Health & Medicine
- Life
Wealth and ambition
A week in fancier digs inspires rats to seek richer rewards.
By Susan Milius - Humans
Food security wanes as world warms
Global warming may have begun outpacing the ability of farmers to adapt, new studies report.
By Janet Raloff - Life
Dieting may plant seeds of weight regain
Cutting calories causes changes in the brains of mice that appear to encourage binge eating under stressful conditions years later.
- Chemistry
Snot has the power to alter scents
Enzymes in mice's nasal mucus can alter certain odors before the nose can detect them, a new study finds.
- Humans
Vitamin D targets increased
A panel advises raising the dietary allowance for the nutrient, but some scientists say the new recommendations are still woefully low.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
A few stray hairs
Brain regions that sense the world can also flick a whisker, research in mice shows, suggesting that the organ’s division of labor is not so clear-cut.
- Health & Medicine
Antiretroviral drugs may prevent HIV infection
Gay and bisexual men who don’t have the AIDS virus can reduce their risk of getting it by taking a drug combination, a new study finds.
By Nathan Seppa - Humans
Visor might protect troops from blasts
Computer simulations show that the current military helmet lets explosive forces into the head through the face.
- Humans
Extra weight in early childhood foretells later disease risk
A study tracking kids from birth into young adulthood identifies ages 2 to 6 as most crucial for predicting later problems with metabolic syndrome.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
New drug bumps up good cholesterol
Anacetrapib raises beneficial HDL while lowering harmful LDL, a medical trial finds, suggesting it may be a powerful new weapon against cardiovascular disease.
By Nathan Seppa - Life
Genes jump more in one type of autism
A mutation that causes Rett syndrome also increases the activity of retrotransposons in the brain.
- Health & Medicine
Mining fat tissue for cardiac repair
Stem cells that are abundant in adipose tissue seem to boost the recovery of heart tissues in people who survive the big one, early research shows.
By Nathan Seppa