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Feb 22 (Reuters) - A winter storm pummeled the southern and western United States on Monday, forcing authorities to cancel flights and close schools as most of the country braced for another bout of freezing weather. A storm warning was issued from southeastern California through Louisiana as an arctic cold front expands south and east after dropping heavy snow on Colorado, the National Weather Service said. In Denver, residents were digging out from between six and 12 inches of snow (15-30 cm), while higher elevations in the Rocky Mountains got up to two feet (61 cm), the Service said....

What do we mean when we talk about aging gracefully? I mean, most of us have a basic vision of it, but how do you achieve that exactly? To some people, it simply means making sure that our final years are good ones. For others, it means avoiding health issues like dementia, osteoporosis, sarcopenia, or basic immobility. For me, it means maintaining a basic level of fitness that allows me to continue to do the activities I love for as long as possible....

The Study of animal communication has a long and colorful history. In the 1950s Dutch biologist Niko Tinbergen collected stickleback fish and carefully observed how they interacted. He noticed that the abdomen of male fish would flush bright red during breeding season, as the fish built nests and established their territories. This color served as a warning signal to rivals—so much so that Tinbergen found that territorial males would lunge at any object with a similar hue, including wood blocks he held outside their tank and even a mail van passing by the laboratory window....

From Shakira to Travolta, some people just know how to shake it on the dance floor. What’s their secret? A study published in Scientific Reports this week has identified some of the common body movements that seem to characterize the best female dancers—in a social setting at least: hip swings, plus some coordinated asymmetry in the arms and legs. The study’s authors also offer up some theories about why these particular moves get dancing queens noticed....

Telemedicine has caught on over the past several years as an effective way to bring patients and specialists together via the magic of video conferencing. Unfortunately, most telemedicine setups require the patient to be in a room equipped with a computer, camera, microphone and monitor, so that specialists can remotely assess his or her condition. Could robots be the answer, providing both patient care and a view for specialists checking in from afar?...

“Just say no.” In 1982 First Lady Nancy Reagan uttered those three words in response to a schoolgirl who wanted to know what she should say if someone offered her drugs. The first lady’s suggestion soon became the clarion call for the adolescent drug prevention movement in the 1980s and beyond. Since then, schools around the country have instituted programs designed to discourage alcohol and drug use among youth—most of them targeting older elementary schoolchildren and a few addressing adolescents....

Researchers may have discovered how the bright plumage of male birds evolved as a sign of health and vigor to potential mates. Testosterone, which weakens the immune system, increases the circulation of immunity-enhancing pigments called carotenoids, they find. Healthy birds let the pigment collect in the skin to flaunt their vitality. The bright coloration of some birds is a classic example of an animal advertising its high quality to potential mates....

A gene-editing technology that made headlines recently for successfully treating a baby with leukemia may one day be used to treat other types of cancers, experts say. Layla Richard was just 14 weeks old when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL), according to the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, where she was treated. Though doctors had previously tried several treatments, nothing had worked. The hospital offered Layla’s family the chance to try out an experimental treatment that had only been used in mice....

A long-studied planet orbiting a star 150 light-years away has been given a new look, thanks to a novel method of studying extrasolar planets from Earth. The planet, which goes by the unmemorable name of HD 209458 b, became in 1999 the first world spotted as it passed in front of its host star, an event known as a transit that reveals the fortuitously aligned planet’s presence through the slight dimming of the star....

By Caroline Stauffer SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Genetically modified corn seeds are no longer protecting Brazilian farmers from voracious tropical bugs, increasing costs as producers turn to pesticides, a farm group said on Monday. Producers want four major manufacturers of so-called BT corn seeds to reimburse them for the cost of spraying up to three coats of pesticides this year, said Ricardo Tomczyk, president of Aprosoja farm lobby in Mato Grosso state....

