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Previously, it’s been shown that obesity can cause changes in the brain, leading some people to over eat food high in saturated fat and refined sugar, as well as cause poorer memory. A new study published by researchers at University at Buffalo found a new physiological trait that can become altered as a result of obesity. […]
Despite all the related problems which contribute to obesity such as stress , the main cause is… eating too much. Recent studies have shown that people tend to overeat when they are stressed out – often creating a negative cycle of eating more, gaining weight and then getting stressed out about gaining weight – especially […]
Researchers have found that a very small portion of your brain plays a key role in decision making. A University of British Columbia study published in Nature Neuroscience says that we need to rethink what we know about the lateral habenula, a region of the brain previously linked to depression and avoidance behaviours; they claim […]
As much as we here at ZME Science love promoting science, we really hate it when the media misinterprets research and spreads false information. This time, everybody seems to be picking up the idea that 16% of the Finnish population is genetically HIV resistant. Here, we’re gonna discuss that study and why this isn’t really […]
Among the many laudable initiatives for which Bill Gates is donating a lot of money (including HIV and malaria vaccine research and artificial clouds to fight greenhouse gases), there’s also a prize for developing better condoms. Because current latex varieties can dull sensation, Gates encouraged entrepreneurs to create a condom that “significantly preserves or enhances […]
Men have noses 10 cm longer than women (on average), even with the same body size This happens because men have more muscle tissue, which needs an extra oxygen intake This change starts happening during puberty Human noses come in all shapes and sizes, but despite that, generally speaking, men noses are significantly larger than […]
Most fossils are very fragile, difficult to handle and transport Researchers conducted CT scans on fossils still trapped in sedimentary material, creating 3D models The models were then 3D printed – an accurate, non invasive method to replicate fossils for schools, museums and other researchers Doctors and dinosaurs Being a paleontologist and working […]
An estimate 20% of Americans use some of form of psychotropic medication, amounting to a $34 billion industry. Desperate to ease their problems away with one magic pill, people are flocking in pharmacies to take their regular hits of Prozac, Valium or Vicodin. In the future, however, a new class of drugs may enter the […]
The new drug is the most promising since morphine was introduced – it is 100 times more potent than existing pain medications, but it works at very low doses, without inducing the risk of addiction. Predator snails and painkillers Snail venom in a pill could offer powerful relief for people suffering from severe (acute or […]
University of Utah researchers found that female mice that live in a competitive social environment and choose to mate casually with multiple partners give birth to males who are much more attractive to female mice, at the cost of a dramatic cut in life expectancy however. You only have one life, says the sexy male […]
It’s not the cancer tumor itself that kills people, but rather the spread of cancer cells is what ultimately may bring the killing blow to patients. This is called metastasis, and oddly enough not nearly enough is known about how it works. University of Minnesota researchers have devised a pathological method for doctors to assess whether […]
As part of a great campaign to make the people from Moscow healthier, riders who buy the ticket at Vystavochnaya station in western Moscow now have the option to pay in squats. Get ready to drop down and give me 30 – if you want to ride the subway for free, that is. In an […]
From an evolutionary psychology stand-point, one can genuinely assume that a stepparent won’t invest the same amounts of energy and care for their wards as genetic parents often do. This behavior may in some cases turn to an extreme, especially if a new child is born in the family after a stepparent enters the scene, […]
You’ll be pretty impressed by this novel research. Scientists at University of Iowa have developed an ingenious biopatch which expels nanoparticles containing DNA that instructs cells to turn into bone. Practically, you just apply this patch over a damaged area that needs reconstruction, dental surgery site or congenital bone defect and the genes do the rest of […]
The human body is a complex biological entity in seemingly perfect harmony as thousands of components play their part in tandem. Discovering, describing and understanding how each of this body parts function and work together is the primary role of human anatomy. Some of you might be surprised to find that human anatomy is yet […]
Why the US is against GM labeling is beyond me. In the European Union, all products must clearly state if they contain or not genetically modified organisms. However, in the United States, where over 60 percent of processed foods contain a genetically altered ingredient, GM labeling is not required, and consumers remain largely unconcerned about […]
In the US alone there are an estimated 100 million daily coffee drinkers, each contributing to a booming $18 billion industry. Of these, 68% claim they have their first coffee within the first hour of waking up. As a coffee drinker, I find myself guilty of the same practice, but apparently this isn’t the best […]
