Nude-colored hospital gowns could help doctors better detect hard-to-see symptoms

ScienceDaily (2010-04-29) -- Changing the hue of hospital gowns and bed sheets to match a patient's skin color could greatly enhance a physician's ability to detect cyanosis and other health-related skin color changes, according to a new study.

Why cholesterol damages arteries: Cholesterol crystals lead to life-threatening inflammation in blood vessel walls

ScienceDaily (2010-04-29) -- The presence of crystalline cholesterol in the walls of our arteries is a major cause of life-threatening inflammation. This has been demonstrated in a new study.

Our genes can be set on pause: Embryonic stem cells reveal oncogene's secret growth formula

ScienceDaily (2010-04-29) -- New evidence in embryonic stem cells shows that mammalian genes may all have a layer of control that acts essentially like the pause button on your DVR. The researchers say the results show that the pausing phenomenon, previously thought to be a peculiarity of particular genes, is actually a much more general feature of the genome.

Mexico City air pollution adversely affects the hearts of young people

ScienceDaily (2010-04-28) -- A post-mortem study of the hearts of 21 young people in Mexico City has found that the heart begins to show the adverse effects of air pollution at a young age and that tiny bits of inactivated bacteria that hitch a ride on pollutants may make the problem worse.

Swedish scientists stop acorn barnacles

ScienceDaily (2010-03-15) -- Marine organisms that fasten to the bottoms of ships have always been a scourge to seafaring. By monitoring how the larvae of acorn barnacles go about finding suitable spots to attach themselves, researchers in Sweden have managed to design surfaces that prevent growths -- without using poisonous chemicals.

Fossil of newly discovered species found in Spain

ScienceDaily (2010-04-27) -- A team of psychologists has found an intriguing possibility that personality and brain aging during the golden years may be linked. Researchers found lower volumes of gray matter in the frontal and medial temporal brain regions of volunteers who ranked high in neuroticism traits, compared with higher volumes of gray matter in those who ranked high in conscientious traits.

How chimps deal with death: Studies offer rare glimpses

ScienceDaily (2010-04-27) -- Two studies offer rare glimpses into the ways that chimpanzees deal with the deaths of those closest to them. In one case, researchers describe the final hours and moment of death of an older female chimp living in a small group at a UK safari park as captured on video. In the other, researchers observed as two chimpanzee mothers in the wild carried their infants' mummified remains for a period of weeks after they were lost to a respiratory epidemic.