Stress during pregnancy may increase offspring’s risk of asthma, say researchers.
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston investigated differences in immune function markers in cord blood between infants born to mothers in high stress environments and those born to mothers with lower stress and found marked differences in patterns [...]
Shift workers face a significantly increased risk of developing Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and abdominal pain compared to those working a standard day-time schedule, says a new study.
The study has been published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
“We know that people participating in shift work often complain of gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, [...]
A man produces 1,500 sperm in a single second and researchers have now found how males manage to accomplish this seminal feat.
For a long time, it is believed that stem cells in the testicles-also called germline stem cells-become sperm only through a simple, two-step process.
However, the researchers found that germline stem cells apparently can [...]
The magical cloak that featured in the Harry Potter series has become closer to reality, thanks to German scientists who’ve created a three-dimensional “invisibility cloak” that can hide objects by [...]
Scientists have discovered a key cellular mechanism that guides embryonic heart tissue formation-a process which, if disrupted, can lead to a number of common congenital heart defects.
Heart tissue forms in two distinct phases known as the First Heart Field, which includes the left ventricle and portions of both atrial chambers, and the Second Heart [...]
A home video game modified by Rutgers University engineers has shown promise in improving hand function in teenagers with cerebral palsy.
In a pilot trial with three participants, the system enhanced the teens’ abilities to perform a range of daily personal and [...]
A new analysis of elephant trade data has indicated that urgent law enforcement action by governments in Central and West Africa and South-east Asia is crucial to addressing the illicit ivory trade.
Detailed regional summaries of the data [...]
The United States may have offered Pakistan billions of dollars as humanitarian and military aid, but American officials believe that there has been very little change in the way Islamabad sees Washington.
Despite the Obama Administration pushing hard to tone down the anti-American [...]
A new research has determined that carbon formed into sheets a single atom thick, appears to be a promising base material for capturing hydrogen, which suggests stacks of graphene layers could potentially store hydrogen safely for use in fuel cells and other applications.
Graphene has become something [...]
Agricultural researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are developing an improved method for sustainable pest control using “super-sexed” but sterile male insects to copulate with female ones.
The scientists thus hope to offer yet another efficient and promising avenue for [...]
The latest Gallup poll has revealed that 47 percent of Americans disapprove of Obama’s job performance compared to 46 percent who approve.
The deteriorating approval rating comes as the president struggles to [...]
American researchers have found that a new chemotherapy combination comprising gemcitabine and cisplatin shows promise in endometrial cancer treatment.
The study, conducted by scientists from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, showed that the [...]
All commercial disinfectants may not be effective in cleansing noroviruses, a group of viruses that are behind half of all foodborne gastroenteritis diseases, say researchers.
They suggest that only bleach-based disinfectants can fight the concentration of these viruses.
Universiti Laval researchers claim some [...]
Al Qaeda may be using the Internet to recruit and radicalize, FBI Director Robert Mueller testified Wednesday before a House Appropriations subcommittee.
Mueller said Wednesday that the United States faces an expanding array of Al Qaeda-related threats that extend far beyond the lawless regions of southwest Asia and into the US itself via radical Islamist [...]
A new study has suggested that the use of prescribed burns to manage western forests may help the United States reduce its carbon footprint.
Results of the study found that such burns, often used by forest managers to reduce underbrush and protect bigger trees, release substantially less carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than wildfires of the [...]
While stressing that talks between India and Pakistan is the key to reducing heightened tension in the region, US Central Command Chief General David Petraeus has warned that any Mumbai type terror strike in India would certainly ‘re-ignite’ hostility between the two nuclear powered nations.
Testifying before the US Senate Armed Services Committee, General Petraeus [...]
A leading golf historian has said Tiger Woods’s ‘transgressions’ off the green won’t overshadow his gains, but coverage of them shows how the sport has changed.
Woods’ return to golf at the Masters Tournament at Augusta National next month could become one of the biggest media events of the last decade, rivalling even the Obama [...]
A new research from scientists at Queen Mary, University of London, has revealed that bees see the world almost five times faster than humans.
Dr Peter Skorupski and Prof Lars Chittka, who are both based at the university, said that this gives bumblebees the fastest colour vision of all animals, allowing them to easily navigate [...]
A new genetic analysis by an international team of scientists has determined that dogs likely originated in the Middle East, not Asia or Europe.
“Dogs seem to share more genetic similarity with Middle Eastern gray wolves than with any other wolf population worldwide,” said Robert Wayne, UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.
“Genome-wide analysis [...]
A new study has suggested that newfound stone tools on the Indonesian island of Flores indicate that the evolutionary history of the “hobbits” in the region stretches back a million years, which is 200,000 years longer than previously thought.
The hobbit mystery was sparked by the 2004 discovery of bones on Flores that belonged to [...]
Reports indicate that a terrorist needs just about 50 dollars to purchase a GPS jammer, an electronic device small enough to fit in a shirt pocket, which can conceivably bring down an airplane.
According to a report by Fox News, despite being illegal and potentially dangerous, GPS jammers are cheap and readily available online.
With car [...]
For men, high plasma selenium concentrations are associated with a lower occurrence of dysglycemia, says a new study.
Dysglycemia is any disorder of blood sugar metabolism.
The research has been published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism.
Tasnime Akbaraly, from the University of Montpellier, worked with a team of researchers to follow 1162 healthy [...]
Ever wondered why our early ancestors were able to have so many kids? Well, it was because most of them were apparently active fathers, claim researchers.
Northwestern University researcher Lee T. Gettler suggests in a new anthropological model of human evolution that the fathers among our earliest human ancestors may have helped jumpstart human evolution [...]
In a new research, scientists have untangled some of the most closely guarded secrets of silk and explained why it is so super strong.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT’s) Center for Materials Science and Engineering say the key to silk’s pound-for-pound toughness, which exceeds that of steel, is its beta-sheet crystals, the [...]
A new research has found that horses remember people who treat them well and understand words better than earlier believed.
Carol Sankey, an ethologist at the University of Rennes, who led the research, insists that horses have “excellent memories,” and can recall their human friends even after being separated.
Moreover, they can even remember complex, problem-solving [...]
US President Barack Obama has said that Tiger Woods will continue to be a terrific golfer despite the embarrassment he has suffered following the exposure of his extra-marital affairs.
The leader admitted that the sportsman might have betrayed his family but that won’t take away his stature as a golfer.
“He’s still going to be a [...]
A new assessment of the Arctic’s biodiversity has reported a 26 per cent decline in species populations in the high Arctic.
Populations of lemmings, caribou and red knot are some of the species that have experienced declines over the past 34 years, according to the first report from The Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI), which [...]
An international team of scientists has reported the discovery of a new planet the size of Jupiter that has a temperate climate, which might turn out to be the Rosetta stone in exoplanet research.
The planet, called CoRoT-9b, was discovered by using the CoRoT space telescope satellite.
The newly discovered planet orbits a star similar [...]
Children who are aggressive in nature usually come from conflictive families, a leading psychologist has reaffirmed.
Psychologist Arantzazu Bellido confirmed the phenomenon for the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (CAV-EAE).
She undertook surveys with a number of families in the Basque province of Bizkaia. Bellido demonstrated that, effectively, there is a direct relationship between [...]
Hypnotherapy may help ease the distressing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), say experts.
During a wide ranging discussion of the condition in a Frontline Gastroenterology podcast, experts revealed that in a goodly proportion of cases, hypnotherapy clears up symptoms altogether.
Excluding certain foodstuffs may help alleviate symptoms, but usually only for a while, says Professor [...]
