gear Push settings
If you’re working in a biology lab, you may want to consider firing some of your assistants and hiring some sandcastle worms; they’re pretty good chemists, able to, among others, biosynthesize glue components they use to build the underwater tubular shelters they call home. Now, researchers are creating adhesives inspired from these chemicals that might […]
Scientists introduced Clostridium novyi, a bacteria that causes mild illnesses in humans that typically lurks inside the soil and feces, in cancer tumors and found that these shrank and some cases were destroyed completely. The research suggests that bacteria, when engineered to reduce toxicity, can be a viable fighting tool against cancer, one with less destructive […]
A recent study conducted by Norwegian researchers found that 8.3 per cent of the Norwegian work force is addicted to work to the point where it becomes a health issue. They show that workaholism is on the rise, and the odds are this phenomenon isn’t limited to Norway. The term workaholic has two connotations attached […]
A study suggests that immense amounts of lead are being ingested in Africa, since extensive use of cookware made from recycled materials leaks lead into the food. This is the first time the extent of lead poisoning has been assessed. Results suggest that in some instances, as much as 200 times the threshold amount for […]
A group of international researchers have demonstrated a novel technique for destroying cancer cells. By inserting a chloride payload that penetrates the cancer cell's sodium membrane, the cells become flushed with salt causing a self-destruction response.
Nine-year-old Kieran Sorkin was born without ears, but now, doctors made him a pair of ears from his own ribs. Kieran suffered from a rare condition in which his ears didn’t fully form – he had just small lobes where his ears should have been. He was almost deaf, but thanks to several previous procedures, […]
This musician played the violin while he was having a brain surgery. But why? This is by no means an eccentric fad, but a genuine feat of science. By playing the instrument during surgery, professional violinist Roger Frisch was able to guide his surgeons toward the segment of his brain which was misfiring, causing him […]
Imaging the fine and intricate structures of blood vessels in the human body is paramount to modern anatomy. By knowing the body in greater detail, scientists are able to devise better treatments. Conventional imaging, however, is limited in how far it can peer through blood vessels. This may be set to change for the better after Chinese researchers […]
Researchers performed MRI scans on babies to see how their brains developed from birth to later stages. Their findings reveal the explosive growth of the human brain following birth: in just 90 days, the baby brain grows by 64% reaching half the adult size.
A brave Australian professor of molecular biology thinks he may have found out why women get premenstrual syndrome (PMS). According to his findings, following genetic screenings, PMS has evolved as a mechanism for breaking up infertile relationships and thus increase the chance of fostering a fertile relationship in the future. Effectively, nature designed PMS to […]
Marijuana has a lot of medical potential, but it can also have some negative effects, especially if taken regularly. A new study has shown that teens who consume marijuana regularly have lower IQs and exhibit slight brain abnormalities when they reach adulthood.
As reported earlier, 2014 has seen the worst Ebola outbursts in history. Recent escalations of the outbreaks and spread to other countries like Nigeria has finally prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the Ebola situation a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The report is meant to raise more awareness to the deadly threats […]
A new study adds to a body of evidence that suggests the brain is involved in a unconscious process of screening human faces for patterns that suggest trustworthiness or otherwise. Namely, our brains are busy judging other people based on their physical features even when we aren’t even get the chance to properly see those […]
When you think about fish oil, you probably wouldn’t think of the English countryside – but that’s exactly where scientists are trying to grow it; yep, grow it! They’re using Camelina sativa plants genetically modified to produce long chain omega-3 fatty acids—the primary component of “fish oil.” Things you didn’t know about fish oil Most of the fish […]
In 1944, the Nazis caused widespread famine in Western Netherlands after they blocked food supplies. A group of pregnant women living in the Netherlands, labouring under starvation conditions imposed by a harsh winter and food embargo, gave birth to relatively small babies. When their children grew up, in relative prosperity, to have children of their own their babies were unexpectedly small.
The shutdown of a key protein allows grizzly bears to go through tremendous weight gains without loosing insulin sensitivity. Thus they're never at risk of getting diabetes. What if we could shut this protein down for humans too?
