How do itches come about, and why does it feel good to scratch them? —B. Ericsson, Sweden Mark A. W. Andrews, associate professor of physiology at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, replies: An itch, also known as pruritus, arises from the irritation of nerve cells associated with the skin. Pruritus serves as an important sensory and self-protective mechanism—as do many other skin sensations—by alerting us to harmful external agents....
The underpinnings of autism are turning out to be even more varied than the disease’s diverse manifestations. In four new studies and an analysis published June 8 researchers have added some major landmarks in the complex landscape of the disease, uncovering clues as to why the disease is so much more prevalent in male children and how such varied genetic mutations can lead to similar symptoms. Large genetic studies have ruled out the idea that the malfunction of a universal gene or set of genes causes autism....
What most people care about when it comes to the electrical outlet is that the current flows. “The only thing that matters is: when you walk in your house here or California or Colorado and turn on the light switch, does your house light up or doesn’t it?” noted Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia during an event to unveil the world’s first carbon capture and storage project at a working coal-fired power plant last October....
In people who suffer from pain disorders, painful feelings can severely worsen and spread to other regions of the body. Patients who develop chronic pain after surgery, for example, will often feel it coming from the area surrounding the initial injury and even in some parts of the body far from where it originates. New evidence suggests glia, non-neuronal cells in the brain, may be the culprits behind this effect. Glia were once thought to simply be passive, supporting cells for neurons....
There’s no question that people need their sleep: studies have linked a lack of shut-eye to everything from disruptions in the immune system to cognitive deficits to weight control. In fact, psychologist Matthew Walker of the University of California, Berkeley, says that “almost all psychiatric disorders show some problems with sleep.’’ But, he says that scientists previously believed the psychiatric problems triggered the sleep issues. New research from his lab, however, suggests the reverse is the case; that is, a lack of shut-eye is causing some psychological disturbances....
The famous writer H. G. Wells published his first novel, The Time Machine, in 1895, just a few years before Queen Victoria’s six-decade reign over the U.K. ended. An even more durable dynasty was also drawing to a close: the 200-year-old Newtonian era of physics. In 1905 Albert Einstein published his special theory of relativity, which upset Isaac Newton’s applecart and, presumably to Wells’s delight, allowed something that had been impossible under Newton’s laws: time travel into the future....
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African court has sentenced a rhino poacher to 77 years in jail, the heaviest penalty imposed by authorities desperate to halt a wave of poaching that is threatening the population of the endangered animals. Mandla Chauke was convicted of shooting three rhinos, as well as murder and possession of illegal firearms, after he and two other poachers cut through wire fencing and infiltrated the flagship Kruger National Park in 2011, officials said....
In 2007, outside Bangalore, India, an explosion decapitated an industrial worker, hurling his body through a brick wall. In 2005 a routine procedure at a manufacturing plant in Taiwan caused a spontaneous explosion that killed a worker and ignited a blaze that ripped through the factory, shutting down production for three months. Both incidents shared a common cause—silane, a gas made up of silicon and hydrogen that explodes on contact with air....
By Marty Graham SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - California firefighters were battling wind-whipped wildfires on Friday, as some 125,000 people fled their homes in the San Diego area and police arrested at least two people on arson-related charges. The cluster of fires comes as California enters its peak fire season amid its worst drought in decades. Officials worry it could be a particularly dangerous year. Crews made some progress against the fires, which have scorched thousands of acres this week across Southern California....
The earliest indicator yet of autism may be the presence of flawed cells in the placenta, scientists have discovered. The findings could lead to earlier diagnosis of the developmental disorder that affects approximately one in every 200 children and can result in learning difficulties, speech problems and difficulty relating to people. “The earlier we diagnose it, the more we’ll understand the disease and the better and more potent our interventions may be,” says research scientist Harvey Kliman of the Yale School of Medicine....
