scientific study

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Autism Linked to Household Vinyl Flooring

(Newser) - Vinyl flooring has been linked to the development of autism in children, Scientific American reports. A joint US/Swedish study looking into the effects of household contaminants stumbled upon the result, which the researchers and others stressed was preliminary. It “turned up virtually by accident,” said one scientist. He...

Can Tomatoes Grow to Love Shakespeare?

Brit study puts plants-love-voices theory to the test

(Newser) - A tomato by any other name might taste as sweet, but will it grow as fast without the sound of a human voice? A new British study intends to find out with recordings of Shakespeare's verse and a poem by John Wyndman. The recordings will be played to the plants...

Cholesterol Drugs Cut Clot Risk
 Cholesterol Drugs Cut Clot Risk 
Mar 30, 2009 11:47 AM CDT

Cholesterol Drugs Cut Clot Risk

Large study looked at other possible drug benefits

(Newser) - Cholesterol-lowering drugs showed sizable effects on patients in a new study, but not only in the realm of lowering heart attack and stroke risk. The statins, which are sold under the brand name Crestor, also dramatically cut the occurrence of potentially deadly blood clots in healthy people, reports the New ...

Cartoons Could Help Diagnose Autism in Kids

Study finds differences in how autistic toddlers look at moving images

(Newser) - The way in which toddlers are drawn to animated movement may help facilitate the diagnosis of autism-spectrum disorders, reports the BBC. In the study, children who were developing normally focused on the half of a split-screen that featured an upright animation; children with signs of autism showed no preference between...

Caffeine: Athletes' Secret Weapon, and Legal, Too

Caffeine can improve sports ability by 5%

(Newser) - If Alex Rodriguez had only known. Caffeine is a performance-enhancer that helps athletes go longer and faster, and isn’t a banned substance. Caffeine works by turning fat into extra fuel, releasing calcium stored in muscles, and numbing the brain’s sense of exhaustion. The triple whammy improves performance by...

Female Finches 'Pick' Sex of Chicks

(Newser) - The female Gouldian finch can control the sex of her egg to produce the strongest possible offspring, the BBC reports. The species comes in two head colors, red and black, and same-color mates are more compatible. If a female finds herself with a different color mate, her offspring will be...

Mushrooms, Green Tea Cut Breast Cancer Risk

Study shows big effect among Chinese women

(Newser) - A mushroom a day could keep breast cancer away, according to a study that looked at the diets of more than 2,000 Chinese women. Their rates of the disease are four to five times lower than the worldwide average, and part of the reason may be the chemicals that...

Do Cougars Really Spawn a Brighter Brood?
Do Cougars Really Spawn
a Brighter Brood?
GLOSSIES
Mar 16, 2009 11:22 AM CDT

Do Cougars Really Spawn a Brighter Brood?

(Newser) - "At last, science has produced the case for cougars," writes Emily Nussbaum in New York. A study analyzing more than 50,000 pregnant women found that older fathers produce progeny that score lower on concentration, memory, and learning tests. Older mothers, on the other hand, are associated with...

Finger Length Holds Key to Running Skill

Measure digits to predict aggression, math scores, arthritis

(Newser) - Boys with ring fingers longer than their middle fingers may be speedier than peers with more symmetrical hands, a study of Qatari adolescents suggests. The speed difference is associated with exposure to testosterone in the womb, LiveScience reports. Finger length can also predict men’s aggression and SAT math scores,...

Cut Calories for a Sharper Mind
 Cut Calories for a Sharper Mind 
Mar 4, 2009 12:19 PM CST

Cut Calories for a Sharper Mind

Study finds that restricted eating leads to better memory in older adults

(Newser) - It's been shown in rats and monkeys, and now the first human study looking at the effects of calorie restriction on memory also confirms that eating less can improve your brain. A German research team gave 50 older adults a diet with normal nutrients but 30% fewer calories, and found...

Why Your Belly Button Has Lint
 Why Your Belly Button Has Lint 
Feb 28, 2009 4:33 PM CST

Why Your Belly Button Has Lint

(Newser) - Just so you know: Navel lint is caused by a unique arrangement of abdominal hairs that are positioned in concentric circles around the belly button and “act like a kind of barbed hooks,” the Telegraph reports. The discovery comes from an Austrian doctor who conducted 3 years of...

Distracted Doodling Helps Us Focus, Study Shows

(Newser) - Doodling while listening actually increases retention of memory, LiveScience reports. A new study shows that subjects who “mindlessly” sketched while listening to a not-so-interesting phone message remembered key facts 29% more than others instructed to just listen. “It helps to keep us on track with a boring task,...

Fast Thinking Makes People Happy

Rapid thoughts can make people feel happier

(Newser) - Happy people think fast thoughts, say researchers at Princeton and Harvard. They asked two groups to perform the same tasks—problem-solving, reading, and watching TV—at different speeds. Those forced to move along briskly felt more elated, creative, even powerful, Scientific American reports. The findings suggest a crossword puzzle or...

Tears Lone Signal of Sadness: Study

(Newser) - Tears are more than just an indicator of sadness, Wired reports—they may be the indicator, as far as other people are concerned. People categorize identical images of a face totally differently if tears are present in one photo and digitally removed from the other, a new study found. “...

Alzheimer Patients' Kids Lose Memory Faster: Study

(Newser) - The children of Alzheimer’s sufferers can develop memory problems much earlier than previously believed, according to a large new study. Boston University researchers administered memory tests to a group of middle-aged people, all of whom carried a gene linked to Alzheimer’s, but only half of whom had parents...

Mean Trainers Make Mean Dogs

(Newser) - Dog owners who try to tame their pets by acting aggressive themselves will only make matters worse, LiveScience reports. A new study in Applied Animal Behavior Science presents sobering news for advocates of tough love. Those who hit, kick, growl at, or confront their dogs in similar ways are more...

Beta Blocker 'Erases' Bad Memories

(Newser) - A drug usually prescribed for high blood pressure can relieve people of painful memories, the Telegraph reports. Taking the beta blocker drug propranolol, subjects in a Dutch study experienced less fear when reminded of a shocking memory. Researchers said millions of people suffering from emotional disorders or "self-perpetuating memories"...

Songbirds Faster Than We Thought

(Newser) - Researchers have tracked the migratory paths of songbirds for the first time, using small data-gathering “backpacks,” the Washington Post reports. The avian wanderers, who are so small they cannot be tagged with transmitters, move about 3 times as a fast as previously thought. The recovered data shows that...

Color Me Productive: Red Boosts Focus, Study Finds

Blue, meanwhile, looks to enhance our creativity

(Newser) - The color red boosts performance on detail-oriented work, while blue enhances creativity, Wired reports. A new study primed subjects with the colors before assigning them different tasks, and the results appear to confirm previous research that links red to caution and attention. “Think about red, and what comes to...

Acidic Oceans Could Confuse Fish: Study

Global warming hiking up oceanic acidity levels

(Newser) - Climate change could be a disaster for marine life, a new study finds. As the atmosphere fills with CO2, the ocean absorbs it, and becomes more acidic, Wired reports, and clownfish, which navigate by scent, lose their ability to do so in water as acidic as the ocean is expected...

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