One day they are crawling, the next day they are driving and then suddenly they aren't kids anymore. As children reach adulthood, the parent-child relationship changes as parents learn to adapt to newly independent children. A new study explores the differences in how mothers and fathers interacted with their young adult children.
An important new step in the mechanism used by bacteria to evade our immune system has been characterized. It is an 'invisibility cloak' which means that bacteria like Haemophilus influenzae, a common cause of ear infections in children, can move about the body without the risk of being attacked by the immune system.
Protected forest strips buffering rivers and streams of the Amazon rainforest should be significantly wider than the current legal requirement, according to new research. Brazilian forestry legislation currently requires that all forest strips alongside rivers and streams on private land be maintained as permanent reserves and it sets a minimum legal width of 60m. But after investigating the effects of corridor width on the number of bird and mammal species, researchers say a minimum critical width of 400m is necessary.
Drug treatments for depression can take many weeks for the beneficial effects to emerge. The excruciating and disabling nature of depression highlights the urgency of developing treatments that act more rapidly. Ketamine, a drug used in general medicine as an anesthetic, has recently been shown to produce improvements in depressed patients within hours of administration. A new study provides some new insight into the mechanisms by which ketamine exerts its effects.
NASA has selected a proposal by an MIT-led team to develop plans for an array of radio telescopes on the far side of the moon that would probe the earliest formation of the basic structures of the universe.
For quite some time now, scientists suspected the so-called hexosamine pathway -- a small side business of the main sugar processing enterprise inside a cell -- to be involved in the development of insulin resistance. But they could never quite put their finger on the underlying mechanism. Now, researchers have uncovered the long-missing molecular link: the enzyme OGT, the last in a line of enzymes that shuttle sugars through the hexosamine pathway.
A moderate level of aerobic fitness can significantly reduce stroke risk for men and women, according to a large, long-running study. About 780,000 U.S. adults suffer a stroke each year, and stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States, according to the American Stroke Association. It’s often fatal, claiming about 150,000 lives and ranking as the No. 3 cause of death.
Chemists in England and the Netherlands have discovered a substance that could keep those boxes of Valentine's Day chocolates, and other goodies, looking fresher and tastier. Their finding prevents formation of unsightly white films on the outside of chocolate. Called "fat bloom," white films are actually tiny particles of crystalline fat and most often appear on the surface of chocolates that contain nut-based fillings.
Astronomers predict that the Earth will be swallowed up by the Sun in about 7.6 billion years unless the Earth's orbit can be altered. Previous calculations had suggested that the Earth would escape ultimate destruction, although be battered and burnt to a cinder. But this did not take into account the effect of the drag caused by the outer atmosphere of the dying Sun.
Researchers have found a previously unknown molecular pathway in mice that spurs the growth of new blood vessels when body parts are jeopardized by poor circulation. At present, their observation adds to the understanding of blood vessel formation. In the future, though, the researchers suggest it is possible that the pathway could be manipulated as a means of treating heart and blood vessel diseases and cancer.
SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) - Chinese scientists are trying to find out which errant genes are responsible for diabetes and certain forms of cancer that have long plagued Chinese populations, a geneticist said.
A UK team finds evidence that the major glaciers draining the West Antarctic Ice Sheet are accelerating towards the sea. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 24 Feb 2008 | 12:24 am
Calls for mandatory register for British citizens spark fierce debate about civil liberties and security Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 24 Feb 2008 | 12:06 am
One in four will suffer the condition, but psychiatrist says it will teach us to order our lives Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 24 Feb 2008 | 12:05 am
While Viagra has transformed the relationships of millions over the past decade it has also contributed to the breakdown of many more Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 24 Feb 2008 | 12:03 am
Developed by Pfizer 10 years ago to control angina, Viagra is clearly changing many men's lives Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 24 Feb 2008 | 12:03 am
Only one in five Britons is worried about the dangers of genetically modified food, new research shows Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 24 Feb 2008 | 12:03 am
