http://www.sciencenewsreview.com A fun look at science news Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:09:35 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en USPS Alzheimer's Stamp Rapid Alzheimer's Improvement After New Immune-based Treatment The open access journal BMC Neurology published research this week detailing some amazing results from the use of the anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-alpha] drug to treat symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease from a novel immune system approach. Researchers documented improvement in language ... http://www.sciencenewsreview.com/new-hope-for-alzheimers-patients/ It was bound to happen. Science Daily reports that research from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil entitled The non-equilibrium nature of culinary evolution has established that regional cuisines don't evolve much. Even in a small world. The researchers examined historical food preferences for 'national' diets in Britain, France ... http://www.sciencenewsreview.com/the-non-evolution-of-ethnic-cuisine/ Most parents know very well how heart-warming their baby's smile can be, to the point where just doing something silly to get that smile-fix becomes a regular way of life. I've heard all sorts of weird philosophies about baby smiles - "it's just gas," "they've got the intelligence of ... http://www.sciencenewsreview.com/addicted-to-your-babys-smile/ Bird-watching is one of the most popular pastimes in the world, for people from all walks of life. Our fascination with birds in all their sizes, colors and habitats thus makes for a ready field of study in biology, where bird evolution used to maintain a fairly rigorous tree-of-life. Not ... http://www.sciencenewsreview.com/rewriting-the-bird-family-geneology/ [Photo Credit: Zina Deretsky, NSF] Scientists at Indiana University Bloomington and Harvard published a report in Science June 20 describing a protein "clutch" that disengages the bacterial tail from the "tiny but powerful engine" that powers its rotation. The flagellum is the means that many bacterial cells - including Bacillus ... http://www.sciencenewsreview.com/the-surprising-technology-of-the-bacterial-flagellum/ Way back in 2005 researchers at Texas A&M determined that humor - an appreciation of the absurd hilarity of life - can significantly increase Hope, and that hopefulness helps people cope with stresses in daily life and during illnesses as well. In January of this year a communications professor ... http://www.sciencenewsreview.com/send-in-the-clowns-humor-as-coping-mechanism/ Science Daily reported over the weekend that Keio University research has demonstrated that pigeons show superior self-recognition abilities to three year old humans. Professor Shigeru Watanabe and graduate student Kohji Toda managed to train pigeons to recognize themselves in real-time using mirrors and videotape, then found that their pigeons can ... http://www.sciencenewsreview.com/pigeon-self-recognition-better-than-3-year-old-humans/ ...with Bug Juice, please. When I started college in the late 1960s in Oklahoma, I could buy gas for my Volkswagon Bug for 19.9¢ a gallon. That's 5 gallons for a dollar, enough to drive home to visit the folks, drive around town to see friends, and get back to ... http://www.sciencenewsreview.com/fill-er-up/ Here are some more strange (and very disturbing) facts about the human body, from Vicki over at the One Big Health Nut blog... • Nearly 50% of the bacteria in your body (and humans harbor 3 times more bacterial cells than human cells) live on the surface of your tongue, ... http://www.sciencenewsreview.com/more-cool-mind-blowing-facts/ The 2007 Farm Bill - now the 2008 Farm Bill, was passed by both chambers of Congress, vetoed by President Bush, then the veto was overridden by both houses and is now the 'Law of the Land'. Politically, the bill isn't perfect, there is still too much pork and ... http://www.sciencenewsreview.com/the-08-farm-bill-and-improving-americas-diet/