Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Brain speed-reads using just one part
Scientists measure the speed of recognizing, manipulating and producing speech in human brains.
- Chemistry
Bad perfume: Cardboard’s intense scents
Wet cardboard and food should not share the same air space.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Getting to the core of H1N1 flu deaths
Lung inflammation and a lack of oxygen in the blood appear responsible for most fatal cases of H1N1 (swine) flu, three studies show.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
H1N1 flu is back and found in 37 states, CDC reports
Just as vaccine begins to become available, swine flu cases show up in a majority of the United States. And early results from a new study suggest H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccination shots are effective when given during the same visit.
By Nathan Seppa - Life
Circadian clockwork takes unexpected turns
Some neurons in the brain’s master clock fall silent in the afternoon. The unexpected finding prompts scientists to rethink how the clock works.
- Health & Medicine
Retrovirus might be culprit in chronic fatigue syndrome
An obscure pathogen shows up often in people diagnosed with the condition, scientists find.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Pigs use mirrors
After some time to play around with a mirror, pigs figure out what to do when they glimpse a reflection of food.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
Measuring citations: Calculations can vary widely
Depending on how citation tallies will be used, it may pay to cherry pick the appropriate counting house.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Nobel in medicine honors discoveries of telomeres and telomerase
Three scientists share the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of telomeres, which protect the ends of chromosomes, and the enzyme telomerase, which adds the structures to the ends of chromosomes.
- Humans
Flu: Grim stats
Though risk of death from conventional flu strains escalates dramatically, beginning around age 45, a new study finds that masks do a fair job of slowing the infection's transmission.
By Janet Raloff - Life
Mitochondria behind life span extension
Study in flies suggests low-protein diet works through power-producing organelles.
- Health & Medicine
Excreted Tamiflu found in rivers
A Japanese study finds that excreted Tamiflu ends up in river water, raising concerns that birds hosting a flu virus will develop drug-resistant strains.
By Janet Raloff