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Why Girls Are Better at Language
Why Girls Are Better at Language
Mar 6, 2008 11:12 AM CST

Why Girls Are Better at Language

Study finds brain wiring gives girls the edge

(Newser) - Study after study has found that girls have better language skills than boys, and scientists now think they've found a biological reason why, Scientific American reports. Researchers discovered that girls showed more activity in the language part of their brains, which deciphers abstract encoding, than boys. The boys had more...

Mind-Reading Edges Closer to Reality

New computer can determine what you're looking at

(Newser) - Mind-reading has taken a step toward possibility with a new computer that can decode brain activity to determine what a person is looking at with up to 90% accuracy, the Independent reports. With improvements, the technology could be able to reconstruct any image a person could conjure up—and someday,...

Hot Water Leaches Harmful Chemical From Plastic

Study finds plastic bottles leach chemical BPA in hot water

(Newser) - Hot liquid causes a potentially harmful chemical to leach out of certain plastics much faster than usual, researchers have found. The study, published in Toxicology Letters, discovered that  bisphenol A, or BPA, was released from some common plastic bottles 55 times faster when they were placed in boiling water. Concerns...

Second Life Offers Aid for Asperger's

Online virtual world helps socially awkward patients pick up, practice skills

(Newser) - Sufferers from Asperger’s syndrome, characterized by an inability to pick up social cues, are getting an unlikely assist from the virtual world Second Life, ABC News reports. Researchers have found that the site, in which users communicate through online avatars, is more effective than other therapies for guiding patients...

Probe Zips Over Mercury Today
Probe Zips Over Mercury Today
Jan 14, 2008 4:33 AM CST

Probe Zips Over Mercury Today

Messenger will take 1,200 pictures from 124 miles up

(Newser) - NASA's Messenger spacecraft this afternoon will whiz past Mercury at 141,000 mph and snap an estimated 1,200 detailed photos of the planet's surface from a mere 124 miles up. It will be the first of three passes before the craft starts orbiting the planet closest to the sun...

Naps Boost Long-term Memory
Naps Boost Long-term Memory
Jan 7, 2008 6:50 PM CST

Naps Boost Long-term Memory

90-minute snooze helps brain lock in events, skills

(Newser) - A daily siesta can boost long-term recall and help people learn instruments and remember decisive events, a new study says. A University of Haifa researcher taught people tapping: He showed participants a tricky rhythm, then let half sleep for an hour. Those who stayed up failed to tap better, while...

'Christmas Punch-up' Rocks South Pole

Two Antarctic workers engage in Yuletide combat

(Newser) - The North Pole is usually abuzz with activity this time of year, but the South Pole was rocked by a "drunken Christmas punch-up," between two men in a remote research station at the bottom of the world. The Guardian reports both men—one with a broken jaw—were...

7 Common Medical Myths
7 Common Medical Myths
Dec 23, 2007 10:49 AM CST

7 Common Medical Myths

Seven quack ideas doctors pass on to patients

(Newser) - Some medical misconceptions are so widespread that even doctors believe them. LiveScience rounds up the seven biggest myths, according to the British Medical Journal:
  1. We only use 10% of our brains
  2. You should drink at least eight glasses of water a day
  3. Fingernails and hair grow after death

Research Notes Make Internet History
Research Notes Make Internet History
Dec 14, 2007 12:07 AM CST

Research Notes Make Internet History

New project to archive academic raw materials online

(Newser) - The Center for New History and Media has received a big grant to help store the raw material of academic research as part of its Internet Archive project, Ars Technica reports. Director Dan Cohen wants to help the academic world by making it easy for scholars to make their research...

Smoking Linked to Diabetes Risk
Smoking Linked to Diabetes Risk
Dec 12, 2007 1:13 PM CST

Smoking Linked to Diabetes Risk

Heavy puffers saw 61% risk increase

(Newser) - The list of ways smoking can kill you got a bit longer today, reports the BBC. Smokers have a 44% higher chance of developing type 2 diabetes, a new study shows, and that risk rises yet higher for heavy smokers, up to 61%. “The relevant question should no longer...