PHILADELPHIA—When you have bedbugs (Cimex lectularius), less interesting is the question of how they got there than the conundrum of how best to get them out. Ridding homes and businesses of these pests has become a multimillion dollar industry in many cities in the U.S. and throughout the world. A few scientists, however, are now asking just how these populations have been spreading from town to town and from headboard to headboard....
California-based Geron was once feared for its patent might. Because the company held exclusive rights to many embryonic stem cells developed at the University of Wisconsin, biotechnology rivals believed the company would establish a stem cell monopoly. In 1999 Geron purchased rights to the cloning technology used to make Dolly the sheep in Scotland, a technique given patent protection by the British government a year later. The controversy over Geron’s extensive patent holdings only subsided in 2002 when the company and the University of Wisconsin reached an agreement that limited Geron’s patent rights and promised to allow other scientists access to the stem cell lines....
Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from Mindfield: How Brain Science Is Changing Our World by Lone Frank, to be released in the U.S. November 10. Say the word: neuromarketing. Doesn’t exactly sound good, does it? It’s an outlandish word that scrapes across the tongue, leaving an aftertaste of thought control, science fiction, and downright creepiness. The press surrounding neuromarketing reflects this as well. The headlines are ominous: soon, the bright boys of the advertising world will get their sticky hands on our inner “buy button....
One of the most fascinating conversations I’ve had about my book Extraterrestrial was with a group of high school kids. They were genuinely curious and did not carry the baggage of prejudice or self-importance. At the end of our chat, they brought up the most consequential question: “What are the primary goals of our civilization?” I explained that the two biggest tasks on the agenda of the human species are extending the longevity of our civilization and exploring the universe....
By Roxanne Nelson (Reuters Health) – Men who decide with their doctors to keep a close eye on their prostate cancer - instead of treating it right away - tend to have physical and mental wellbeing equal to or better than men who opt for immediate treatment, suggests a new analysis. Additionally, the men who decided to track their cancers in a process known as “active surveillance” did not appear to suffer added emotional stress, researchers found....
Earthquake stories are incomplete without information from the Richter scale. Without the measurement of magnitude 6.8, for instance, few could grasp the relative severity of the recent earthquake off the western coast of Japan. Scales are also essential to any weather report—from hurricane intensity (measured on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale from categories 1 to 5) to the temperature. An analogous scale exists for portraying the broad range of potential danger from a nuclear accident—whether it be a small leak of radioactive material or the meltdown of a reactor—though it lingers in relative obscurity....
American greenhouse gas emissions fell a record 10.3% last year—the largest annual decline since World War II, according to a report released today by the Rhodium Group. But the emission reduction—which puts the U.S. temporarily into position to meet its obligations under the Paris climate accord—is likely to be fleeting without a major intervention by the incoming Biden administration and Congress. The report attributes the vast majority of the decline in carbon dioxide emissions last year to behavioral changes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic....
In Africa, a species of termite builds columns of mud and spit, sometimes up to 18 feet tall. Paper wasps with brains the size of two grains of sand can recognize the faces of their fellow wasps. On the seafloor, dozens of unique marine bacteria, worms and crustaceans make their homes within rotting bones of dead whales. Why do animals do such strange things? In this issue, scientists offer answers to this question....
It is hard to escape the nagging suspicion that creating machines smarter than ourselves might be a problem. After all, if gorillas had accidentally created humans way back when, the now endangered primates probably would be wishing they had not done so. But why, specifically, is advanced artificial intelligence a problem? Hollywood’s theory that spontaneously evil machine consciousness will drive armies of killer robots is just silly. The real problem relates to the possibility that AI may become incredibly good at achieving something other than what we really want....
The digital revolution has forced law enforcement and intelligence agencies to monitor threats such as cyber attacks and stolen computer data using technology that makes most Cold War–era equipment look like it was made from spare parts in someone’s garage. But lest these once-innovative tools be forgotten, the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s Countermeasures Directorate today unveiled a public exhibit, entitled “Listening In: Electronic Eavesdropping in the Cold War Era,” honoring spy gear used by (and against) the U....
