Health & Medicine

Humans

Decoding diversity in Bushmen

Decoding the genetic makeup of tribal leaders and Archbishop Desmond Tutu uncovers rich genetic diversity in southern Africans.

Health & Medicine

Mutations may underlie some stuttering

Defects in three genes governing basic cell metabolism are found in a portion of cases, researchers find.

Health & Medicine

Inflammatory bowel disease hikes blood clots

Study finds people with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis have greatest risk during painful episodes.

Life

Sperm’s pore propulsion

Scientists identify a key proton channel that helps explain the dash to fertilization.

Health & Medicine

Protein clumps like a prion, but proves crucial for long-term memory

Study in slugs hints that some molecular 'misbehavior' in neurons may help solidify learning.

Agriculture

EPA reviews hints of weed killer’s fetal risks

The Environmental Protection Agency will be convening meetings of its Scientific Advisory Panel on pesticides throughout 2010 to probe concerns about the safety of atrazine, a weed killer on which most American corn growers rely. The first meeting of these outside experts started Tuesday. And although a large number of studies have indicated that atrazine can perturb hormones in animals and human cells — and might even pose a possible risk of cancer amongst heavily exposed people, these outcomes were not the focus of EPA’s review Tuesday. Risks to babies were.

Health & Medicine

Journal retracts flawed study linking MMR vaccine and autism

Deleted Scenes Blog: Biomedical reporter Nathan Seppa describes latest chapter in controversy created by now debunked research.

Health & Medicine

Small study hints SSRIs delay breast milk in new moms

Women taking the antidepressant drugs began lactating later.

Health & Medicine

Body fat linked to late puberty in boys

Boys can take a lot of ribbing from their peers for not being macho enough. A new study now indicates that it can take longer to begin transforming into a man if a boy starts out fat.

Health & Medicine

Neurons may function more solo than thought

Neurons coordinate activity less often than previously thought.

Health & Medicine

Running barefoot blunts foot’s force

A new study finds that going shoeless tempers impact but can’t say whether this difference reduces injuries.

Humans

Cigarettes might be infectious

Science & Society blog: The tobacco in cigarettes hosts a bacterial bonanza — literally hundreds of different germs, including those responsible for many human illnesses, a new study finds.