Science Update
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NEW MEDICINE - A rare mutation that protects people from diabetes and cancer. How the pancreas "tastes" sugar. And a new implantable microchip that delivers an osteoporosis drug. Also: chimpanzees may yawn for the same reason humans do.
New research suggests that caffeine drinking by breastfeeding mothers may cause irritability in their babies.
Taste receptors on the pancreas may enable fructose sweeteners to boost obesity.
A rare genetic mutation makes people very short, but also resistant to cancer and diabetes.
An implantable microchip can deliver drugs one day at a time for at least a year.
The flight of butterflies could inspire miniature flying robots.
Playing certain types of video games can improve the vision of people who were born with cataracts.
AAAS 2012 ANNUAL MEETING SPECIAL - This week, we're coming to you from Vancouver, British Columbia, where scientists are gathering to tackle issues or global importance, such as how to boost crop productivity to feed a growing population, and making cookstoves safer for the world's poor. Also: video games to combat cataracts, and ultra-thin electronics printed with silver ink.
Cleaner cookstoves could save millions of lives and slow global warming.
Sound waves from music, particularly rap, could charge up medical implants.
Researchers have captured images of single brain cells in a live animal.
BABY SCIENCE - Why babies read lips, and how toddlers' napping habits could affect their mood for the rest of their lives. Also: Do Stradivarius violins really sound better?
A new test for blood sugar levels uses saliva instead of blood.
Eating grapes protects against macular degeneration in mice.
Researchers have used reprogrammed human cells to create new muscle tissue in mice.
A blood test reveals how well a patient may respond to a particular antidepressant.
Computer scientists have developed a mathematical model to predict a drug’s side-effects before they can harm patients.
Some of the most potent antibiotics and insecticides come from animals. Researchers have identified some promising new candidates, derived from ants and frogs.
A listener asks why some people become collectors and hoarders.
Surgeons, like athletes, may benefit from learning to use their eyes like experts.
The brains of would-be London taxi drivers get bigger during their multi-year training for the job.
Researchers hope to stave off depression by training kids to gravitate toward positive images.
A drug that cuts of the blood supply to fat cells resulted in significant weight loss in obese monkeys.
