News Articles

Four billion years ago, a young Mars had enough water to bury its whole surface under 400 feet of ocean, but it is more likely that, as on Earth, it pooled. In the case of Mars, it probably formed an ocean occupying almost half of Mars’s northern hemisphere, reaching a mile deep in some places.This new finding is based on detailed observations of two slightly different forms of water in Mars’s atmosphere. One is the familiar form of water, made with two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen, H2O. The other is HDO, or semi-heavy water, a naturally occurring variation in which one hydrogen atom is replaced by a heavier form, called deuterium. 

A synthetic nasal formulation of the hormone oxytocin reduced caloric intake in healthy men, particularly consumption of fatty foods, after a single treatment, a new study finds. The results, to be presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 97th annual meeting in San Diego, confirm those of animal studies showing oxytocin reduces food intake.
Oxytocin nasal spray reportedly lowered the number of calories men consumed at a subsequent breakfast whether they were normal weight or overweight. In addition, the researchers found that oxytocin improved metabolic measures, such as insulin sensitivity, which is the body's ability to successfully clear glucose (sugar) from the bloodstream.

Medical marijuana is proliferating across the country due to the ability of cannabis ingestion to treat important clinical problems such as chronic pain. However, negative side effects and the development of tolerance limit the widespread therapeutic use of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), the major psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
THC's side effects are produced via its actions at cannabinoid CB1 receptors in the brain. Thus, scientists theorized that an agent with similar mechanistic actions, but that activate CB2 receptors instead, may eliminate the unwanted side effects while maintaining an equivalent level of efficacy.

Though 23andMe finally got FDA approval for a test, that is much different than the unvalidated claims about 250 conditions that they used to make. They got a cease and desist letter from the FDA because of their high profile.

Soybean oil accounts for more than 90 percent of all the seed oil production in the United States and genetically modified (GM) soybean oil, obviously made from seeds of GM soybean plants, was recently introduced into the food supply with the benefit that it is healthier than conventional soybean oil.Is it true?

When a young, wingless praying mantis jumps,  from take-off to landing is a mere tenth of second--literally faster than the blink of a human eye. During a jump, the insect's body rotates in mid-air at a rate of about 2.5 times per second. And yet, the jumps are precise. When mantises jump, they land on target every time. "This is akin to asking an ice skater who is rotating at the same speed as these mantises to stop suddenly and accurately to face a specific direction," says Malcolm Burrows of the University of Cambridge.

Women are not under-represented in science, they dominate in some fields and lag in others, part of the natural variation in humanity - but in academia at the highest levels, they are under-represented.

Most female animals die around the same time they stop reproducing, only humans and two types of whale continue to live for many years after giving birth to their last baby. But why? 
Menopause is one of nature's greatest mysteries.
 A new study says that female killer whales survive after menopause because they help their family members find food during hard times, though that could be more like keeping busy and staying relevant than being an evolutionary mandate.

A new study finds that female mice treated with a small molecule that binds to a receptor found on muscle cells speeds up energy metabolism. Sorry males, this does nothing for you.The molecule is found in tree leaves and the female mice could indulge in high-fat foods without gaining weight or accumulating fat. Research has shown that a hormone called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is secreted after physical exercise, controls body weight gain by eliciting signals to suppress food intake and enhance energy expenditure. Manipulation of this signaling represents a promising strategy for combating obesity; however, BDNF degrades quickly in the body.

Researchers have discovered that a network of viruses usually associated with managed honeybees pose a widespread risk to bumblebees in the wild also.The study revealed multiple interconnected diseases that are threatening several species of bumblebee and the managed honeybee, which are essential pollinators of many agricultural crops and wild flowers.  Previously research had only identified one virus, deformed wing virus, which had most likely spilled over from managed honeybees into wild bumblebee populations, and fluctuations in wild bees were attributed to pesticides by activist groups rather than the other viruses.

Older brains are more similar to younger brains than previously thought, according to a new study. Certainly, brains change as we get older. People get dementia and that is linked to plaque build-up, but that is not neuronal activity, as some papers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have claimed. Instead, it may be due to vascular (blood vessel) changes. 
Since fMRI is frequenly used (and misused) in studies to assess aging, this could have important consequences for mainstream media's ability to promote a new theory of aging once a month.

Though people selling alternatives to science will use labels like "chemical-free", that is not really the case. Our world is entirely chemical.'Chemical' has simply been turned into a bad word in 'if I cannot pronounce it, it must be bad' modern environmentalism catered toward wealthy elites. Are green alternatives actually less toxic? No, it turns out, and even worse is that because they claim a 'natural' basis, they are exempt from the labeling requirements of traditional products, so green consumers don't know the extent of the risk they are undertaking.