Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- 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.
- Health & Medicine
Alcohol heart benefits show up even after bypass surgery
Having two to three drinks a day was associated with decreased heart problems in men during the three years after the operation, researchers from Italy report.
- Health & Medicine
Mom’s past drug abuse may alter brain chemistry of offspring
A new study in rats suggests that the lingering effects of adolescent opiate use may be passed on for two generations, even if the female is drug-free when she gets pregnant.
- Life
Rare mutations key to brain disorders
Many cases of mental retardation can be explained by genetic variants that arise in affected individuals.