Parents usually don’t encourage their kids to play computer games, even though by now, several studies have established significant benefits that come with the game. This most recent study from the Max Planck Institute showed that even playing a game as simple as Super Mario 64 results in increased size in brain regions responsible for […]
Some people are better navigators than others, i.e. men better than women. Whether you can make your way effortlessly through the woods to reach a safe house or get seemingly lost on your way home from a different bus stop, it doesn’t make that much of a different at a sensory level. Navigation is often […]
In 2012, in the US, the fast food industry spent $4.6 billion to advertise (mostly unhealthy products) – with children and teens being the main target audiences. A new report released by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity highlights some minor improvements such as healthier sides and beverages in most restaurants’ kids’ […]
According to a new research published in Psychological Science, the width of blood vessels in the retina may indicate your brain health. Previous studies have already shown that younger people who score relatively low on IQ tests tend to be poorer and have a shorter lifespan — however, it’s still a matter of debate if […]
The herbal supplement market is big business, about $5 billion worth if we’re to look at figures. Unlike medicine products sold over the counter, herbal supplements involve little regulation. In fact, the unofficial FDA policy regarding herbal supplements in somewhere on the lines of keep on the shelf until something bad happens. But it’s not […]
The two drugs which are set for approval, simeprevir and sofosbuvir, work in conjunction with another drug called ribavirin, and eliminate hepatitis C in over 80% of all cases – and they do this without the use of interferon. Hepatitis, interferon and drug cocktails For decades, people with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) have had […]
What is creativity? Although definitions vary, one might be inclined to say that creativity, ultimately, is anything that has to do with ideas – generating them, building them, transforming them into reality. There are a lot of tests that measure creativity and chances are if you’ve been to a job interview recently you might have […]
A team of researchers at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania (Transylvania) claim they have developed artificial blood which has so far behaved promisingly during preliminary tests on mice. If actually found effective in the long-run on humans as well, the new kind of artificial blood might aid in battling blood transfusion shortages all over the world, […]
Growing up wasn’t easy for 14 year old Jake Zeldin; his stutter was so bad that he sometimes finds it extremely hard to finish a word, let alone a sentence. But he didn’t let that get in his way, and he found a most unlikely ally – rap. From Jake Zeldin to Lil JaXe Even […]
What difference does a grade make? Quite a lot, if we’re to consider the latest findings from Duke University researchers. According to their study, the age at which attention problems emerge makes a critical difference in a child’s later academic performance. Other studies have noted the link between early attention problems and academic achievement. But the […]
Researchers at University of Cincinnati have developed an unique all-in-one nanostructure: it can both diagnose cancer cells and deliver its drug payload for treatment at the same time. Other nano carriers are typically built to serve one of the two purposes, not both at once. To achieve this, the researchers fashioned a double-sided surface, called […]
A new study made by a team of international scientists found that English-speaking toddlers learn the concept of number “one” faster than than Japanese- and Chinese-speaking kids, while Arabic and Slovenian speaking kids learned to grasp the idea of number “two” faster than their English-speaking counterparts. The study provides a new set of evidence supporting the […]
Infertility affects 7.3 million people in the U.S, representing 12% of women of childbearing age, or 1 in 8 couples. Medical advancements in the field have sought to correct infertility anomalies, some with staggering results. For instance, we reported last month how an Australian infertile woman became the first person to get pregnant through ovarian […]
More than on one occasion, the Enterprise’s chief medical officer Dr. Leonard McCoy laments how barbaric surgeons of the XXth century must have been to actually cut patients during surgery. While many of Star Trek’s memorabilia are far from having become reality, medicine has made important strides forward in some aspects comparable to Doc. McCoy’s […]
Researchers from North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Laser Zentrum Hannover have worked together to discover a natural compound which can be used in the 3D printing process of creating medical implants out of non-toxic polymers. The compound goes by the name riboflavin, but is better known as […]
One of the greatest mysteries scientists have been trying to reveal is how inanimate chemicals joined to produce life. It’s definitely one of the biggest questions scientists are trying to answer, and the challenges are numerous since it’s very difficult to appreciate what the exact conditions necessary for this to happen were billions of years […]
