Smithsonian scientists rearrange Hawaii's bird family tree

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A group of five endemic and recently extinct Hawaiian songbird species were historically classified as "honeyeaters" due to striking similarities to birds of the same name in Australia and neighboring islands in the South Pacific.

There's a life-saving medical device sitting on your sink

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Hospital-borne infections are a serious risk of a long-term hospital stay, and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), a lung infection that develops in about 15% of all people who are ventilated, is among the most dangerous. With weakened immune systems and a higher resistance to antibiotics, patients who rely on a mechanical ventilator can easily develop serious infections — as 26,000 Americans do every year.

Thanks to a proven new clinical approach developed by Tel Aviv University nurses, though, there is a new tool for stopping the onset of VAP in hospitals.

Stressed-out mice reveal role of epigenetics in behavior

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Research conducted by a team in Switzerland suggests that a family of genes involved in regulating the expression of other genes in the brain is responsible for helping us deal with external inputs such as stress. Their results, appearing in the December 11 advance online version of the journal Neuron, may also give a clue to why some people are more susceptible to anxiety or depression than others.

Rare disease provides clues about enzyme role in arrhythmias

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A University of Iowa study provides insight into a calcium-sensing enzyme already known to play a role in irregular heartbeats and other critical functions. The researchers showed that the enzyme, calmodulin kinase II (CaM kinase II), contributes to arrhythmia in an extremely rare disease called Timothy syndrome and that inhibiting the enzyme prevents irregular heartbeats.

EPA and USDA should create new initiative to better monitor nutrients

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Mayo Clinic researchers find tamoxifen's power comes from endoxifen

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SAN ANTONIO - Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered that a chemical known as endoxifen appears to be the primary metabolite responsible for the effectiveness of tamoxifen in treating breast cancer, and that it works against cancer in an entirely unexpected way.

Doctors issue warning about the danger of heavy toilet seats to male toddlers

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Doctors have expressed considerable concerns about the growing trend for heavy wooden and ornamental toilet seats after a number of male toddlers were admitted with crush injuries to their penises.

Writing in the December issue of BJU International, Dr Joe Philip and his colleagues at Leighton Hospital, Crewe, report on four boys under the age of four, who were admitted with injuries serious enough to require an overnight stay.

Wobbly planets could reveal Earth-like moons

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Moons outside our Solar System with the potential to support life have just become much easier to detect, thanks to research by an astronomer at University College London (UCL).

Estrogen pills can benefit women with metastatic breast cancer

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In the animal world, bigger isn't necessarily better

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TORONTO, ON. – Shocking new research shows size isn't always an advantage in the animal world, shattering a widely-held belief that bigger is better.

Michael Kasumovic, a former University of Toronto Scarborough PhD student, examined Australian Redback male spiders to determine whether the larger ones had an edge in achieving mating success and producing offspring.