Mathematicians have solved the mystery of traffic jams by developing a model to show how major delays occur on our roads, with no apparent cause. Many traffic jams leave drivers baffled as they finally reach the end of a tail-back to find no visible cause for their delay. Now, a team of mathematicians have found the answer. Essentially a traffic jam moves backwards through the traffic creating a so-called 'backward traveling wave.'

  Researchers have uncovered the system that tells the body when to perform one of its most basic defenses against the cold: shivering. The scientists have discovered the brain's wiring system, which takes temperature information from the skin and determines when a person should start shivering.

  There is something out there, and what a professor and his students are finding is surprising them. They are evaluating the quality of Interstate 70 as a small mammal habitat from the Indiana state line to Marshall, Illinois. They are finding mice and other rodents that call the medians, triangles and roadsides home.

  A novel surgical technique allowing doctors to operate on patients by making a Z-shaped incision inside the stomach could potentially replace certain types of conventional surgery in humans, according to medical researchers who have successfully demonstrated the procedure in pigs.

  Detecting pollution, like catching criminals, requires evidence and witnesses; but on the scale of countries, continents and oceans, having enough detectors is easier said than done. A team of air quality modelers, climatologists and air policy specialists may soon change that. They have developed a new way to close the gaps in the global pollution dragnet by using NASA satellite data to detect precursors to ozone pollution.

  One of the most difficult things for people suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is that many believe the condition to be a psychological, not physical affliction. Researchers have now launched a study into the physiological basis of chronic fatigue syndrome in hopes of creating conclusive tests to aid in diagnosis of the condition.

  In The Matrix, hero Neo wins his battles when time slows in the simulated world. In the real world, accident victims often report a similar slowing as they slide unavoidably into disaster. But can humans really experience events in slow motion? Apparently not, said researchers who studied how volunteers experience time when they free-fall 100 feet into a net below.

  There is evidence that co-infection of Helminth worms may result in a more rapid progression of HIV infection to AIDS. Does treating these worms ("de-worming") slow down this progression? In a new study researchers set out to answer this question. The study found that there were simply not enough data to make any firm conclusions, and they call for larger, well-designed studies to help come to a definitive answer.

  Suppressing a cellular cleanup-mechanism known as autophagy can accelerate the accumulation of protein aggregates that leads to neural degeneration. Now scientists report that the opposite is true as well: Boosting autophagy in the nervous system of fruit flies prevented the age-dependent accumulation of cellular damage in neurons and promoted longevity.

  Researchers have discovered a new genetic variation that affects a child's risk of getting Kawasaki disease, an illness characterized by acute inflammation of the arteries throughout the body. If untreated, KD can lead to lethal coronary artery aneurysms.

  After recalls and fires involving Lithium-ion batteries, battery manufacturers and scientists have launched an intensive effort to improve the safety of these rechargeable power packs found in dozens of consumer electronics products. Fires and explosions involving Lithium-ion batteries are rare, occurring in anywhere from one in 1 million to one in 10 million batteries, according to the best estimates. Still, these widely-publicized incidents have worried consumers and forced costly recalls of millions of batteries.

  Anyone heading out to the local skatepark with dreams of becoming the next Tony Hawk may want to take some precautions. Common skateboard injuries seen in emergency departments are arm and leg fractures, sprains, contusions, and head and stomach injuries.

  Scientists have used plasmon technology to create the world's first invisibility cloak for visible light. The engineers have applied the same technology to build a revolutionary superlens microscope that allows scientists to see details of previously undetectable nanoscale objects.

  Hunter researchers have shown that a commonly available antibiotic can improve the quality of life of patients with difficult asthma, and may also generate significant health care savings.