research

Women only got top billing in 37 percent of medical studies published in leading journals over the past two decades.

Top Medical Journals Give Women Researchers Short Shrift

8:25pm May 09, 2016

by Lauren Silverman

Women scientists get first-author credit on medical studies much less often than their male coauthors. That has career implications and could even be skewing the study of women's health.

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The researchers were inspired by working with ultramarathoners, who can be sidelined by blisters despite years of training. These runners competed in the 2007 Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, Calif.

Go To The Tape: A Cheap, Easy Way To Prevent Blisters

1:46pm April 11, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Ultramarathoners can train for years and still get sidelined by blisters. Stanford researchers tested paper surgical tape during a 155-mile race and found it reduces blisters by 40 percent.

A canvasser knocks on a door in Los Angeles.

Study Finds Deep Conversations Can Reduce Transgender Prejudice

6:52pm April 07, 2016

by Angus Chen

After a study about support for gay marriage was faked, the debunkers performed the experiment for real. This time, the results suggest canvassing door to door might reduce prejudice long-term.

Human sacrifice helped solidify systems of social hierarchy, according to a new study of traditional cultures in the Pacific Ocean. Here, an engraving shows English explorer James Cook witnessing a human sacrifice ritual in Taihiti in the 1770s. The image

Human Sacrifice Is Linked To Social Hierarchies In New Study

4:25pm April 04, 2016

by Bill Chappell

Scientists say, "our results suggest that ritual killing helped humans transition from the small egalitarian groups of our ancestors, to the large stratified societies we live in today."

Foods that fit the ketogenic diet are high in fat and low in sugar.

Fighting Cancer By Putting Tumor Cells On A Diet

5:37pm March 05, 2016

by Bret Stetka

While genetic mutations are nearly ubiquitous in cancer, they may not always be the driving force for disease, some researchers say. They suggest looking at disruptions in cellular metabolism.

Whoops! 12 Tales Of Accidental Brilliance In Science

6:00pm February 24, 2016

by Adam Cole

You nominated 300 cool stories of scientific surprise for Skunk Bear's Golden Mole Award. Our shortlist has it all: circuits painted with light, imperceptible genitalia, and a terrifying frog.

Academic Medical Centers Get An F In Sharing Research Results

8:20pm February 23, 2016

by Harlan Krumholz

There's no excuse for not reporting all findings within two years of finishing a clinical study, says Yale University's Dr. Harlan Krumholz. He calls on his colleagues to do a better job.

Emotion seemed to fuel plenty of sighs by Humphrey Bogart's character Rick (right) in the 1942 film classic Casablanca, and even Rick's good friend Sam, played by actor Dooley Wilson, couldn't console him.

Sorry, Bogie, A Sigh Is Not Just A Sigh

8:39pm February 08, 2016

by Jon Hamilton

Sighs aren't just signs of resignation, relief or the blues. Involuntary sighs are vital to lung health, say scientists who think they have figured out the brain circuitry that controls the reflex.

When so-called senescent cells were removed from mice, they were healthier and lived longer than mice that still had the cells.

Boosting Life Span By Clearing Out Cellular Clutter

6:44pm February 03, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

So-called senescent cells no longer divide, but they secrete a mixture of chemicals that can trigger inflammation, which is involved in many age-related disorders. What if the cells were removed?

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C4 proteins (green) are seen at the synapses in a culture of human neurons. (Heather de Rivera/McCarroll Lab/Harvard via AP)

Variations In A Gene Provide Clues About Schizophrenia

5:46pm January 29, 2016

by Katherine Harmon Courage

Scientists studied the genomes of more than 64,000 people and found that those with the debilitating psychiatric disease were much more likely to possess mutations of a particular gene.