Sleep Less, Gain Weight, Science Shows
Scientists have been examining the link between sleep deprivation and weight gain -- and it appears that a full night's rest may be just as important as diet and exercise in maintaining a healthy weight.
Animal Testing In UK Increases, Draws Yowls From PETA
More animals were used in scientific procedures in Britain in 2011 than 2010, with particular increases in the use of cats, pigs, birds and fish as testing subjects, according to new numbers from the UK government.
Obama Orders Health Insurance For Government's Seasonal Firefighters
The president has instructed the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Interior Department and the Agriculture Department -- parent agency of the Forest Service -- to ensure that temporary federal firefighters have access to health insurance.
Gates Foundation To Pledge Funds For Contraception
According to United Nations figures, about 220 million women in the developing world who do not want to get pregnant, cannot get reliable access to contraception.
See The Northern Lights With Your Ears: Scientists Record Aurora Borealis Sounds [VIDEO]
Researchers aren't sure exactly how, but the forces that cause the aurora borealis light show also appear to cause sounds low enough to the ground that people can hear.
Copper Makes Salmon An Easy Meal For Predators: Study
New research suggests that copper carried by storm water runoff from human developments could have serious consequences for both wild and farmed salmon.
A Brief History of Stephen Hawking's Gambling Problem
One major consequence of finding the Higgs boson? Stephen Hawking loses another bet.
Optic Nerve Tumors Traced Back To Stem Cells In Young Brains
Neurofibromatosis type 1 can cause tumors called optic glioma, but until now, scientists didn't know exactly where these tumors came from. Now researchers working with mice have tracked the tumors back to a specific region in the embryonic brain.
Arsenic-Based Life Claims Knocked Down In One-Two Punch
New research papers delivered a devastating double blow to a former NASA astrobiologist's claim to have discovered a bacterium that can feed on arsenic.
Invasion Of The Brain-Snatching Parasites
Cat ladies, cockroach slaves, and zombie ants: What do they have in common? They're all probably the unwitting victims of brain-hacking parasites.
Snapping That One In A Million Cancer Cell: UCLA Research
A new camera setup devised by UCLA engineers can pick out one breast cancer cell among a million blood cells.
E-Waste Rich In Silver And Gold, But Most Unrecovered, Experts Say
Electronic waste, or e-waste, contains deposits of gold, silver and other precious resources used in its manufacture, but the majority of those riches are being left to fester in landfills, experts say.
Growth Hormone Tied To Higher Eye Pressure In Kids
Growth hormone is generally considered safe, and although the new study raises a red flag, its significance is unclear.
Pfizer Yanks Breast, Colon Claims For Centrum Vitamins
A consumer group said Pfizer partly based its claims that Centrum products promote breast and colon health on the presence of vitamin D in the products, despite inconsistent or inconclusive evidence of vitamin D's protective role against breast and colon cancer.
Bright Lights, Big Problem: How Light Pollution Harms Astronomers, The Environment And People
The dazzling lights of the big city have a dark side: they're interfering with astronomers' work, confusing migratory birds and possibly disrupting your sleep cycle.
Parkour Helps Scientists Understand Why Orangutans Sway Through Trees
Researchers seeking to answer questions about how orangutans can stay in the trees have found it hard to get the actual apes to cooperate in experiments, and are turning to practitioners of parkour, or free-running, instead.
With CPR, Two Bystanders Are Better Than One: Study
A Japanese study found that among more than 5,000 adults who went into cardiac arrest outside of a hospital, the odds of surviving were up to two times higher when more than one person tried to help.
India To Give Free Generic Drugs To Hundreds Of Millions
From city hospitals to tiny rural clinics, India's public doctors will soon be able to prescribe free generic drugs to all comers, vastly expanding access to medicine in a country where public spending on health was just $4.50 per person last year.
Scientists Decipher Baby's DNA Sequence Just From Mother's Blood, Dad's DNA Not As Useful
Scientists have found a non-invasive way to sequence a baby's genome before birth, allowing parents and doctors to screen the child for a range of diseases and conditions.
Disappearing Space Dust Cloud Challenges Theories Of How Planets Form
In a paper published in the journal Nature, researchers described how they observed the rapid disappearance of a cloud of dust surrounding an infant star in the Scorpius-Centaurus stellar nursery - a hotbed of star formation around 400 light years away from our Sun.
'God Particle' Found -- Now What? What The Higgs Boson Discovery Doesn't Tell Us
Finding a subatomic particle that seems to be the Higgs boson answers some fundamental questions about the universe -- but there are still some mysteries yet to be solved.
Fireworks Eye Injuries Caused By Shrapnel, Not Blasts
There are more than 2,000 eye injuries from fireworks every year in the United States, most occurring during Independence Day celebrations, but the exact mechanism behind the injuries had escaped researchers until now.
Superbug Infections Dropping Across US, Army Finds
A new study shows that bloodstream infections caused by MRSA, short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, are dropping amongst military personnel, signaling that the superbug may be on the decline throughout the US.
Coffee Addiction Reduces IVF Success: Study
If you're on fertility treatments, you may want to nix that triple-latte.
Bat Plague Afflicts Close-Knit Colonies: White-Nose Syndrome Often Spares Those Who Sleep Alone
In bat species that tend to hibernate alone, population declines from white-nose syndrome in small colonies were much less severe, according to new research.
Fourth Of July Primer: The Science Of Fireworks
How do pyrotechnicians make fireworks that burn bright blue or red? Or fireworks in the shape of a star or a smiley-face? Science can explain!
WHO Probing Child Deaths From Unknown Disease In Cambodia
All but one of the 61 children admitted to hospital with the diseases had died with rapid deterioration of respiratory function, the WHO said.
GSK Settles Healthcare Fraud Case For $3 Billion
GSK targeted the antidepressant Paxil to patients under age 18 when it was approved for adults only, and it pushed the drug Wellbutrin for uses it was not approved for, including weight loss and treatment of sexual dysfunction, according to an investigation led by the U.S. Justice Department.
'Cat Lady' Parasite Linked To Higher Suicide Attempt Risk In Some Women
A new study found that in a group of nearly 46,000 women, those infected with a primarily cat-borne parasite were one and a half times more likely to attempt suicide compared to uninfected women, irrespective of a previous mental illness diagnosis.
Scientology And Scientists In Conflict: How The Controversial Church Shocks Members Into Submission
The Church of Scientology has drawn criticism from ex-members, human rights groups and world governments for many of its practices, including requiring members to pay large sums of money to advance in rank and tales of isolation and kidnapping. But what does science have to say about the church's central practices?
