 8 February 2010
Ability to navigate may be linked to genes
Human, animals and even fish routinely reorient themselves using landmarks and mentally visualizing the geometry of their surroundings. Now, according to new research, it appears there may also be a genetic component that plays a part in our ability to navigate the world...
|
5 February 2010
Samoan study reveals possible evolutionary role for homosexuality
Male homosexuality doesn’t make complete sense from an evolutionary point of view but a new study suggests that it may convey an indirect benefit by enhancing the survival prospects of close relatives. The study hypothesizes that homosexual men enhance their own genetic prospects by acting altruistically toward their nieces and nephews, thereby perpetuating some of their genes indirectly through the family line...
|
4 February 2010
Viagra found to enhance fetal growth
Not content with erections, Pfizer have been funding left-of-field studies for other potential applications for their stiffy dysfunction treatment. The latest finding to come from Pfizer's, er, benevolence? That the drug can enhance fetal growth – at least in pregnant sheep...
|
3 February 2010
Facebook use associated with depression
An alarming new study provides compelling evidence that chat rooms, online gaming and social networking sites can have a serious impact on mental health, leading to moderate to severe depression in users...
|
2 February 2010
White paint touted as climate remedy
Painting the roofs of buildings white has the potential to significantly cool cities, say researchers who have calculated that New York City would cool by almost 2 degrees Fahrenheit in summer...
|
29 January 2010
Ozone hole closure not so cool
Using a new global aerosol model, climatologists have discovered a feedback effect related to the hole's closure that could actually increase warming in the southern hemisphere... |
28 January 2010
Sub-fertility linked to flame retardant exposure
The first study to investigate the impact of flame retardants - commonly found in household consumer products - on human fertility has linked exposure to the chemicals with reduced fertility in women...
|
27 January 2010
Antioxidants found to impair muscle function
Antioxidants increasingly have been praised for their benefits against disease and aging, but new studies show they can also seriously impair muscle function by limiting oxygen in the bloodstream...
|
26 January 2010
Traveling into the future... with sugar
Researchers looking into how blood glucose levels impact our thought processes have found that when we have more energy available (higher levels of blood glucose), we tend to be more future-oriented in our decision-making...
|
25 January 2010
Stillbirth linked directly to mother's oral bacteria
Confirming long-held suspicions, a Case Western Reserve University researcher has for the first time established a direct link between a mother's gum disease and the death of her fetus...
|
18 January 2010
Tying light in knots
A team of physicists has used knot theory - a branch of abstract mathematics - to create holograms where light can flow in whirls and eddies, forming lines in space called optical vortices...
|
