Top News | Fearless aphids ignore warnings, get eaten by ladybugs August 6, 2010 04:00:00Fearless aphids -- which become accustomed to ignoring genetically engineered chemical alarms in plants and alarms sent by fellow aphids -- become easy prey for ladybugs. Thats good news for farmers, according to researchers. - [Read more] |
| Poised on Historys Doorstep: Super Salmon or Frankenfish? August 10, 2010 09:32:40After 14 years of work, unceasing attacks from critics, and a $50 million investment without a penny of profit, a small New England biotech company stands on the doorstep of history - seemingly poised to join agricultures "green revolution" as a game-changer in feeding the world. - [Read more] |
| Novel diabetes hope comes from Chinese herbs August 18, 2010 15:00:00Emodin, a natural product that can be extracted from various Chinese herbs including Rheum palmatum and Polygonum cuspidatum, shows promise as an agent that could reduce the impact of type 2 diabetes. New findings show that giving emodin to mice with diet-induced obesity lowered blood glucose and serum insulin, improved insulin resistance and lead to more healthy levels of lipid in the blood. It also decreased body weight and reduced central fat mass. - [Read more] |
| Astronaut muscles waste in space August 18, 2010 12:00:00Astronaut muscles waste away on long space flights reducing their capacity for physical work by more than 40 percent, according to new research. This is the equivalent of a 30- to 50-year-old crew members muscles deteriorating to that of an 80-year-old. The destructive effects of extended weightlessness to skeletal muscle -- despite in-flight exercise -- pose a significant safety risk for future manned missions to Mars and elsewhere in the universe. - [Read more] |
| People who cannot escape a system are likely to defend the status quo, study finds August 18, 2010 15:00:00The freedom of emigration at will is internationally recognized as a human right. But, in practice, emigration is often restricted, whether by policy or by poverty. A new study finds that people who are told that their right to emigrate will be restricted have what could be considered a strange reaction: they respond by defending their countrys system. - [Read more] |
| Cause of immune system avoidance of certain pathogens discovered August 18, 2010 12:00:00Researchers have discovered that a special set of sugars found on some disease-causing pathogens helps those pathogens fight the bodys natural defenses as well as vaccines. This discovery may be a first step in understanding a disease family that includes tuberculosis for which there are currently no good vaccines or cures. - [Read more] |
| Integrative body-mind training (IBMT) meditation found to boost brain connectivity August 18, 2010 12:00:00Just 11 hours of learning a meditation technique induces positive structural changes in brain connectivity by boosting efficiency in a part of the brain that helps a person regulate behavior in accordance with their goals, researchers report. The technique -- integrative body-mind training (IBMT) -- has been the focus of intense scrutiny by a team of Chinese researchers. - [Read more] |
| Occasional Showers; Very Muggy August 19, 2010 20:22:24An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player below. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here. 90+ STREAK UPDATE: Looks like Tuscaloosa has probably ended their streak of 90 degree plus days; the high reported so far has been 89, and [...] - [Read more] |
|