Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Oct 31, 2009

Smoking Gun Found in Rejected Heart Transplants

Scientists have long suspected that smoking increased the risk that a transplanted heart would be rejected. Now they have a smoking gun. And it doesn't matter who smokes, recipient or donor. A new study conducted on rats provides the first direct evidence that cigarette smoke exposure before a heart transplant...

Sep 30, 2009

Goal Posts Appear Smaller After Kicker Misses

In football, kicking a field goal can be a nail-biter for players and sports fans alike. Turns out, if a kicker is having a bad day, with several failed attempts, the target could seem even more elusive on his next chance to score, according to a new study. People trying...

Sep 30, 2009

3 Detroit Marathon Deaths Likely a Fluke

The deaths of three runners at Sunday's Detroit Marathon were tragic, but probably not representative of any increasing danger inherent in the sport. In fact, the deaths are likely to be a statistical fluke, doctors say. A 26-year-old half-marathon runner, and two other runners — a 36-year-old and 65-year-old —...

Sep 30, 2009

Why Some Men Can't Control Arousal

Is sex a state of mind? A recent study from the University of British Columbia finds that while most men can regulate their physical and mental sexual arousal to some degree, the men most able to do so are able to control their other emotions as well. “We suspect that...

Sep 30, 2009

Cleanliness May Foster Morality

A simple spritz of a fresh-smelling window cleaner made people more fair and generous in a new study. The researchers figure cleanliness fosters morality. They conducted fairness tests, with subjects completing tasks in a room that was either unscented or one that was sprayed with a common citrus-scented window cleaner....

Sep 30, 2009

Why 'Sleeping on It' Helps

We're often told, You should sleep on it before you make an important decision. Why is that? How does sleeping on it help your decision-making process? Conventional wisdom suggests that by sleeping on it, we clear our minds and relieve ourselves of the immediacy (and accompanying stress) of making a...

Sep 30, 2009

Study: Bad Driving Is Genetic

Some people really are just bad drivers. That's according to new research suggesting individuals born with a certain variant of a gene don't stay on the road as well as their counterparts. If the results do in fact hold up, and this gene equals bad driving, 30 percent of Americans...

Sep 30, 2009

Stem Cells Turned into Precursors of Sperm and Eggs

Researchers have discovered how to transform human embryonic stem cells into germ cells, a type of embryonic cell that gives rise to sperm and eggs. The breakthrough could ultimately lead to research that would help infertile couples. The work did not create sperm or eggs, but the advance will allow...

Aug 31, 2009

Your Brain Is Organized Like a City

A big city might seem chaotic, but somehow everything gets where it needs to go and the whole thing manages to function on most days, even if it all seems a little worse for the wear at the end of the day. Sound a bit like your brain? Neurobiologist Mark...

Aug 31, 2009

Powerful Ideas: Cars Could Run on Watermelons

Editor's Note: This occasional series looks at powerful ideas — some existing, some futuristic — for fueling and electrifying modern life. Watermelon juice could become the newest renewable energy source for vehicles, scientists now suggest. Each year, about 1 out of 5 watermelons are left behind in fields because they...

Aug 31, 2009

Ancient Chinese Remedy May Work for Flu

Scientists at the Kaohsiung Medial University in Taiwan have discovered that the roots of a plant used in 1918 to fight the Spanish influenza pandemic produces natural antiviral compounds that kill the swine flu virus, H1N1. Ferula asafetida is commonly known as Dung of the Devil because of its foul-smelling...

Aug 31, 2009

The Science (and Art) of Depression Medication

Did you know that as much as some doctors and researchers like to think that medicine is a science, it is very much an art too? You can see that no more clearly than in the decision process doctors use to prescribe a specific psychiatric medication. Ask a psychiatrist what...

Aug 31, 2009

What Seniors Need to Know about the Flu

Flu season in the northern hemisphere can range from as early as November to as late as May. The peak month usually is February. However, this coming season is expected to be unpredictable because of the emergence of the H1N1 influenza virus or swine flu. The H1N1 has caused the...

Jul 31, 2009

Pneumonic Plague: Should We Worry?

An outbreak of pneumonic plague in Ziketan, China has killed three people, leading officials to seal off the town, according to news reports that are getting a lot of play this week. But what is the pneumonic plague, and how is it different from other types of plague? Plague is...

Jul 31, 2009

Discovery Really Scratches an Itch

The urge to scratch a mosquito bite or skin rash can be maddening. Now, scientists have pinpointed a group of neurons that signal it's time to relieve the itch. Disabling the neurons eliminated itching in mice, which are thought to be a good analogue to humans for neurobiology studies. The...