Research News

U.S. Marines fire the Carl Gustav rocket system during live-fire training last October. With each firing, the shooter's brain is exposed to pulses of high pressure air emanating from the explosion that travel faster than the speed of sound.

Report To Army Finds Blast From Some Weapons May Put Shooter's Brain At Risk

12:15pm April 30, 2018

by Jon Hamilton

Service members who fire certain weapons can get concussion-like symptoms from the blasts, an Army-commissioned report finds. It urges taking measures to cut the risk of lasting brain damage.

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Supplements which contain "good bacteria" known as probiotics have now become popular for kids and babies. But the jury is out on how well many of them work.

Probiotics For Babies And Kids? New Research Explores Good Bacteria

5:35am April 30, 2018

by Allison Aubrey

Sales of probiotics are soaring. While some studies on this beneficial bacteria show it can treat specific health issues in children, scientists are exploring how it may help gut health more broadly.

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Lorena Bradford (left), head of accessible programs at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., leads a session of the museum's Just Us program. The program gives adults with memory loss and their caregivers a chance to explore and discuss works o

Family Caregivers Finally Get A Break — And Some Coaching

5:00am April 27, 2018

by Mindy Fetterman

Across the U.S., community groups, hospitals and government agencies are stepping up to support the estimated 42 million stressed and strained family caregivers, who are often untrained and unpaid.

An illustration from the Maciejowski Bible (also called the Morgan or Crusader Bible) circa 1250, called "David Spares Saul In the Cave."

DNA Analysis Of Ancient Excrement Reveals The Diets Of Centuries Past

8:12pm April 25, 2018

by Angus Chen

Researchers are exhuming ancient dung from toilets of yore to reconstruct snapshots of food and lifestyle in bygone centuries. The parasites that show up in privies reveal a lot about what people ate.

Scientists placed two clusters of cultured forebrain cells side by side (each cluster the size of a head of a pin) in the lab. Within days, the minibrains had fused and particular neurons (in green) migrated from the left side to the right side, as groups

Tiny Lab-Grown 'Brains' Raise Big Ethical Questions

4:34pm April 25, 2018

by Jon Hamilton

Scientists are growing increasingly large and sophisticated clusters of human brain cells. Ethicists are now wondering what to do if these minibrains start thinking.

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A sample of cannabidiol (CBD) oil is dropped into water. Supplements containing the marijuana extract are popular and widely sold as remedies for a variety of ailments and aches. But scientific evidence that they work hasn't yet caught up for most applica

Anxiety Relief Without The High? New Studies On CBD, A Cannabis Extract

11:20am April 23, 2018

by Allison Aubrey

An FDA advisory committee last week urged approval of a drug containing cannabidiol to treat a form of epilepsy. Other scientists wonder if CBD might ease anxiety or other disorders, too.

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Deep-sea trawling can include bycatch and harm coral, so some activists want it banned.

For 50 Years, Deep-Water Trawls Likely Caught More Fish Than Anyone Thought

8:00am April 23, 2018

by Menaka Wilhelm

Using historical data and estimates from deep-sea trawls that drag nets along the ocean floor, researchers estimate that millions of tons of catch have gone unreported in the last 50 years.

In a study of nearly 5,600 U.S. youths ages 12 to 17, about 6 percent say they've engaged in some sort of digital self-harm. More than half in that subgroup say they've bullied themselves this way more than once.

When Teens Cyberbully Themselves

1:03pm April 21, 2018

by Juli Fraga

In this latest form of self-harming behavior, adolescents anonymously post mean or derogatory comments about themselves on social media as a way of managing feelings of sadness or self-loathing.

First responders in the Marina District disaster zone after an earthquake on October 17, 1989 in San Francisco, Calif.

Betting On Artificial Intelligence To Guide Earthquake Response

5:55pm April 20, 2018

by Joe Palca

A California tech firm believes that artificial intelligence can help communities prepare for, and respond to, quakes.

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Bottlenose dolphins typically swim in warmer waters, such as this pair jumping in Honduras.

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Bottlenose Dolphins Spotted Off Canada's Pacific Coast For The First Time

8:10pm April 19, 2018

by Merrit Kennedy

This was a bizarre sight because this kind of dolphin has never before been spotted in this northern area. They like the warmer waters farther south. About 200 were swimming in the group.