Evidence of early humans living on the coast in South Africa, harvesting food from the sea, employing complex bladelet tools and using red pigments in symbolic behavior 164,000 years ago, far earlier than previously documented, is now being reported.

  There is new evidence that Chinese herbal medicine may provide one possible form of treatment for women with menstrual cramps. Chinese herbal medicine has been used for centuries in China, being used in public hospitals to treat unexplained cramps that occur during menstruation (primary dysmenorhoea).

  Herpes viruses, though not life-threatening, are usually considered to be embarrassing and annoying. Researchers have now found a way to use the virus to potentially fight breast cancer, which, according to the American Cancer Society, is the most common cancer among women. In fact, excluding cancers of the skin, breast cancer accounts for nearly one in three cancers diagnosed in U.S. women.

  Administering a lidocaine lollipop as a single-agent anesthetic to patients undergoing an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy procedure eliminated the need for sedation in the majority of patients. Upper endoscopy allows physicians to examine the lining of the upper part of the GI tract, which includes the esophagus, stomach and duodenum (first portion of the small intestine).

  Researchers have carried out detailed molecular dynamics simulations to understand the motion of intriguingly ball-shaped C60 bucky balls on metal surfaces. The shape suggests several interesting possibilities. Indeed, researchers have found that the passage of electrons through a bucky ball in a transistor is correlated to the spinning of the ball around its center of mass.

  Nearly one third of the largest public companies headquartered in California have no women at the top, a new study shows. Almost half of the companies have no women directors and more than a third have only one.

  Researchers have discovered that the structure of human bones is vastly different than previously believed. The characteristic toughness and stiffness of bone is predominantly due to the presence of specialized sugars, not proteins. Their findings could have sweeping impacts on treatments for osteoporosis and other bone disorders. One of the scientists notes that this may strengthen the rational for using glucosamine or chondroitin.

  While showing an impressive growth prenatally, the human brain is not completed at birth. There is considerable brain growth during childhood with dynamic changes taking place in the human brain throughout life, probably for adaptation to our environments. Evidence is accumulating that brain structure is under considerable genetic influence. Around the onset of puberty gray matter volume starts to decrease, while white matter volume is still increasing. Recent findings have shown, that variation in total gray and white matter volume of the adult human brain is primarily (70--90%) genetically determined.

  Scientists propose that blood may help us think, in addition to its well-known role as the conveyor of fuel and oxygen to brain cells. The new theory has implications for understanding brain diseases such as Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.

  Researchers have discovered a strain of bacteria resistant to all approved drugs used to fight ear infections in children, according to a new article. A pair of pediatricians discovered the strain because it is their standard practice to perform an uncommon procedure called tympanocentesis (ear tap) on children when several antibiotics fail to clear up their ear infections.

  Forests in the nation's Upper Midwest have changed greatly since the time of the early settlers. And more changes may be coming. Researchers found that none of the areas surveyed - from Minnesota to Wisconsin to Michigan - have the same tree species makeup as they did 200 years ago.

  While it is commonly thought that men with low IQs sexually offend because of a lack of knowledge or sexual deviance, new research has found the men may sexually offend because of their exposure to 'corrective'sex education previously taken.

  Infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus appears to be more prevalent than previously believed, affecting certain populations disproportionately and is being found more often outside of health care settings, according to a new study.

  Studies show that stretching before or after exercise has little or no effect on muscle soreness between half a day and three days later. Many people stretch before starting to exercise, and some stretch again at the end of a period of exertion. The aim may be to prevent injury, to promote higher performance, or to limit the chances of feeling stiff in the days after the exercise.