Disguised under a ‘health halo’, manufacturers selling energy and sports drinks advertise their products as being a healthy alternative to soda. A report filed by researchers at the Atkins Center for Weight and Health at UC Berkeley found that not only did most popular drinks contain just as much sugar as sodas, but the added […]
Computer games could be the key to treating elderly people who have been diagnosed with depression, but who aren’t responding to conventional treatment. A new study has shown that playing a certain type of computer games was more effective at reducing symptoms of depression than the “gold standard” – the antidepressant drug escitalopram. Recently, we’ve been bombarded about […]
The new study concludes that an aspirin a day for middle-aged people could save 130,000 lives over 20 years in Britain alone, by reducing cancer risk. Aspirin was most effective in cutting cancer risk in people from 50 to 64, and in order for the effects to be felt to the fullest, people should take 1 […]
Researchers have found a cheap and quick way of producing peptides in a laboratory. Producing one of the body's natural defenses against cancer and then implanting it into patients can prove pivotal in the fight against cancer.
Scientists have figured out why a small percentage of people require less than six hours of sleep, whereas the vast majority of humans need at least 8 hours a night to thrive.
Recent findings suggest that our general cognitive abilities are heavily influenced by key regions of the brain involved in social functions, further strengthening the hypothesis that social abilities are primary to general intelligence and not the other way around.
Here at ZME Science we often report on cutting edge developments and various medical breakthroughs that offer novel treatments and such. Most of these drugs or techniques are first studied on animal models, and while they hold great promise, it’s most often than not that the desired response isn’t replicated in humans. This translates in […]
Our memories are plastic and as such are constantly updated and refreshed every time we recall a past event. In this process, misinformation can slip to the point that false memories can form. A new study found that sleep deprivation significantly increases the chance of a person to develop false memories.
A new study that shifted through 81 e-cig related studies found that these are less harmful than conventional cigarettes. Policymakers, however, are inclined to introduce strict regulations for e-cigs, citing unsubstantial evidence that e-cigs do not pose health risks.
Ruscosmos, the Russian space agency, recently launched geckos in space to see how zero gravity affects mating. The findings have much broader implications that extend humanity's ultimate goal of reaching for the stars.
There is very little evidence that anti-bacterial ingredients used in common soaps actually do anything in the long run to fight bacteria – compared to regular soaps. There is however, lots of evidence that they are breeding a new generation of “superbugs” – pathogens which develop resistance to drugs. Basically, reckless use of antibacterial substances […]
Reporting in PLOS Medicine, researchers found that for every 1000 children who received the vaccine, 800 malaria cases can be prevented. While this is not yet sufficient to eradicate the disease, it is the closest scientists have gotten to a malaria vaccine. Malaria affects millions of people every year throughout the world, claiming just under […]
Babies can learn what to fear from the first days of life simply by smelling their distressed mothers, a new study has shown. This doesn’t only work after the pregnancy, but also during it and even before – if a mother experiences something specific which makes her fearful. It’s the first direct observation of this […]
Promising results are reported by physicians who incorporate magnetic stimulation in their treatments for depression. Typically, this kind of treatment takes a long time until changes in mood are seen or, in some cases, causes unwanted side effects. McLean Hospital researchers report a new treatment that uses low field magnetic stimulation that immediately improves mood and […]
British researchers from the University of Bradford have developed what can potentially become a universal blood test for cancer. The test will enable doctors to confirm or rule out cancer in patients who are presenting symptoms, and even those with no symptoms at all. The test proved successful, as the team tested it on 200 […]
The Ebola virus causes a highly infectious disease that can reach fatality rates of up to 90%. It causes a great deal of suffering, spreads really easily and if it’s not treated very early on can kill most people. It’s darn scary , but ever since it surfaced in 1976, when the first outbreaks in […]
HIV is maybe one of the most resilient and tenacious viral infections known to medical science. Unlike other infections, even if all traces of HIV are gone from the body – the virus itself – it can still resurface and infect the patient later on. That’s because HIV inserts itself permanently into the patient’s genome, […]
A few months ago, I reported how Google is using its drones and Google Earth technology to monitor an uncontacted Amazonian tribe. Now, there’s convincing evidence that the same tribe has come in contact with non-indigenous locals, then with western researchers in the most unfortunate of circumstances. One, the contact was initiated by criminals operating illegal […]
