Health, features and articles | Educational Science

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...

Jul 31, 2009

Study: Machismo Cuts Men's Lives Short

Tough guys who buy into ideals of masculinity are much less likely to seek preventive healthcare services, such as a prostate exam, compared with other men. The new finding, based on survey data, reveals that such manly beliefs could help to explain the lower life expectancy of men compared with...

Jul 31, 2009

Babies' Brains Churning With Activity

The look of amazement in the eyes of an infant suggests the wheels are churning away inside that noggin. New research confirms they are. Scientists have shown that when 9-month-olds watch people reach for objects, the motor region in their brains gets activated, as if the babies were doing the...

Jul 31, 2009

How to Know if You Have Alzheimer's

This Week's Question: I've been forgetting names of people lately and I have this dread that this is an early symptom of Alzheimer's. How can I tell? I don't know a geezer who hasn't asked this question. Once you hit 60, you begin to wonder if your lost keys have...