News Articles

New research from Tel Aviv University and MIT suggests that magnesium, a key nutrient for the functioning of memory, may be even more critical than previously thought. The multi-center experiment focused on a new magnesium supplement, magnesium-L-theronate (MgT), and found that the synthetic compound enhances memory or prevents its impairment in young and aging animals. The research was carried out over a five-year period and may have significant implications for the use of over-the-counter magnesium supplements.

Patients diagnosed with clinical depression may respond better to medical treatment as a result of belief in a personal God, say researchers at Rush University Medical Center writing in the Journal of Clinical Psychology. 136 adults diagnosed with major depression or bipolar depression at inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care facilities in Chicago participated in the study. The patients were surveyed shortly after admission for treatment and eight weeks later, using the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Religious Well-Being Scale – all standard instruments in the social sciences for assessing intensity, severity and depth of disease and feelings of hopelessness and spiritual satisfaction.

Researchers have found a new oncogenic signaling pathway by which arsenic exposure may lead to adverse health effects, including bladder cancer. The results appear in Cancer Research.While the correlation between arsenic exposure and cancer tumors such as those derived from bladder, lung and skin is well established, the molecular mechanisms driving this connection has remained unclear.

UCL (University College London) scientists studying face recognition in identical twins say the essential skill is largely determined by our genetics. Published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study found that identical twins were twice as similar to each other in terms of their ability to recognize faces, compared to non-identical twins.Researchers also found that the genetic effects that allow people to recognize faces are linked to a highly specific mechanism in the brain, unrelated to other brain processes such as the ability to recognize words or abstract art.

Writing in the Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences, Harvard University researchers say they have demonstrated that simple changes in beak length and depth can explain the important morphological diversity of all beak shapes within the famous genus Geospiza. Broadly, the work suggests that a few, simple mathematical rules may be responsible for complicated biological adaptations.Using digitization techniques, researchers found that 14 distinct beak shapes, that at first glance look unrelated, could be categorized into three broader, group shapes. Despite the striking variety of sizes and shapes, mathematically, the beaks within a particular group only differ by their scales.

New research from the University of California, Berkeley, suggest that a biphasic sleep schedule, sleeping several times a day, not only refreshes the mind, but can also make us smarter.Conversely, the more hours we spend awake, the more sluggish our minds become, according to the findings. The results support previous data from the same research team that pulling an all-nighter – a common practice at college during midterms and finals –- decreases the ability to cram in new facts by nearly 40 percent, due to a shutdown of brain regions during sleep deprivation.  The results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Diego.

Scientists from the University of Washington sent to collect seismic data and evaluate damage from the devastating magnitude-7 earthquake that struck Haiti have recently released a report documenting their results. The team  of civil and environmental engineers says that mass poverty, density of population and lack of building codes were responsible for the widespread devastation.A survey of 107 buildings in a heavily damaged part of downtown Port-au-Prince found that 28 percent had collapsed and a third will require repairs. A survey of 52 buildings in nearby Léogâne found that more than 90 percent had either collapsed or will require repairs. The report indicates that many of the damaged structures will have to be destroyed and rebuilt.

Archaeological excavations conducted by researchers at Hebrew University of Jerusalem have revealed a section of an ancient city wall of Jerusalem possibly built by King Solomon during the tenth century B.C.E.The section of the city wall revealed is 70 meters long and six meters high and located in the area known as the Ophel, between the City of David and the southern wall of the Temple Mount.Uncovered in the city wall complex are: an inner gatehouse for access into the royal quarter of the city, a royal structure adjacent to the gatehouse, and a corner tower that overlooks a substantial section of the adjacent Kidron valley.

A new study by researchers at Indiana University suggests that there may be a link between the number of 'alcohol sales sites' in a neighborhood and the amount of violence that neighborhood experiences. The higher the former, the higher the latter, researchers say. The study also claims that the highest assault rates are associated with carry-out sites selling alcohol for off-premise consumption. The findings were released yesterday and presented as part of the Feb. 18-22 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego, Calif.

Groundbreaking ideas spring most from companies that stress technology, rather than customer needs or staying ahead of competitors, according to research that will appear in the Journal of Product Innovation Management.the findings suggest that firms are best served by a balanced philosophy that includes all three cultures. While an emphasis on technology bolsters innovation, market-driven firms are more attuned to what consumers want, giving them an edge in commercializing new products.

In recent years, DNA evidence has added important new tools for scientists studying the human past, and a collection of reviews published in a recent issue of Current Biology offers a timely update on how new genetic evidence, together with archaeological and linguistic evidence, has enriched our understanding of human history.The journey started around 60 to 70 thousand years ago in Africa, where modern humans evolved more than 150 thousand years ago, and where human diversity is still the highest among all continents in terms of genetic variation and languages. From there, humans settled Europe and South Asia and reached Oceania. The Americas (apart from the remote Oceanian islands) were settled last.

University of Pittsburgh researchers say they have taken a significant step toward unraveling the brain activity that drives adolescents to engage in impulsive, self-indulgent, or self-destructive behavior. Published in the current edition of Behavioral Neuroscience, the study demonstrates that adolescent brains are more sensitive to internal and environmental factors than adult brains and suggests that the teenage tendency to experiment with drugs and develop psychological disorders could stem from this susceptibility.Although the exact mechanics of the adolescent brain's reaction need further investigation, the current study may be a good starting point for mapping the neural path from stimuli to behavior in the adolescent brain.