Being Human

If you are a cricket and it is a dry season on the San Pedro River in Arizona, on your nighttime ramblings to eat leaves, you are more likely to be ambushed by thirsty wolf spiders, or so a June 19 study suggests, published in the journal Ecology, and featured as an editor's choice in the journal Science.

SALT LAKE CITY, June 29, 2009 -- Experimental devices that read brain signals have helped paralyzed people use computers and may let amputees control bionic limbs. But existing devices use tiny electrodes that poke into the brain.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Complications in early pregnancy or in previous pregnancies can predict the
likelihood of further problems in current or subsequent pregnancies, according to research carried out by an
international group of experts.

New Haven, Conn. -- A team led by Yale University researchers has created the first rudimentary solid-state quantum processor, taking another step toward the ultimate dream of building a quantum computer.

A signal molecule made by the human body that triggers the immune system into action may be important in rheumatoid arthritis, according to new research published today in Nature Medicine. The authors of the study, from Imperial College London, say that if scientists could block this signal, it may be possible to develop more effective arthritis treatments.

While most fans are in awe of what their football heroes can do with a football, the source of their remarkable skill remains strangely mysterious. Although being in excellent physical condition undoubtedly helps, few people actually believe that intense physical training alone can turn an average bloke into a Ronaldo.

I just got done listening to a two part audio broadcast done with regard to a little known paper produced by a scientist from the Northern Arizona University on the filaments that Morgellons victims are producing. It is amazing that it has been on the back burner for so long.

Scientists, biologists please! Listen to the audio at this link -

Talk about your bird brains: A zebra finch's brain changes dramatically after hearing a new song, and even 24 hours later, the bird's still processing the information.

When the finches were exposed to new tunes from a member of its own species, the experience switches on and off thousands of genes, offering researchers a new insight into songbird memory.

The study will be published in this month's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

COLLEGE STATION - People smell them, thump them and eyeball their shape. But ultimately, it's sweetness and a sense of healthy eating that lands a melon in a shopper's cart.

Much is often said about the glaring statistics showing that some racial and ethnic minorities face greater risks than whites when it comes to health.

Nina T. Harawa, an Assistant Professor and researcher at Charles Drew University, says today's disparities are linked to many factors, including economics, access to health care and the impact of living in a race conscious society.

Hot or not? Men agree on the answer. Women don't.

There is much more consensus among men about whom they find attractive than there is among women, according to a new study by Wake Forest University psychologist Dustin Wood.

The study, co-authored by Claudia Brumbaugh of Queens College, appears in the June issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

The United States is engaged again in a debate on health care and the best system to provide and receive health care. Other nations across the planet have similar debates and there are different approaches to care in different countries. I add my opinions as a provider and consumer of health care to have some more fun muddying the waters.

New Orleans, LA -- Research lead by Dr. Nicolas Bazan, Boyd Professor and Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, identifying an enzyme that makes neuroprotectin D1 which specifically and selectively protects retinal cells key for vision, will be published in the June 26, 2009 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

The Stowers Institute's Xie Lab has revealed how the BAM protein affects germline stem cell differentiation and how it is involved in regulating the quality of stem cells through intercellular competition. The work was published today by PNAS Early Edition.

PHILADELPHIA - Understanding the molecular signals that guide early cells in the embryo to develop into different organs provides insight into ways that tissues regenerate and how stem cells can be used for new therapies.

INDIANAPOLIS -- A multi-center clinical trial led by a Riley Hospital for Children endocrinologist has found that inhaled growth hormone (GH) is well tolerated by children with GH deficiency and that this easy-to-use method can, over a one-week period, safely deliver GH to the blood stream.

EVANSTON, Ill. --- To many, New York Gov. Eliott Spitzer's fall from grace seemed to make no sense at all. But a new Northwestern University study offers provocative insights that possibly could relate to why the storm trooper of reform -- formerly known as the Sheriff of Wall Street -- seemingly went from saint to sinner overnight.

Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, came a step closer to understanding how cells close gaps not only during embryonic development but also duringwound healing. Their study, published this week in the journal Cell, uncovers a fundamental misconception in the previous explanation for a developmental process called dorsal closure.

For those who are caring for elderly parents, peace of mind is hard to come by. And, for their parents, dignity is hard to retain. But a team of University of Houston researchers hopes to ease worries and frustrations by designing an affordable in-home health-monitoring system that will notify caregivers, via smartphones or PDAs, if their loved ones need attention.

Washington, DC -- Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and John Cornyn (R-TX) today introduced the Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA), a bill to ensure free, timely, online access to the published results of research funded by eleven U.S. federal agencies.