Health & Medicine
- Humans
Germs’ persistence: Nothing to sneeze at
Years ago, I read (probably in Science News) that viruses can’t survive long outside their hosts. That implied any surface onto which a sneezed-out germ found itself — such as the arm of a chair, kitchen counter or car-door handle — would effectively decontaminate itself within hours to a day. A pair of new flu papers now indicates that although many germs will die within hours, none of us should count on it. Given the right environment, viruses can remain infectious — potentially for many weeks, one of the studies finds.
- Chemistry
Radiation sickness treatment shows promise
The regimen could be used to protect large numbers of people in the aftermath of major accidents such as Chernobyl or Fukushima.
- Health & Medicine
Getting the picture of how someone died
CT scans can often reveal a clear cause of death, possibly making some autopsies unnecessary, British researchers find.
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- Health & Medicine
Coffee delivers jolt deep in the brain
Caffeine strengthens electrical signals in a portion of the hippocampus, a study in rats finds.
- Humans
Two feet or four, software is the same
All walking animals use the same basic nerve patterns to put one leg in front of the other(s).
- Health & Medicine
Highlights from the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting
Stress and motherhood, tandem MRIs, the memory benefits of resveratrol and more from the organization's meeting November 12-16 in Washington, D.C.
- Health & Medicine
Busting blood clots with a nanoparticle
An experimental technology that delivers medication directly to a dangerous blockage might augment heart attack treatment, a new study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Highlights from the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions
Vitamin D and heart disease, the effectiveness of external defibrillators, a shot to lower cholesterol, and more from the Orlando, Fla., meeting.
- Health & Medicine
Magic trick reveals unconscious knowledge
People know more than they think when it comes to visual information, study shows.
- Health & Medicine
Exceptional memory linked to bulked-up parts of brain
People with total recall of their life’s events have enlargement in a region also associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
- Health & Medicine
Childhood sex abuse tied to heart risk
Women victimized as children or in adolescence have increased cardiac disease in adulthood, a study shows.
