The Myth of the Endangered  White Tiger

The Myth of the Endangered White Tiger

In response to inquiries after a previous blog entry, Macrocosmos and Microcosmos, this article discusses white tiger breeding and their conservational value. First a quick history: white tigers…
Pheromones Make Mating Less Mysterious

Pheromones Make Mating Less Mysterious

For bees, anyway. People are out of luck. A research team led by the University of Illinois has identified an odorant receptor that allows male drones to find a queen in flight. The receptor, on the…
Some Genetic Impact Of Smoking Irreversible

Some Genetic Impact Of Smoking Irreversible

Only about a fifth of the genes in a cell are switched on at any given time but environmental changes such as smoking lead to changes in that genetic activity. According to a Canadian team led by…
New Heart Anti-Inflammatory Also Helps Kidneys

New Heart Anti-Inflammatory Also Helps Kidneys

Scientists have discovered that a lipid known to protect the heart from inflammation and to cause skin allergic reactions also reduces inflammation of the kidneys. The discovery could help devise new…
Using Nanotechnology To Fight E. Coli

Using Nanotechnology To Fight E. Coli

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) can kill bacteria like the common pathogen E. coli by severely damaging their cell walls, according to a recent report from Yale researchers in the American…
Healing Punctured Lungs With Ultrasound

Healing Punctured Lungs With Ultrasound

Engineers at the University of Washington are working with Harborview doctors to create new emergency treatments right out of Star Trek: a tricorder type device using high-intensity focused…
Pseudoceramides: New Skin Healing Chemicals

Pseudoceramides: New Skin Healing Chemicals

Researchers have made synthetic lipids called pseudoceramides that are involved in skin cell growth and could be used in treating skin diseases in which skin cells grow abnormally. Ceramides are…
Understanding How Obese Fat Cells Work

Understanding How Obese Fat Cells Work

In obese individuals, fat cells are bloated and inflamed because they receive too many nutrients, including lipids. In these cells, various components cannot work properly anymore and, instead, they…
The Embryonic Rain Of IRAS 4B

The Embryonic Rain Of IRAS 4B

Astronomers at the University of Rochester have discovered five Earth-oceans’ worth of water that has recently fallen into the planet-forming region around an extremely young, developing star. Dan…
Love and Mom's Spaghetti Sauce

Love and Mom's Spaghetti Sauce

Why do some people quickly link up with mates who love them good and strong, while others gravitate to people who hurt them, dump them or withhold love? It's all in the neurochemistry. I've come up…
Whew - Next Ice Age Delayed By Rising CO2 Levels

Whew - Next Ice Age Delayed By Rising CO2 Levels

Throughout Earth's history, 90,000 out of every 100,000 years have been ice ages - and it's been 12,000 years since the last one. You can thank global warming, it seems. Future ice ages may be…
Religious People Are More Generous, Says Study

Religious People Are More Generous, Says Study

In a study to be published in the September issue of Psychological Science journal, researchers investigated how thinking about God and notions of a higher power influenced positive social behavior,…