn't white. Still, what this new bird lacks in literal qualities it makes up for as one of the surprises that nature still has tucked away in little-explored corners of the world. Ornithologists describe for science a new species of bird from the Togian Islands of Indonesia -- Zosterops somadikartai, or Togian white-eye.
One way of combating atherosclerosis is to reduce levels of "bad cholesterol" in the blood. Scientists have now identified the genes that bring about this beneficial effect. Atherosclerosis is the main cause of myocardial infarction and stroke in Western nations.
Using a system that can compare the travel times of two photons with sub-femtosecond precision, scientists have found a remarkably large difference in the time it takes photons to pass through nearly identical stacks of materials with different arrangements of refractive layers. The technique could provide an empirical answer to a long-standing puzzle over how fast light crosses narrow gaps that do not permit the passage of conventional electromagnetic waves.
A pain-free and drug-free labor may be many expectant mothers' dream but a new review reveals that reality hits hard. Most women's labor experiences differ markedly from their expectations. They are often ill-prepared for what might happen, and consequently may be disappointed when the birth does not "go to plan."
Venus Express has constantly been observing the south pole of Venus and has found it to be surprisingly fickle. An enormous structure with a central part that looks like the eye of a hurricane, morphs and changes shape within a matter of days, leaving scientists puzzled.
It's common knowledge that humans and other animals are able to visually judge depth because we have two eyes and the brain compares the images from each. But we can also judge depth with only one eye, and scientists have been searching for how the brain accomplishes that feat.
One of the world's most endangered species -- a North Island brown kiwi -- has just hatched at the Smithsonian's National Zoo Bird House. Keepers had been incubating the egg for five weeks, following a month long incubation by the chick's father, carefully monitoring it for signs of pipping: the process in which the chick starts to break through the shell. The chick remained in an isolet for four days and is now in a specially designed brooding box.
A small dose of aspirin on alternate days can cut the risk of developing asthma among women, suggests a large study. The findings are based on almost 40,000 female healthcare professionals, who were part of the Women's Health Study. The women were all aged 45 and above, and had no serious illness, allergy, or asthma at the start of the study.
In yet another twist on the strangeness of the nanoworld, researchers have discovered that materials such as silica that are quite brittle in bulk form behave as ductile as gold at the nanoscale. Their results may affect the design of future nanomachines.
Secondhand smoke in the home appears to induce markers for heart disease as early as the toddler years, researchers reported. It has long been known that many forms of cardiovascular disease in adults are initiated and progress silently during childhood. Now researchers have found a young child's response to smoke may not just affect the respiratory system, but the cardiovascular system as well.
Implantable cardiac defibrillators that are equipped with wireless technology are vulnerable to having private medical information extracted -- and even having the devices reprogrammed -- without the patients' knowledge. Not only does this pose a potential security risk, it could also endanger patients' physical safety.
