Natural flyers like birds, bats and insects outperform man-made aircraft in aerobatics and efficiency. Engineers are studying these animals as a step toward designing flapping-wing planes with wingspans smaller than a deck of playing cards.
People taking a widely used group of drugs known as calcium channel blockers to treat high blood pressure also appear to be cutting their risk of Parkinson's disease, according to a new study. The study found people who were currently long-term users of calcium channel blockers to treat high blood pressure lowered their risk of Parkinson's disease by 23 percent compared to people who didn't take the drugs. There was no such effect among people taking ACE inhibitors, AT II antagonists and beta blockers.
Breast cancer survivors who participated in dragon boat racing reported significantly improved physical and mental health and coped better with post-recovery trauma, according to a new study.
An international clinical trial has found that acyclovir, a common medication for treating herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), the most common cause of genital herpes, does not reduce the risk of HIV infection when taken by people infected with HSV-2. Multiple studies have shown that people with HSV-2 have a higher risk of acquiring HIV. Researchers had hoped that acyclovir's ability to suppress the herpes virus, and its associated genital sores and breaks in the skin, could cut down on the likelihood of HIV being transmitted to a person with HSV-2 during sexual intercourse.
Use of a metal detector is the most common technique when searching for landmines, which litter the soil in approximately 90 countries around the world. Many of these countries are located in the tropics where intensively weathered soils are prevalent. These tropical soils have certain properties that can limit the performance of metal detectors due to soil magnetic susceptibility. This problem is enhanced by the spread of minimum-metal mines.
Teenage fathers are at increased risk of having babies born with birth problems ranging from pre-term delivery or low birth weight, through to death in or near to the time of delivery, according to new research in Human Reproduction journal. In contrast, the study also found that fathers aged 40 and over were not at increased risk of having babies affected by these problems. Previous studies have shown that younger men can have lower sperm counts, semen volume, total numbers of spermatozoa and percentage of motile sperm. Immature sperm may be associated with adverse birth outcomes, possibly as a result of the abnormal formation of the placenta in the uterus.
The consequences of quitting exercise may be greater than previously thought, according to a new study that determined that the weight gained during an exercise hiatus can be tough to shed when exercise is resumed at a later date.
Women who smoke and have a specific genetic makeup are at significant risk for the development of breast cancer, according to a recent study. Researchers analyzed data from 10 of the 13 studies published in the last 10 years in which they evaluated genetic information, smoking habits and breast cancer risk in 4,889 premenopausal and 7,033 postmenopausal women.
An unexpected finding turned out to be a clue leading researchers to propose a new treatment approach for Niemann-Pick disease, a rare, deadly neurodegenerative disorder. They believe the approach also could be useful for more common diseases -- such as cystic fibrosis -- that stem from a similar type of defect.
Scientists have discovered that two widely available prescription drugs restore partial cellular folding, trafficking, and function to a variety of mutant enzymes responsible for three distinct lysosomal storage diseases, maladies involving multiple organ system failure. This discovery may increase treatment options for inherited metabolic disease patients.
Two new nanotech-driven tools for biologists and neuroscientists have been developed. A pair of new thin, transparent devices, constructed with soft lithography, should boost research in which nematodes are studied to explore brain-behavior connections and to screen new pharmaceuticals for potential treatment of parasitic infections in humans, report scientists.
A new study that exposed monkeys to moderate levels of alcohol and stress in pregnancy found increased sensitivity to touch in the monkeys' babies. Using a brain neuro-imaging technique, the researchers found that sensitivities to touch were related to changes in the brain chemical dopamine one area of the brain. Since sensitivity to touch in human children can lead to behavioral and emotional problems, this research has important implications for preventing childhood disorders.
Forty years ago, mathematician Mark Kac asked the theoretical question, "Can one hear the shape of a drum?" If drums of different shapes always produce their own unique sound spectrum, then it should be possible to identify the shape of a specific drum merely by studying its spectrum, thus "hearing" the drum's shape (a procedure analogous to spectroscopy, the way scientists detect the composition of a faraway star by studying its light spectrum). But what if two drums of different shapes could emit exactly the same sound? If so, it would be impossible to work backward from the spectrum and uniquely surmise the physical structure of the drum, because there would be more than one correct answer to the question. The drum research is important to the world of quantum mechanics.
Results of an early study suggest that dairy-free diets and unconventional food preferences could put boys with autism and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at higher than normal risk for thinner, less dense bones when compared to a group of boys the same age who do not have autism. The researchers believe that boys with autism and ASD are at risk for poor bone development for a number of reasons. These factors are lack of exercise, a reluctance to eat a varied diet, lack of vitamin D, digestive problems, and diets that exclude casein, a protein found in milk and milk products.
