Worlds Hottest Pepper Sends Man to Hospital
In recent years, hot pepper eating challenges have popped up in many places around the world, attracting a cult-like following. Challenge participants are looking to see if they can handle eating some of the world’s hottest peppers. A new study, published in the journal BMJ Case Stories, provides an account of one man who wound […]
Drinking Wine Could Aid Oral Health
Recent reports have suggested that drinking a glass of wine may be beneficial to your health. Researchers have found that wine has a concentration of a type of antioxidant called polyphenols that can be good for heart, brain, and muscle health. Some studies have also found that it might even be able to help fight […]
Insight Into Planetary Evolution – Dark Matter Rare in Old Galaxies
Scientists Gain New Insight into Planetary Evolution Scientists recently gained new insight into the evolution of planet formation by creating and studying a model of a fairly young solar system 300 light years from Earth. The nearly 13 million year-old planetary system circles a star known as HD 106906. The system features a surrounding planet […]
Hormone Cuts Sugar Craving; inSight Launch Delayed; Space Telescope Mirrors
Hormone Cuts Sugar Craving in Mice For those of us with an active “sweet tooth”, it can be really difficult to resist sweet treats like candy, cake and cookies. But with diseases and conditions associated with eating sugary foods like diabetes, heart disease and obesity at or near epidemic levels it’s important not to overindulge […]
Curiosity Hits Silica Jackpot; Sleep Aid & Strokes; Freshwater Supply Threatened
NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Finds Plenty of Silica As they reviewed data gathered by the Mars Rover, scientists found that some rocks in Gale Crater contained the chemical compound silica. In fact they say it’s a very high amount of the compound. According to the researchers, silica is actually a combination of silicon and oxygen. […]
Paralyzed Man Wills Robotic Arm to Move
A quadriplegic man can now operate a robotic arm using just his thoughts and imagination. Erik Sorto, who was paralyzed from the neck down after suffering a gunshot wound 13 years ago, became the first person in the world to have a neuroprosthetic device implanted in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), which is an area […]
Researchers Test Real ‘Thinking Cap’
Teachers often urge their students to put on their “thinking caps” as a way of encouraging serious thought. However, a real thinking cap could someday become a reality. New research shows it’s possible to control the ability to learn by applying mild electrical current to the brain. Writing in the Journal of Neuroscience, the Vanderbilt […]
Laughter Triggers Different Parts of Brain
Laughter can be a valuable communications tool; it can indicate ridicule, humor, joy or maybe just a physical response to being tickled. German scientists have found these different laugh responses are handled by different networks in our brains, depending on the specific context of the laughter. The different patterns of brain connectivity brought on by […]
Rats Communicate Brain to Brain
The old proverb, “two heads are better than one,” was put to the test recently when researchers electronically linked the brains of two rats, prompting the animals to work together to accomplish a common goal. The researchers fitted each rat with a device that allowed one rat to send brain waves to the other, even […]
Skipping Breakfast Prompts Brain to Make Poor Food Choices
Skipping breakfast sets the brain up to make poor food choices later in the day, according to a new study. Scientists from the MRC Clinical Science Centre at London’s Imperial College, compared the brain scans and eating patterns of people both after eating breakfast and when they were fasting. They found that those who avoid […]