Culture

Cold Spring Harbor, NY – Against a backdrop of some of the world's most sophisticated biological research labs, Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) this morning issued a challenge to his colleagues in Congress: immediately upon their return from summer recess, he urged, they should pass legislation that would reverse a recent Federal court decision that has brought embryonic stem cell research in the U.S. to a screeching halt.

Less-pretty female house sparrows tend to lower their aim when selecting a mate. Addressing the lack of studies on condition-dependency of female mate choice, researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology found that female sparrows of a low quality prefer males of an equally low quality.

The use of bariatric or weight loss surgery has increased ten-fold in NHS hospitals in England since 2000, finds a study published on bmj.com today. One reason for this rapid rise is increased demand from obese patients as they become more aware of surgery as a viable treatment option, suggest the researchers.

So, people in England are a lot fatter but, for supporters of nationalized health care in the US, it also means they are getting 10X as much optional surgery without the system collapsing.

While some teenagers may puff on cigarettes to 'self-medicate' against the blues, scientists at the University of Toronto and the University of Montreal have found that smoking may actually increase depressive symptoms in some adolescents. Published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, the findings are part of the long-term Nicotine Dependence in Teens (NDIT) study based at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. --- Americans are united when it comes to many core values, according to a University of Michigan survey. But the nation is deeply divided about certain issues, including gay marriage, immigration, and universal healthcare.

For the first time ever, a completely man-made chemical enzyme has been successfully used to neutralise a toxin found naturally in fruits and vegetables.

While studying for her PhD in chemistry at the University of Copenhagen Dr. Jeannette Bjerre showed how a novel so-called chemzyme was able to decompose glycoside esculin, a toxin found in horse-chestnuts.

BOSTON, Aug. 26, 2010 — An antibacterial enzyme found in human tears and other body fluids could be applied to certain foods for protection against intentional contamination with anthrax, scientists reported here today at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Proponents of organic farming often speak of nature's balance in ways that sound almost spiritual, prompting criticism that their views are unscientific and naïve. At the other end of the spectrum are those who see farms as battlefields where insect pests and plant diseases must be vanquished with the magic bullets of modern agriculture: pesticides, fungicides and the like.

Tobacco companies may be using web 2.0 media, such as YouTube, to market their products to young people, so getting round marketing restrictions for tobacco content in place elsewhere, suggests research published online in Tobacco Control.

Tobacco companies have always vehemently denied advertising on the Internet. Several of them signed up to a voluntary agreement to restrict direct advertising on websites by the end of 2002.

Two new studies reveal that the commonly used insect repellents DEET and citronellal each work through a dual stimulation of insect sensory systems. The research findings in Neuron and Current Biology enhance our understanding of how insects respond to repellents and may lead to the discovery of improved compounds for controlling insect-borne disease.

BOSTON, Aug. 25, 2010 — A test for one of the thousands of chemicals in cigarette smoke has the potential for more accurately estimating smokers' mouth level exposure and may have applications for developing custom-tailored quitting approaches for the more than 43 million people in the United States who still smoke, and hundreds of millions elsewhere, scientists said here today.