Craig Venter may just be the most arrogant high-profile scientist today, but in his defense the man has a lot to show for. You might not remember the name, but you might remember his hallmark achievement – the creation of the world’s first synthetic life. Now, with the release of his second book, Life at the […]
Anti-baldness treatments available today work by stimulating hair follicle health or slow down hair loss. There is no available method that promotes the growth of new hair, however. You might have heard of hair transplants, but this typically involves transplanting hair from another area of the hair, like the back of the head, to the […]
Judging by the emails we get, lots of our readers take Tylenol on a (mostly) regular basis, and lots of you are worried about its effects. As I already discussed how to take it responsibly in a previous post, now I’ll talk about using it with infants. Tylenol (which is also paracetamol or acetaminophen depending […]
Millions of years ago, the wild savannas of Africa were teeming with carnivore wildlife, much more diverse than what we see today: lions, hyenas and other large-bodied carnivores. Paleontologist Lars Werdelin at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm suggests the carnivore species decimation that began roughly two million years ago can be attributed […]
After analyzing thousands of tissue samples, scientists from the UK have found that there may be twice as many people carrying variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob prions – the human form of mad cow disease. According to the researchers, this is the most robust prevalence measure to date across a wide range of age groups. Mad cow disease, or bovine […]
An art project offers a glimpse into how felines might see the world.
A drug treated with a special dye allows doctors to monitor real-time bacterial growth. Despite advancements in technology and despite all the effort put in by doctors, bacteria often manage to sneak onto medical implants such as bone screws, where they cause severe, possibly life-threatening infections. A new research published in Nature Communications suggests using […]
A recent study was picked up a lot by the media, claiming that “Oreos are as addictive as drugs“. Just to get that out of the way as soon as possible, this headline, as flashy and attractive it is, is flawed. I’ll explain why in this post. The Study The first paragraph from their press […]
Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have found that a chemical compound derived from cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli has significant protective properties against gamma radiations, even when the subject is exposed to lethal doses. Previously, the same compound was found to have curative properties against cancer. Guess someone should have told the Hulk to […]
Ever found yourself in a heated debate with a friend where facts and reasonable arguments simply don’t seem to register? It can be extremely frustrating, shouting makes it even worse. It’s even worse when this happens in an official setting where the stakes are much more important than convincing a family member or friend, like […]
Prosthetic limbs have gone an incredible long way in recent years. Brain-computer interfaces, couples with incredibly articulated artificial limbs can now allow a disabled individual to move an artificial hand (with up to seven degrees of freedom!) and individual fingers just by thinking about the movement the person wants to the limb to perform. Powerful […]
What tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active hallucinogen in marijuana can do in several diseases has been researched for decades, but now, a new study has shown that the non-hallucinogenic components of cannabis act as effective anti-cancer agents. The team from St George’s University of London was led by Dr Wai Liu; they used a number of […]
While there’s a lot of talk and debate around medicinal marijuana, dispensed for its curative properties against cancer and other ailments, not much is discussed on how marijuana addiction can be treated. Marijuana abuse has always been used by governments as a wild card for keeping it illegal, although the actual extent of it has […]
A new, non-invasive test for Down Syndrome would allow women with high-risk pregnancies to avoid amniocentesis and in the future may provide detection early enough for treatment to improve some babies’ cognitive function, a Tufts University neonatal genetics expert told a symposium at Harvard Medical School on Tuesday. Nowadays, physicians recommend all pregnant women to […]
Urine isn’t exactly the first place you want to start looking for eye diseases – but according to a new Duke University study a patient’s urine can be linked to gene mutations that cause Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), an inherited, degenerative disease that results in severe vision impairment and often blindness. “My collaborators, Dr. Rong Wen […]
It’s actually happening Good news – encouraging results from the longest and largest trial of a malaria vaccine could see the world’s first anti-malaria jab approved by 2015; malaria is one of the most dangerous diseases in the world, affecting over 220 million people every year (some say 300 million). The vaccine could be used […]
Improve your memory, improve your reasoning and observational skills, and many more – brain training games are becoming more and more popular, and it’s not hard to see why – many people want to go to the “brain gym”, giving their mental abilities a boost. But now, a Georgia Tech research suggests that brain training […]
