Exercising our immune system
Dec 04, 2007 |
4.1 / 5 (7) |
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Elite athletes - often perceived as the epitome of health and fitness – may be more susceptible to common illness and are therefore proving useful in helping scientists understand more about the immune system.
Test-drive: Using a product before buying it changes what you want
Dec 04, 2007 |
4.3 / 5 (6) |
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Consumers often decide to buy an item before having a chance to try it out. In this scenario, they tend to prefer products with more features. However, a study from the December issue of the Journal of Consumer Research expands ...
What lies beneath: Growth of root cells remarkably dynamic, study finds
Biology /
Dec 04, 2007 |
5 / 5 (5) |
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Heart cells beat together as the heart pumps. Single-celled amoebae pulsate as they move. But pulsing plant cells? That's precisely what certain plant cells do as they grow, says a study publishing online this week in the ...
Study explores distinction between 'different' and 'uncool'
Dec 04, 2007 |
4.4 / 5 (5) |
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Just as some products reveal our aspirations, there are other products that consumers avoid, lest we be associated with a particular group. An environmentalist would never buy an SUV. Baby boomers avoid products associated ...
Ethnic discrimination not only based on prejudice
Dec 04, 2007 |
4 / 5 (5) |
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Our belief in power hierarchies is important in how we view and treat people. This is shown in a dissertation by Alexandra Snellman from Uppsala University that examines how racist and sexist prejudice creates social hierarchies ...
Patients wonder, 'Could this be something serious?'
Dec 04, 2007 |
5 / 5 (4) |
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Nearly 4,800 patient surveys and 100 covertly recorded visits by actors posing as patients revealed that empathy is lacking in many exam rooms around the Rochester, N.Y., area – however, doctors who do convey empathy are ...
Computer calls can talk couch potatoes into walking, study finds
Dec 04, 2007 |
4.3 / 5 (4) |
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Computer-generated phone calls may be an effective, low-cost way to encourage sedentary adults to exercise, according to a recent study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Mitochondria defects linked to social behavior and spatial memory
Dec 04, 2007 |
4.3 / 5 (4) |
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Respiration deficiencies in mitochondria, the cell’s powerhouses, are associated with changed social behavior and spatial memory in laboratory mice, report scientists at the American Society for Cell Biology 47th Annual Meeting. ...
Activating protein enhances average lifespan, limits age-related disease in mice
Dec 04, 2007 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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Metabolism researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that although it does not extend maximum lifespan in mice, activating a protein in muscle tissue increases average lifespan and prevents ...
Researchers identify molecular 'switch' that could save very young lives
Biology /
Dec 04, 2007 |
3.8 / 5 (4) |
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A team of researchers at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have identified a molecular “switch” that, when blocked, may help reverse necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a leading cause of death in premature infants.
Price of lower-calorie foods rising drastically, UW researchers find
Dec 04, 2007 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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As food prices rise, the costs of lower-calorie foods are rising the fastest, according to a University of Washington study appearing in the December issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. As the prices ...
Greater parental guidance suggested for noisy toy use
Dec 04, 2007 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
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The High School Musical Rockerz Jammin Guitar and the Cheetah Girls In Concert Collection Doll may be what kids want most this holiday season, but if parents aren’t careful about how these and other popular toys are used, ...
Scientists develop new tests that identify lethal prion strains quickly and accurately
Biology /
Dec 04, 2007 |
3.5 / 5 (4) |
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One of the new in vitro tests, called the Standard Scrapie Cell Assay, measures prion infectivity levels in a highly accurate and extremely rapid way, producing results in less than two weeks. The second test, called the ...
Labeling keeps our knowledge organized, study shows
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Dec 04, 2007 |
3.5 / 5 (4) |
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A popular urban legend suggests that Eskimos have dozens of words for snow. As a culture that faces frigid temperatures year-round, it is important to differentiate between things like snow on the ground (“aput”) and falling ...
Cosmopolitan microbes -- hitchhikers on Darwin's dust
Biology /
Dec 04, 2007 |
4.3 / 5 (3) |
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Scientists have analysed aerial dust samples collected by Charles Darwin and confirmed that microbes can travel across continents without the need for planes or trains - rather bacteria and fungi hitch-hike by attaching to ...
