science / Top Stories
Cannibalism theory over bone-findA 9,000-year-old human bone found in a cavern in Devon with cut marks on it may be evidence of cannibalism, say archaeologists.
BBC Friday, August 07, 2009Scratching Surface of Itch[ The following is an exact transcript of this podcast. ]A friend’s four year old daughter recently complained to me about how badly her mosquito bite itched. She was about to burst into tears. The fact that an uncomfortable itchy sensation can drive many of us to distraction led many
scientists to believe that the nervous system deals with itch much as it does pain. Others spent years looking, unsuccessfully, for neurons that tell us to scratch rather than that we just hurt. [More]
Scientific American Friday, August 07, 2009Words matter in public healthGiving people a sense of being in control is an important element in health messages, according to researchers at Nottingham and De Montfort universities. The research, which was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, looked at how language used in policy messages and media coverage affects the public perception of health threats. The report warns that lyrical and over-emotional language may be counter-productive when issuing warnings and advice about pandemics and hospital infections.
Eurekalert.org Friday, August 07, 2009Guided care reduces cost of health care for older persons with chronic conditionsThe nation's sickest and most expensive patients need fewer health care resources and cost insurers less when they are closely supported by a nurse-physician primary care team that tracks their health and offers regular support, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. A randomized controlled trial found patients in a primary care enhancement program called "Guided Care" cost health insurers 11 percent less than patients in the control groups.
Eurekalert.org Friday, August 07, 2009Study: Your Brain Thinks Money Is A DrugHandling money can make painful things feel less painful, a groundbreaking experiment shows. Researchers say it appears that the human brain sees cold, hard cash as a reasonable substitute for another pain buffer — love.
NPR Friday, August 07, 2009Research ship to boost ocean studiesThe CSIRO's new ocean research vessel will allow more than twice as many
scientists to go to sea.
ABC.net.au Friday, August 07, 2009Extinction 'Gene': Why Some Species Are More At RiskA new study finds that the risk for extinction isn't random -- it tends to run in evolutionary families, wiping out groups of species at a time.
TIME Friday, August 07, 2009Why Should They Die?One of those arrested in July's extraordinary New Jersey roundup of mayors, legislators and others for alleged money laundering and corruption was a Brooklyn man accused of trying to broker the sale of a human kidney for a transplant operation. The accused allegedly boasted that he had brokered many such sales. This brought on the usual outcries over the need to crack down--including leveling stiffer penalties--on the selling of human body parts and organs. There is a much better--and infinitely more humane--way to deal with this problem
Bioethics.net Friday, August 07, 2009Are Patients in Part to Blame When Doctors Miss the Diagnosis?Marla (not her real name) came to our clinic with breast cancer. The clinic nurse stopped me before I went into Marla?s exam room. ?She?s different,? the nurse whispered to me. ?The last doctor just threw up his hands.?
Bioethics.net Friday, August 07, 2009Doctor and Patient: Are Patients in Part to Blame When Doctors Miss the Diagnosis?Both patients and doctors bear responsibility for prompt action.
International Herald Tribune Friday, August 07, 2009 1 2 3 4 5
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