Browse News Briefs

Work Smarter, Eat Harder
Category: Health
 An intriguing new study reported in Psychosomatic Medicine has demonstrates that intellectual work induces a substantial increase in calorie intake. The discovery, say the Université Laval researchers involved, could go some way to explaining the current obesity epidemic.

The researchers, supervised by Dr.
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Astronomers mull planetary smash 'em up derby
Category: Beyond Gaia
 Two Earth-like planets orbiting a stable mature sun-like star some 300 light-years from Earth appear to have recently suffered a violent collision, leaving astronomers scratching their heads as to what could have triggered such a massive event and questioning whether such a collision could happen in our own solar system.
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Plentiful poo traces confirm Brits' aversion to handwashing
Category: Health
A new study by researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has found that the further north in England you go, the more likely you are to find fecal bacteria on people's hands, especially men. But women living in the south have little to feel smug about. In London, they were found to be three times as likely as their menfolk to have dirty hands.
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Lost experiment hints at a richer primordial stew
Category: Beyond Gaia
A classic 50s experiment (known as the Miller-Urey Synthesis) that showed how amino acids could be created from inorganic molecules and an electrical spark isn't the whole story, it turns out. There were two related experiments, neither of which was reported at the time, which under modern analysis yield very interesting findings.
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Immune system overdrive responsible for cold symptoms
Category: Health
The human rhinovirus (HRV) cops most of the blame for the sneezing and runny nose that we associate with the common cold, but in reality, it's not the virus but its ability to manipulate our genes that causes the most annoying cold symptoms.
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Red LEDs could make anti-ageing device
Category: Scientific Revelations
Sunlight causes wrinkles, among other kinds of skin damage, but a different kind of light - specifically the red glow from LEDs - may help to smooth them out by altering the interactions between water and elastic proteins in the skin.

Andrei Sommer and Dan Zhu of the University of Ulm in Germany have been investigating how water molecules in the skin interact with different substances.
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Danger and wonder in Nat Geo's
Category: Mysteries
Razor-sharp rocks. Deadly crevasses. Unbearable heat. Scalding water. One false step...and you’re history.

“Giant Crystal Cave,” the National Geographic Channel’s hour-long documentary on scientific exploration deep inside Mexico’s Naica Mountain is as much about derring-do and danger as it is about science.
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The Most Ancient Temple in the World so Far
Category: Ancient Civilizations
During the 1960s, a team of archaeologists from the University of Chicago and from the Istanbul University has come upon what they believed was a regular medieval burial place. Quickly dismissed as such, the place has caught the eye of a German archaeologist, Klaus Schmidt, who knew on first sight that there was more to it.
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Biblical 'Solomon's mines' confirmed by dating
Category: Archaeology
It's not every day that science and the Bible come together to tell a piece of history. Modern dating methods have determined that huge mines in Jordan are 3000 years old, supporting the idea that they were the Biblical mines of Edom ruled by King David and his son Solomon.
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Ghost Lusters: If You Want to See a Specter Badly Enough, Will You?
Category: Paranormal
Most scientists dismiss the vast majority of ghost sightings as hoaxes. But researchers in Canada, England and elsewhere are exploring what happens in the brain to create the illusion that something is "haunted.
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Natural Or Herbal Remedies For Spider Veins
Category: Health
The annoying, unattractive groups of small veins that appear on the skins surface are called spider veins. They are purple or dark blue and are often found on the back parts of a person's legs.

Natural remedies are available that help diminish the unsightly look of spider veins. These supplements treat the cause of spider veins, not only being a remedy for their symptoms.
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Journey to unlock 'out of body' mysteries
Category: Paranormal
In September, medical teams at 25 hospitals across the world revealed they were undertaking the largest study of its kind into near death experiences (NDE).
Researchers want to know if there is any truth in so called "out-of-body" incidents reported by gravely ill people.
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