Electric Eel Power
PhysOrg reports on a slithery new power source – the eel generator: Electric eels channel the output of thousands of specialized cells called electrocytes to […]
medicine
Fart Stink Controls Blood Pressure.
Perhaps not heart-stoppingly foul, but, as LiveScience informs us, that distinctive smell is enough to give the circulatory system pause: The unpleasant aroma of the […]
Investigating the Roots of Traditional African Medicine.
A new research center is delving into a rich, as-yet-untapped reservoir of African medical knowledge, seeking new treatments for AIDS and other diseases by hoping, […]
Insomnia, meet inflammation.
I’ve sort of known this was true for years, but now ScienceDaily confirms it: lack of sleep has a direct correlation with inflammation in the […]
Turning off old age.
Stanford researchers have discovered something strange about microscopic worms, ScientificBlogging reports. These nematodes have specific genes that regulate the aging process: The researchers examined the […]
Zapping the blues.
PhysOrg reports on a new treatment that aims at eliminating depression by directly stimulating the brain: DBS [Deep Brain Stimulation] uses high-frequency electrical stimulation targeted […]
A Cowardly and Superstitious Lot.
I can’t say anything more about SciAm’s interview on the science of Batman. The article speaks for itself: What’s a realistic training regimen? I didn’t […]
Worms. Inside you. Making you better.
That’s the big idea behind this New York Times piece about the doctor who gave himself hookworms to see if they’d cure his allergies: He […]
Too clean for comfort (or “We’re composed of membranes too.”).
Nature recently published a story that should shock the clean freaks among us. Researchers have found that common disinfectants lower fertility and cause birth defects […]
Spray-on skin.
PopSci‘s got skin in a can. I mean it. An aerosol. You spray it on burns. It’s skin in a can: Within the next five […]