Vaccine for Ovarian Cancer 'Encouraging'

Study shows immune system can seek and kill deadly cells

(Newser) - A new vaccine for ovarian cancer has produced "encouraging" results in primary trials, the BBC reports. Ovarian cancer can be effectively treated with chemotherapy, but 70% of women with the illness die from a recurrence of the cancer within five years of diagnosis. There's "compelling evidence that the...

Legal Assisted Suicide Hasn't Led to Abuse

Study of Oregon, Netherlands finds fears to be unfounded

(Newser) - Fears that legalizing physician-assisted suicide would lead to its use on unwilling, disabled people are unfounded, concludes a new study conducted in Oregon and the Netherlands, where the practice is legal. Researchers scoured hundreds of cases for any kind of bias, finding, “no evidence to justify the grave and...

Testosterone in Womb Linked to Autistic Traits

Supports theory that problem is 'extreme male brain' disorder

(Newser) - An eight-year study has found a link between high levels of fetal testosterone and autistic traits in children, reports the BBC. Scientists don't know whether the testosterone causes the autistic tendencies or if the hormone is a by-product of autism, but the findings appear to support the head researcher's theory...

Has Wiki Replaced the College Library?

Not quite: Undergrads still turn to more traditional sources

(Newser) - Contrary to expectations, college students are not rushing online for answers to research assignments. A new survey shows only 3% of undergraduates with research tasks went to Wikipedia first and only 13% tried search engines. The largest number, 40%,  turned to course materials first and 23% sought out the...

Drinking Coffee May Fight Colon Cancer

Japanese study finds benefits of 3 cups a day apply only to women

(Newser) - Drinking three or more cups of coffee a day can cut the risk of colon cancer in half—but the benefit manifests itself only in women. What's more, Reuters reports, the research was conducted in Japan, where men drink and smoke so much that scientists had trouble controlling for those...

'Caffeinated' Workout May Cut Cancer

Combo of exercise and coffee can fight skin cancer

(Newser) - New research suggests that drinking coffee, combined with regular exercise, speeds up the killing off of cells damaged by ultraviolet-B radiation. Researchers at Rutgers University specifically examined UVB apoptosis — the programmed death of cells that become damaged by ultraviolet rays – in hairless mice. This sort of cell-suicide helps...

No Tired Explanation: Yawning May Cool Brain

Evolutionary adaptation keeps the nervous system's motherboard cool

(Newser) - Yawning may be less a response to boredom than a natural mechanism for cooling off overheated brains, new research says. The human brain operates optimally when cool, much like a computer, and conditions like fatigue actually cause the organ to heat up, ABC News reports. A quick gulp of air...

Heaven Can Wait, and So Must Research

Scholars chafe at temporary closing of Vatican Library

(Newser) - Despite rumblings from anxious researchers, the Vatican Library has closed its doors for at least 3 years to undergo renovations after an inspection this year revealed that the structure couldn’t support the weight of its books. Reading rooms were unusually full last week, the BBC reports, as researchers got...

Don't I Know You? Plants Can Tell Siblings From Strangers

Flora share resources with nearby kin

(Newser) - Plants are smarter than people think: New research shows flora can distinguish between members of their own family and unrelated vegetation, Nature reports. Plants tend to share resources more equitably with nearby siblings by developing smaller root systems, but compete for available nutrients when neighbors are strangers. "Plants have...

Stem Cell Breakthrough Spares Embryos

Technique sidesteps both ethical and technical difficulties

(Newser) - Normal skin cells can be transformed into the equivalent of stem cells in mice, researchers report, and the new technique may revolutionize research on humans. Because it doesn't involve embryos or eggs, the process skirts the ethical quagmires surrounding human stem cell research; the easy availability of raw material and...

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