Science Update
Sharing Science | Satisfying Curiosity | Debunking BS
LESSONS FROM THE DEAD - Scientists attempt to bring back an extinct frog. Mummies showing signs of heart disease make researchers rethink assumptions about lifestyle and diet. The mysterious death zone within African "fairy circles" explained. Also: a miniature laboratory under the skin monitors blood chemistry.
Researchers have developed an implantable blood testing sensor that can monitor blood glucose levels and chemotherapy drugs, among other things.
Deficiency in a key protein may strongly contribute to cognitive impairments in Down Syndrome.
Mummies from a variety of different cultures show signs of heart disease.
EARLY HEALTH - A molecule that could make it possible to jumpstart the newborn immune system. Why too many brain cells could be a bad thing. And, could humidity affect flu transmission? Also: The effects of sleep deprivation on your genes.
Fighting disease involves maintaining the healthy populations of microbes that live inside us.
Fragile X Syndrome, a leading genetic cause of intellectual impairments, may actually result from too much brain activity.
Low humidity may increase the transmissibility of the influenza virus indoors.
Just one week of sleep deprivation alters the expression of at least 711 different genes.
Researchers have identified a molecule that could help turn on newborn babies’ immune systems.
Scientists discover shared genetic markers for five common psychiatric disorders.
Researchers have successfully copied a molecule that protects our bodies from our own immune systems.
Fur seals sleep with one half of their brain at a time.
INSECTS & ALCOHOL - Insects that arm their offspring with alcohol. Drinking may have a 10 million year history. And the importance of wild insects to the worldwide food supply. Also: prosthetic ears from a 3-D printer and seals that sleep with one eye open.
Some video games can improve surgeons’ skills and help children with learning disorders.
Did our ability to digest alcohol first emerge at the dawn of civilization or millions of years earlier?
Scientists have reproduced a human ear using a 3-D printer.
SWEET SCIENCE - What tomatoes can tell us about cutting back on sugar and a diabetes cure for dogs. Also, behind the mechanics of beatboxing, the evolution of whales, and writing your way to a better relationship.
One injection has eliminated the symptoms of Type I diabetes in dogs – for four years and counting.
Sensors the size of temporary tattoos could transform how brain signals are monitored.
Researchers have pinpointed zinc's role in moderating inflammation.
Sensors the size of temporary tattoos could transform how brain signals are monitored.
2013 AAAS ANNUAL MEETING, BOSTON, MA - Researchers are discussing how to treat psychological problems in chimpanzees, and why childbirth is such an ordeal in humans but not in apes. Also: scientific detectives have solved an art mystery. And researchers have unveiled ultrathin, wireless sensors that can monitor your brain activity.
A listener asks if he can reinfect himself with the same cold.
