Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 31, 2010

Film 'Matchstick Men' Preps Smokers to Light Up

Many things can trigger a craving for cigarettes in smokers, and Nicolas Cage apparently is one of them. Watching an actor light up onscreen activates the part of the brain that plans hand movements in smokers, a new study finds, just as if the smokers were about to light a...

Dec 31, 2010

After Brain Injury: Giffords' Recovery Likely Lifelong

As plans progress to move U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) from Tucson's University Medical Center to a rehabilitation hospital in Houston, brain injury experts warn that her road to recovery is long and uncertain. Giffords, who was shot in the head on Jan. 8 in an attack that killed six,...

Nov 30, 2012

How Many Cells are in the Brain?

An enchanted loom is how Charles Sherrington described the interconnected net of cells that makes up our three-pound control center. Indeed, there is something almost magical in the notion that all our mental processes, from perception to memory to consciousness itself, can be described entirely by cellular activity in the...

Nov 30, 2012

Genetic Test Could Better Reveal Fetal Abnormalities

A new test may be better at detecting potentially harmful genetic changes in children before they are born than current methods, researchers say. The test, called a chromosomal microarray, detected more irregularities that could result in genetic diseases — such as missing or repeated sections of genetic code — than...

Nov 30, 2012

How Sperm Length Affects Fertility

Most fertility research has focused on the size of sperm and the size of the swimmers' heads, but a new study suggests the variability in the length of sperm also may put a wrench in successful reproduction. Like a factory churning out products of inconsistent sizes, ejaculates with varying sperm...

Nov 30, 2012

Family Meals Help Kids Eat More Fruit & Veggies

One or two family meals a week may help kids eat more fruits and vegetables, a new study suggests. In the U.K. study, children whose families always ate meals together consumed 4.4 ounces (1.5 portions) more fruits and vegetables a day compared with children whose families never ate together. And...

Nov 30, 2012

Alzheimer's Muddles Memory of How Things Work

Which is bigger, a key or an ant? That question might be easy for you to answer quickly, but it could be a little more confusing for a person with Alzheimer's. The most obvious trait of the mind-ruining disease is memory loss, with patients forgetting once-familiar people, places and experiences....

Nov 30, 2012

Pill Color Matters to Patients

Brand-name drugs come in distinct colors, but their generic equivalents often come in different colors, depending upon the manufacturer. And that may affect whether or not a person takes the medication, according to a pilot study. Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that patients are up to...

Oct 31, 2012

Obesity Gene May Shield Against Depression

Perhaps there is a bit of truth to the stereotype about being fat and happy — new research finds that people who have a gene linked with obesity may have a slightly lower risk of depression. People who had a version of a gene called the FTO gene were 8...

Oct 31, 2012

Thanksgiving Tips: Keep Leftovers Safe

The turkey is picked-over, the cranberries are nearly gone, and everyone's leaning back from the table loosening their belts. But as Thanksgiving dinner ends, the cook has one more food-safety task to tend to. That would be storing the leftovers. Let's face it: We all cook more than we need...

Oct 31, 2012

How Does Cloning Work?

Cloning may invoke an image of an army of identical cows or sheep churned out factory-style, but in actuality, the process is much more laborious. The term cloning generally applies to a process more technically known as somatic cell nuclear transfer. What that means is that the DNA from the...

Sep 30, 2012

Why Women Don't Fall for Hairy Guys Remains a Scientific Mystery

Humans are not nearly as furry as our closest primate relatives, a fact that has puzzled evolutionary biologists for more than a century. One common theory for our relative hairlessness suggests that women long ago adopted a preference for less hairy guys as a way to avoid lice and other...

Sep 30, 2012

Resveratrol Supplements May Offer Little Benefit for Healthy People

Resveratrol — the red wine compound often touted for its possible healthful and anti-aging effects — may not bring the benefits to healthy people that preliminary research has suggested, a small new study finds. In the 12-week study, 29 healthy women, most of them in their late 50s, were given...

Aug 31, 2012

Cheers! 5 Intoxicating Facts About Beer

If America, and American workers, had an official alcoholic beverage, it would probably be beer. According to the Brewers Association, the overall U.S. beer market was worth $96 billion in 2011, when some 200 million barrels of beer were sold (1 barrel equals 31 gallons of beer). In the same...

Jul 31, 2012

Evolutionary Battle of the Sexes Drives Human Height

For women looking to pass on their genes, it pays to be short. For men, tall is the ideal. The result? An evolutionary tug-of-war in which neither gender reaches their perfect height. Those are the results of a new study published today (Aug. 7) in the journal Biology Letters. The...