Deepika Kurup, a 14 year-old girl who was awarded the $25,000 prize in The Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, is living proof of how nurturing talent can help young, bright people go very far. While still in the 8th grade, Kurup viable solution for the global water crisis and invented a water purification system that […]
We’ve all read and heard about how exercise can dramatically boost our quality of living, but how many people actually take action? Very few. Less than 20% of Americans over the age of 18 meet the official recommended guidelines. This is really alarming, because what most people don’t know is that mild exercising has fantastic returns, […]
Rave parties go crazy when the bass drops, no doubt about it, but what makes people click so well with low frequencies? Canadian scientists at the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind investigated how our brains react to low-freq pitches and found our affinity has to do with how humans detect rhythm. Basically, the bass is […]
Whether studying late or partying until dawn, more and more people now turn to energy drinks to keep them up and running. The detrimental effects to health resulting from prolonged energy drink use have been well documented, yet this hasn’t stopped sales one bit. Moreover, researchers in Australia claim that adding energy drinks in alcohol cocktails […]
Right now, I’m the happy caregiver of seven cats (five kittens. Yey!) which in most people’s books makes me socially challenged and insane. I do take special notice of my pets, and this means looking after them so they don’t get infected by parasites. Cats are typically clean animals, but when infested can spell trouble […]
An unlikely worm might help millions of people fighting alcohol addiction. No, you won’t find it in tequila, but in the labs of neuroscientists at University of Texas at Austin who have engineered Caenorhabditis elegans – one of the most popular animal models in science – to become insensitive to alcohol intoxication. The findings, if replicated on […]
We often cherish our closest friends as if they were family. Well, this isn’t actually too far from the truth, considering a new study from the University of California, San Diego, and Yale University found friends who aren’t biologically related resemble each other genetically. In fact, on average friends are as “related” as fourth cousins […]
A new painkiller chemical derived from human spit has proven to be up to six times more potent than morphine when tested on rats in a laboratory setting. While painkillers have been thoroughly researched for decades, the industry alone amounting to billions of dollars every year, it’s been rather difficult for scientists to find natural […]
Researchers at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) have found a chemical switch that both regulates the generation of new neurons from neural stem cells and the survival of existing nerve cells in the brain. Postmortem examination of the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and stroke victims found the switch that shuts off the signals was […]
By virtue of its clogginess, the human gut, particularly the small intestine, is difficult to examine and diagnose for potential diseases or afflictions. Irritable bowel syndrome, coeliac disease and Crohn’s disease are just a few of the most common diseases that affect the small intestine and can lead to severe complications. In fact, some 35,000 […]
British researchers at Imperial College London and Cardiff University have provided more insights into the mechanics of consciousness-altering psychedelics. Their work suggests the brain is altered while on psilocybin – the active psychoactive ingredient found in magic mushrooms – expanding consciousness and activating regions of the brain that are typically channeled during dream state. The study […]
Here’s a weird study. A group of psychologists at University of Virginia introduced men and women alone in a room for fifteen minutes with nothing to distract them. No TV, no phone, no internet, no books, nothing but their thoughts… and a zapping device that sent a mild electric shock. Conclusion: most people would rather kill […]
Researchers at the School of Psychology, University of Vienna surveyed 13000 adults from Austria and Germany and found that most left-handed males are born during the winter. The difference is statistically significant, suggesting there’s a lot more at play than just chance. Namely, the findings seem to back the Geschwind-Galaburda theory of cerebral lateralization, which […]
Humans tend to “see” patterns in winning and losing streaks in situations which are actually random. A new study has shown that this “hot hand bias”also occurs in non-human monkeys. “Human decision-makers often exhibit the hot-hand phenomenon, a tendency to perceive positive serial autocorrelations in independent sequential events. The term is named after the observation […]
Advancements in genetic sequencing has allowed genomic research to flourish. DNA sequencing is now much faster, cheaper and accurate than ever before, and we’re only now beginning to reap the rewards. It’s the first step to a complete understanding of our bodies. The Human Genome Project, once finally completed, mapped and identified all the genes of […]
According to latest estimates by the World Health Organisation, over 3.4 billion people are at risk from contracting malaria and an estimated 627,000 people die each year from the disease. Thanks to the painstaking efforts of leading researchers in the field, however, much progress has been made in curbing down on malaria. Since 2000, increased […]