By Rebecca Hill of Nature magazineA decade ago, hot on the heels of whole-genome sequencing, the idea of three-dimensional genome mapping was developed. Now, the highest-resolution 3D map of the fruitfly genome has been produced, an important step towards understanding whether, and how, the structure of the genome affects its function.Chromosomes and their genes are arranged in a specific way throughout the nucleus, and because the nucleotide sequence of a genome alone cannot explain the functions of its genes, researchers have started investigating how the spatial organization of genes might affect how they work....

Recently, I was standing inside the Dirksen Senate Office Building, waiting to be ushered into the Senate gallery to witness the voting on and passage of the first piece of commonsense gun legislation in nearly 30 years. The committee room buzzed with energy, and as I looked around, I came to realize that it was full of gunshot survivors who are fierce advocates of responsible gun ownership. Some of them had been trying to end gun violence for decades....

President Donald Trump’s announcement that he’s tested positive for COVID-19 is especially concerning because of his age. At 74 years old, Trump is solidly within an age group that’s been hit hard during the coronavirus pandemic. People of all ages can get sick from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. But the severity of the illness tends to worsen the older the patient is. Through the end of September, 79% of COVID-19 deaths in the United States had been in patients over 65....

LONDON – Modern planners are building compact cities, believing tightly controlled zones are better for the environment. New research suggests the opposite: urban sprawl might be a better option, with solar power fitted to suburban houses and the adoption of electric cars transforming the energy needs of a city. Research in Auckland, New Zealand – the largest urban area in the country and a city built for the age of the motor car – shows that solar panels fitted to the average suburban home can produce enough power for that household, extra to charge an electric vehicle, and still generate enough watts to export a surplus to the grid....

The long-standing 19th-century anatomical model of the brain’s language network just got a 21st-century upgrade. Marco Catani, a psychiatrist at the King’s College Institute of Psychiatry in London, and his colleagues have discovered a pathway that links the two primary language regions in the brain’s left hemisphere with a third region long suspected to contribute to human linguistic prowess. Found with a modified magnetic resonance imaging technique known as diffusion tensor tractography, the pathway affirms that “the circuit for language is more complex than we thought,” Catani says....

Hurricane Arthur smashed into the North Carolina coast last week. Just before it hit, residents checked a new storm surge map, found on the National Hurricane Center (NHC) Web Site. It showed them whether they would be above the water driven onto land by the storm or need to evacuate to higher ground. Store owners used it to figure out how high they needed to move their goods off the ground to prevent water damage....

We know not to judge a book by its cover—but new research shows that may be exactly what we do. Scientists have discovered that novel objects perk up the reward system of our brains, indicating our sense of adventure—exploring or learning something new—may be just as tempting as cash and other prizes in the choices we make. Researchers say the finding may explain why marketers are able to bolster sagging sales by simply repackaging old products....

The planet soaks up excess carbon dioxide via oceans, plants and soils, among other natural systems, locking away some of the greenhouse gases emitted by burning fossil fuels. In fact, every year these natural “sinks” absorb a larger and larger tonnage of emissions—but thanks to the increasing amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases dumped in the atmosphere by human activity, the proportion that is reabsorbed is beginning to dwindle, according to new studies....

Post updated 8/13/2013, 11:18 a.m. It’s World Elephant Day. (Who knew?!) Here’s a sober update on the ongoing saga of the proboscidian we call elephants. All is not rosy for the elephant. From Jean de Brunhoff’s Babar to Dr. Seuss’s Horton, we have been entertained by the imagined adventures of the elephant from a young age. But while these stories may have been aimed at the young reader, the plight of the elephant in them is often precarious....

By Aamir Saeed ISLAMABAD (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Amid a worsening energy crisis, Pakistan has approved the use of grid-connected solar energy, rooftop solar installations and mortgage financing for home solar panels to boost uptake of clean energy in the country. The government has also reversed course and eliminated a 32.5 percent tax imposed on imported solar equipment in the country’s 2014-2015 budget. The reversal aims to bring down the cost of installing solar panels....