Can chemicals that are added to breakfast cereals and other everyday products make you obese? Growing evidence from animal experiments suggests the answer may be "yes." But confirming these findings in humans has faced formidable obstacles - until now. A new study published today in Nature Communications details how Cedars-Sinai investigators developed a novel platform … Continue reading More evidence indicates common food additives cause obesity
As the hullabaloo surrounding the Aug. 21 total eclipse of the sun swells by the day, a University of Colorado Boulder faculty member says a petroglyph in New Mexico's Chaco Canyon may represent a total eclipse that occurred there a thousand years ago. CU Boulder Professor Emeritus J. McKim "Kim" Malville said the petroglyph -- … Continue reading Petroglyphs suggest ancient fascination with solar eclipse
Marijuana use is associated with a three-fold risk of death from hypertension, according to research published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. "Steps are being taken towards legalisation and decriminalisation of marijuana in the United States, and rates of recreational marijuana use may increase substantially as a result," said lead author Barbara A … Continue reading Researchers link marijuana use with hypertension
New research at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) has revealed how special molecules help the tongue communicate with the brain to identify the correct taste. Using this knowledge, scientists were able rewire the taste-system of mice to perceive sweet stimuli as bitter tastes, and vice versa. The discovery provides new insights into how the tongue … Continue reading Keeping track of tastes’ complex organization pathways
Tens of thousands of Australians have been cured of Hepatitis C since new treatments were made universally available last year, and a report released last month said Australia is on track to eliminate hepatitis C by 2026. But while new treatments continue to dramatically reshape the landscape, data from the Centre for Social Research in … Continue reading Hepatitis C treatment at a crossroads in Australia
University of Adelaide researchers have shown that it may be possible to eradicate populations of invasive pest animals through the inheritance of a negative gene – a technique known as gene drive. Invasive pests cost agricultural industries around the world hundreds of millions of dollars and are a major threat to biodiversity and the environment. … Continue reading Gene drives may be used against invasive species
Some people with achy joints and arthritis swear that weather influences their pain. New research, perhaps the deepest, data-based dive into this suggestion, finds that weather conditions in 45 U.S. cities are indeed associated with Google searches about joint pain. But it might not be the association you'd expect. As temperatures rose within the study's … Continue reading Researchers and Google say your weather-induced joint pain is imaginary
What makes people look "American"? The way they dress? Maybe their hairstyle, or mannerisms? How much they weigh? A University of Washington-led study has found that for Asian Americans, those who appear heavier not only are perceived to be more "American," but also may be subject to less prejudice directed at foreigners than Asian Americans … Continue reading In America, fat Asians are considered more American
It seems counterintuitive, but over the eons, glaciers may have made Earth warmer, according to a Rice University professor. Mark Torres, an assistant professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences, took a data-driven dive into the mechanics of weathering by glaciation over millions of years to see how glacial cycles affected the oceans and atmosphere … Continue reading Glaciers made the world get warmer, study
How can the public's confidence in science be strengthened? Public trust in science has largely held steady for decades, despite short-term fluctuations. But new findings based on a survey of public attitudes toward the Zika vaccine suggest that there is a way to increase public support for science. The study, published in the August issue … Continue reading People trust science except when they don’t
