Vampires
One dark and stormy evening, Spanish neurologist Juan Gomez-Alonso was watching a vampire movie when he realized something strange; he noticed that vampires behave an awful lot like people with rabies. The virus attacks the central nervous system, altering the moods and behaviors of those infected. Sufferers become agitated and demented, and, much like vampires, [...]

For many, the harsh, bright glare of fluorescent street lights or office blocks which remain lit overnight has led to sleepless nights and subsequent bad moods.  But now psychologists from Ohio State University in the US, say that being unable to escape to the dark can affect personality, a person’s health and could lead to [...]

Low-income Americans with no more than a high school education appear more likely to get vaccinated against H1N1 swine flu than people with more money and better schooling, according to a poll released on Friday.   A telephone survey of 3,003 U.S. adults conducted by Thomson Reuters found that 49.8 percent of people with lower education [...]

Brain signals can drive arm movement in a monkey with a paralyzed arm.
A monkey with a paralyzed arm can still grasp a ball, thanks to a novel system designed to translate brain signals into complex muscle movements in real time. The research, presented at the Society for Neuroscience conference in Chicago this week, could one [...]

 
British doctors have moved a step closer to carrying out what they hope will be the world’s first successful human womb transplant, giving hope to thousands of women who are unable to have children for medical reasons.
 

Do YOU have what it takes?

“Do you have a medical condition that necessitates marijuana? Do you have a way with words? If so, Westword wants you to join the ranks as our freelance marijuana-dispensary reviewer.”
The local “burgeoning medical marijuana scene” in Denver, Colorado, is growing and the weekly publication Westword wants to be on the [...]

 
The Philips DirectLife Activity Monitor isn’t much more than a glorified waterproof accelerometer. Yet it might be brilliant.
Using Philips’ software, you preload your fitness goals (the amount of daily activity you’re aiming for) onto the device. Then, as you go about your day with the monitor in your pocket, its series of opaque dots will [...]

Snow, snow, go away…

Pigs still can’t fly, but this winter, the mayor of Moscow promises to keep it from snowing. For just a few million dollars, the mayor’s office will hire the Russian Air Force to spray a fine chemical mist over the clouds before they reach the capital, forcing them to dump their snow [...]

What kind of critter flesh will you grow today?

The Cocoon Cooker isn’t just some fancy steamer or something like that. No, it’s a machine that actually grows meat and fish from heated animal cells. A-whaaa?
It’s a mere design concept, sadly, as we don’t have the science of growing animal proteins quite figured out yet. But Electrolux is [...]

Man juggling several small balls.
Learning to juggle leads to changes in the white matter of the brain, an Oxford University study has shown.

Humans have long and hard strived to be run faster and jump higher. Now that can be achieved for a little over $300! Welcome the Powerizers:

Strap Powerizers on and you will be able to jump 2m (7ft) in the air, leap 3m (10ft) for every stride and run at speeds of 20mph. Powerizers work like [...]

Brandon Hardesty is filled with wide-eyed comical amazement at the killer soap bubbles he’s able to blow after filling his mouth with — yeccch — baby shampoo. He does it so we don’t have to.

A drawing of a pig and a biohazard sign mark the door of a lab where samples are tested for the H1N1 swine flu virus
The new H1N1 flu is “strikingly different” from seasonal influenza, killing much younger people than ordinary flu and often killing them very fast, World Health Organization officials said on Friday.   A [...]

Bans on smoking in places like restaurants, offices and public buildings reduce cases of heart attacks and heart disease, according to a report  by a federally commissioned panel of scientists.
 

It’s not all in the mind — the so-called placebo effect is real and reaches right down to the spine, German scientists said.  The finding may help in the hunt for better ways to tackle pain and other disorders.
 

 
There’s no rational reason why I should want an iREV. A real boat would be way faster and much more versatile. But the iREV is a floating picnic table with a grill. Now that’s cool.
On top of the low-fire charcoal grill and Kumbaya-friendly seating arrangement, there’s an optional 500 watt speaker system complete with satellite [...]

Muscle cells (shown here) are grown on a biological scaffold.
A novel implant seeded with muscle cells could better integrate prosthetic limbs with the body, allowing amputees greater control over robotic appendages. The construct, developed at the University of Michigan, consists of tiny cups, made from an electrically conductive polymer, that fit on nerve endings and [...]

This machine uses mass spectrometry to make molecular maps of tissue during surgery.
In the hope of helping oncologists remove every piece of tumor tissue during surgery, researchers are developing new imaging tools that work in real time in the operating room. European researchers have now demonstrated that a chemical analysis instrument called a mass spectrometer [...]

KITE POWER!

The Italian firm KiteGen Research is developing a generator that harnesses the wind through kites. As a kite flies into the air, it unspools a cord that cranks the turbine. Carina Storrs writes in Popular Science:
The company developed a prototype that flies 200-square-foot kites to altitudes of 2,600 feet, where wind streams are four [...]

Adult female Bagheera kiplingi eats Beltian body harvested from ant-acacia.
There are approximately 40,000 species of spiders in the world, all of which have been thought to be strict predators that feed on insects or other animals. Now, scientists have found that a small Central American jumping spider has a uniquely different diet: the species Bagheera [...]

New research shows that eating chocolate or drinking water can blunt pain, reducing a rat’s response to a hot stimulus.
People often eat food to feel better, but researchers have found that eating chocolate or drinking water can blunt pain, reducing a rat’s response to a hot stimulus. This natural form of pain relief may help [...]

Another Awesome Dyson Vision

He pioneered the bagless vacuum cleaner and more recently has transformed the UK’s public toilets with his revolutionary hand-dryer. Yesterday the billionaire businessman and inventor Sir James Dyson unveiled his latest product – a desk fan that he hopes will provide a greener alternative to office air conditioning and a safer and [...]

Pedal for Power!

The One Laptop Per Child project (OLPC) hopes to distribute a simple but useful laptop computer to impoverished children in developing nations at a very low cost per unit. One recurring problem in the project has been power supply. So the Afghan IT company Paiwastoon has developed this prototype pedalling machine that allows [...]

Making a vaccine against seasonal influenza is a constant catch-up game. Scientists must predict which of the constantly mutating virus strains will be most virulent six months in the future, the amount of time it takes to manufacture the vaccine. The system has worked well enough for the regular flu. But when new, virulent strains [...]

Could birth control pills be taking human evolution in a whole new, and possibly detrimental, direction?A review of past research finds that, by altering hormonal cycles, the pill might affect choice of mates among members of both genders in a way that could hinder successful reproduction in the future.