Breastfeeding boosts infants’ IQs, but only if the babies have a genetic variant that enhances their metabolism of breast milk, according to a report in Proceedings of the National Academy of…

Malaria kills about one million people every year and most are young children living in Africa. The parasite responsible is transmitted to people when they are bitten (usually at night) by an…

Children who possess a gene known to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease already show signs of reduced cognitive function, an Oregon Health & Science University study has found. Scientists…

When the stars are shining above the atmosphere, they give off radiation across a wide spread of wavelengths. As Earth rotates, the star appears to sink down. When that happens, the atmosphere acts…

Open Access to Research Funded by U.S. Is at Issue A long-simmering debate over whether the results of government-funded research should be made freely available to the public could take a big step…

University of Manchester researchers have identified a genetic variant in a region on chromosome 6 that is associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the most common inflammatory arthritis affecting…

Two common dietary molecules found in legumes and bran could protect DNA from the harmful effects of radiation, researchers from the University of Maryland report. Inositol and inositol…

Why are African-American patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) less likely to be placed on waiting lists for kidney transplantation? It's not because they live farther away from transplant…

For older patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), the results of kidney transplants from "expanded criteria non-beating-heart" donors are not good, according to a paper presented at the…

A new study led by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute senior scientist, Elizabeth Theil, Ph.D., is the first to suggest that a small protein or heptapeptide (seven amino acids wrapped…

An international team of scientists today announced the results of a systematic effort to map the genetic changes underlying lung cancer, the world’s leading cause of cancer deaths. The research…

Cameron Neylon gave a very thoughtful talk at Drexel on Friday about using blogs to capture the science going on in his group then deciding to open his laboratory notebooks to the world. He was…

Inheriting two genetic mutations that can individually cause epilepsy might actually be “seizure-protective,” said Baylor College of Medicine researchers the journal Nature Neuroscience. “In the…

Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB)is a disease where children lack a protein that anchors skin to the body, resulting in fragile skin that tears off with little movement or friction.…

An age-related decline in heart function is a risk factor for heart disease in the elderly. While many factors contribute to a progressive age-related decline in heart function, alterations in the…

The universe’s clock has neither a start nor finish, yet time is still finite, according to a New Zealand theorist. To understand that, we need to take a “cyclic” view of time similar to the one…

The radar system on ESA’s Mars Express has uncovered new details about some of the most mysterious deposits on Mars: The Medusae Fossae Formation. It has given the first direct measurement of the…

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have discovered that mice rely on a special set of proteins to recognize each other. Previous studies assumed that another set of genes that influence smell…

‘Munchausen's syndrome by proxy’ describes women alleged to have fabricated or induced illnesses in children under their care, purportedly to attract attention. Where conclusive evidence of guilt…

Astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) have found that a supernova discovered last year was caused by two colliding white dwarf stars. The white dwarfs were siblings…