Humans
- Psychology
Shared talking styles herald new and lasting romance
Verbally in-sync conversations may help to start and maintain dating relationships.
By Bruce Bower - Humans
Extra weight in early childhood foretells later disease risk
A study tracking kids from birth into young adulthood identifies ages 2 to 6 as most crucial for predicting later problems with metabolic syndrome.
By Janet Raloff -
- Paleontology
Ancient trumpets played eerie notes
Acoustic scientists re-create and analyze sounds from 3,000-year-old shell instruments for insight into pre-Inca civilization.
- Tech
Lots of blame over BP well blowout, panel reports
Crews responsible for drilling BP’s Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, this past spring, missed plenty of signs that a catastrophic accident was looming, according to a November 17 interim report by the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
New drug bumps up good cholesterol
Anacetrapib raises beneficial HDL while lowering harmful LDL, a medical trial finds, suggesting it may be a powerful new weapon against cardiovascular disease.
By Nathan Seppa - Life
Genes jump more in one type of autism
A mutation that causes Rett syndrome also increases the activity of retrotransposons in the brain.
- Health & Medicine
Mining fat tissue for cardiac repair
Stem cells that are abundant in adipose tissue seem to boost the recovery of heart tissues in people who survive the big one, early research shows.
By Nathan Seppa - Tech
BPA: EPA hasn’t identified a safer alternative for thermal paper
Some researchers and public interest groups have been arguing that BPAfree thermal receipts paper is a preferable alternative, at least from a health perspective. But is it really? That’s what Environmental Protection Agency scientists want to know. And to date, they maintain, the jury’s still out.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Jet lag makes hamsters dumb
A new study highlights the perils of shifting time zones.
- Health & Medicine
Flick of a whisker can prevent stroke damage in rats
A new study in animals suggests sensory stimulation could potentially provide a nondrug method for protecting human patients.
- Health & Medicine
Fish oil fails to hold off heart arrhythmia
Atrial fibrillation patients who took capsules rich in omega-3 fatty acids had about as many episodes as those getting a placebo, a study finds.
By Nathan Seppa