Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- 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.
- 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.
- Tech
BPA: EPA hasn’t identified a safer alternative for thermal paper
Some researchers and public interest groups have been arguing that BPAfree thermal receipts paper is a preferable alternative, at least from a health perspective. But is it really? That’s what Environmental Protection Agency scientists want to know. And to date, they maintain, the jury’s still out.
- Health & Medicine
Jet lag makes hamsters dumb
A new study highlights the perils of shifting time zones.
- Health & Medicine
Flick of a whisker can prevent stroke damage in rats
A new study in animals suggests sensory stimulation could potentially provide a nondrug method for protecting human patients.
- Health & Medicine
Fish oil fails to hold off heart arrhythmia
Atrial fibrillation patients who took capsules rich in omega-3 fatty acids had about as many episodes as those getting a placebo, a study finds.
- Humans
BPA induces sterility in roundworms
Bisphenol A does a real number on the genes responsible for successful reproduction in a 1-millimeter-long soil-dwelling roundworm. And that suggests BPA might pose similar risks to people because geneticists are finding that this tiny critter can be a remarkably useful “lab rat” — predicting impacts in mammals, including us.
- Health & Medicine
Pain-free pianists use their backs
Pianists who use smaller arm and finger muscles are more prone to injury than players who activate their back and neck muscles.
- Health & Medicine
Drug helps in mild heart failure
Already prescribed for severe cases, eplerenone cuts death and hospitalization rates in patients with less severe but chronic forms of the condition, a new study finds.
- Humans
Ancient hominid butchers get trampled
Bone marks advanced as evidence of stone-tool use to butcher animals 3.4 million years ago may actually have resulted from animal trampling, scientists say.
- Health & Medicine
Cocaine trumps food for female rats
A study in rats finds that males prefer food over cocaine while females prefer the drug, a step toward better understanding of sex differences in addiction.
