By NICHOLAS WADE
To reach Edward O. Wilson’s office on the Harvard campus, one must first push through a door with a sign warning the public not to enter. Then, enter a creaky old elevator and press two buttons simultaneously. This counterintuitive procedure transports one into a strange realm.
By Phil Mercer
Australian scientists have identified a potential treatment to combat malaria.
Researchers in Melbourne believe their discovery could be a major breakthrough in the fight against the disease.
Momentous events in your life such as having children, or getting married, may make you happier, but only temporarily, say researchers.
Our basic happiness level essentially stays the same throughout adult life, the Economic Journal reports.
By Tulip Mazumdar
Newsbeat health reporter
Eating watermelon has a similar effect on the body to Viagra, according to researchers in the US.
It’s down to a chemical called citrulline which is found in the juicy fruit.
Too little of one type of cholesterol has been linked by research to memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease.
UK and French scientists studied 3,673 civil servants, revealing low levels of “good” cholesterol were associated with poor memory.
Adopting just a couple of elements of the Mediterranean diet could cut the risk of cancer by 12%, say scientists.
A study of 26,000 Greek people found just using more olive oil alone cut the risk by 9%.
By BENEDICT CAREY
The outer layer of the brain, the reasoning, planning and self-aware region known as the cerebral cortex, has a central clearinghouse of activity below the crown of the head that is widely connected to more-specialized regions in a large network similar to a subway map, scientists reported Monday.
By ELIZABETH SVOBODA
In 2004, David Pritchard applied a dressing to his arm that was crawling with pin-size hookworm larvae, like maggots on the surface of meat. He left the wrap on for several days to make sure that the squirming freeloaders would infiltrate his system.
“The itch when they cross through your skin is indescribable,” he said. “My wife was a bit nervous about the whole thing.”
Dr. Pritchard, an immunologist-biologist at the University of Nottingham, is no masochist. His self-infection was in the interest of science. (more…)
