Fossilized pregnant fish was one of the first animals to have sex. A pregnant fossil fish at the Natural History Museum in London has shed light on the possible origin of sex, according to a new study. Dating from the Upper Devonian period 365 million years ago, the adult placoderm fish Incisoscutum ritchiei is one [...]

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Scientists have determined that a specific gene plays a role in the weight-gain response to a high-fat diet. The finding in an animal study suggests that blocking this gene could one day be a therapeutic strategy to reduce diet-related obesity and associated disorders, such as diabetes and liver damage, in humans.

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Researchers have precisely measured the impact of a high-fat diet on the spread of cancer, finding that excessive dietary fat caused a 300 percent increase in metastasizing tumor cells in laboratory animals.

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A researcher in Canada has found that the environmental impact of digital technology is much higher than previously believed.

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In the real world, odors don’t happen one puff at a time. Animals move through, and subsequently distort, plumes of odor molecules that constantly drift, changing direction as the wind disperses them. Now, by exploring how animals smell odors under naturalistic conditions, scientists reveal that the brain encodes these swirling, and complex patterns of molecules [...]

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admin on February 26th, 2009

When participants performed a mentally fatiguing task prior to a difficult exercise test, they reached exhaustion more quickly than when they did the same exercise when mentally rested. Mental fatigue did not cause the heart or muscles to perform any differently; instead, our “perceived effort” determines when we reach exhaustion. The next step is to [...]

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A new study suggests that acrylamide from foods may increase the risk of heart disease.

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Scientists are searching for ways to increase the stability of proteins. In a new study, researchers detail a targeted strategy to substantially increase the thermodynamic stability of nearly any protein, while preserving its unique function. Their redesign technique creates proteins that remain stable at temperatures 10 degrees Celsius higher than normal.

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admin on February 26th, 2009

Women who’ve had a breast biopsy know the anxiety of waiting for the results, but that stress may cause adverse health effects, according to a new study.

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More than 80 stone implements were discovered together in Boulder city limits by landscapers. A biochemical analysis of a rare Clovis-era stone tool cache recently unearthed in the city limits of Boulder, Colo., indicates some of the implements were used to butcher ice-age camels and horses that roamed North America until their extinction about 13,000 [...]

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