pIt#39;s easy to see acne sufferers from afar. But it#39;s not so easy to see the bacteria that trigger their skin inflammation. Now, researchers hope to clear out those bacteria, and clear up the acne, with viruses. The work is in the journal mBio. [Laura J. Marinelli et al, Propionibacterium acnes Bacteriophages Display Limited Genetic Diversity and Broad Killing Activity against Bacterial Skin Isolates ]/p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=virus-treatment-could-target-acne-12-09-25[More]/a
p St. Andrews Hospital, Boothbay Harbor, Maine update./ppIn my previous post, I outlined the looming menace to tiny St. Andrews hospital in Boothbay Harbor, Maine ./p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=big-fish-eats-little-fish-warning-for-rural-hospitals[More]/a
pBy Declan Butler of Nature magazine/p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=rat-study-sparks-furor-over-genetically-modified-foods[More]/a
Citizen scientists help study what makes babies laugh a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/citizen-science/project.cfm?id=baby-laughter-project[More]/a
p class=wp-caption-textImage courtesy of iStockphoto/travellinglight/p pSAN ANTONIO, Texas Choosing what foods and how much of them to eat can be an annoying or even anguishing decision, with confusing labels and health stats vying for your attention. Or it can be too much of a no-brainer , with your hand reaching for whatever is closest without much of a second thought./p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=novel-food-labels-and-dinner-plates-could-improve-our-diets[More]/a
pIt might be time to pencil in quot;awe cultivationquot; on your to-do list. Although religious thinkers like Soslash;ren Kierkegaard cast awe as a state of existential fear and trembling, new research by psychologists at Stanford and the University of Minnesota shows that experiencing awe can actually increase well-being, by giving people the sense that they have more time available. That sounds much more enjoyable than trying to power through one more hour on Redbull and fumes. Just what is this elusive emotion, and how can one nurture it in our time-pressed world?/p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-awe-stops-the-clock[More]/a
p How does dressing up in a really bad gorilla costume help to save endangered mountain gorillas? Well, it#8217;s not actually the costume itself that#8217;s important; it#8217;s what the man inside the costume is also carrying./ppTake a look at the photo to the left. In one hand, the costumed gorilla holds an energy-efficient stove. In the other, he carries a bag of biomass briquettes. Put together (without the gorilla suit of course), these two items could provide safe, inexpensive, environmentally friendly fuel for heating and cooking to the 250,000 refugees currently crowding around Virunga National Park as they flee violence from the ongoing civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo./p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=guerrilla-marketing-save-mountain-gorillas-renewable-energy[More]/a
Argentine researchers have developed an edible, biodegrable alternative to conventional plastic for use in bags and as food wrappings. Called bioplastic, the material is made of plant-based starches.
pPeople devote 30 to 40 percent of their total speaking time to describing their own opinions or experiences, according to much research. A new study suggests that self-expression is intrinsically rewarding, in the same way that sex or eating is. In fact, we find talking about ourselves so pleasurable that we will give up money to do so, as reported in the May 22 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA ./p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=enchanted-by-our-own-words[More]/a
pWith the 2012 presidential election looming on the horizon in November, consider these two crucial questions: Who looks more competent, Barack Obama or Mitt Romney? Who has the deepest and most resonant voice? Maybe your answer is, ldquo;Who cares? I vote for candidates based on their policies and positions, not on how they look and sound!rdquo; If so, that very likely is your rational brain justifying an earlier choice that your emotional brain made based on these seemingly shallow criteria./ppBefore the election, I urge you to read Leonard Mlodinowapos;s new book, Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior (Pantheon). You will gain such insights as that higher-pitched voices are judged by subjects as more nervous, less truthful and less empathetic than speakers with lower-pitched voices and that speaking a little faster and louder, with fewer pauses and greater variation in volume, leads people to judge someone to be energetic, intelligent and knowledgeable. Looks matter even more. One study presented subjects with campaign flyers featuring black-and-white photographs of models posing as Democrats or Republicans in fictional congressional races; half looked able and competent, whereas the other half did not, as rated by volunteers before the experiment. The flyers included the candidateapos;s name, party affiliation, education, occupation, political experience and three position statements. To control for party preference, half the subjects were shown the more suitable-looking candidate as a Democrat, and the other half saw him as a Republican. Results: 59 percent of the vote went to the candidate with the more capable appearance regardless of other qualifications. A similar study in a mock election resulted in a 12-percentage-point advantage for the more authoritative-looking politician./p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-your-brain-irrational-about-obama-romney[More]/a
pI have to say that I am incredibly pleased that this study won the Ignobel. Not just because it#8217;s a really fun study, but also because it really is one of those studies that makes you laugh, and then makes you THINK. And in the case of this study in particular, it has changed a lot about how we think about making corrections in fMRI, and may have actually really affected the way the data is published. And so, I present to you: the dead salmon study./ppBennett et al. #8220;Neural Correlates of Interspecies Perspective Taking in the Post-Mortem Atlantic Salmon: An Argument For Proper Multiple Comparisons Correction#8221; Journal of Serendipitous and Unexpected Results, 2010./p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=ignobel-prize-in-neuroscience-the-dead-salmon-study[More]/a
pBy /p img class=cnet-image src=http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/09/24/foxconn-jay-greene--2_610x407.jpg alt= a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=riots-suicides-apple[More]/a
pMalaria is a tropical disease, right? Actually, malaria parasites can be found as far north as Alaska--at least in birds. And a warming climate may push avian malaria even farther north by the end of the century, according to a study in the journal PLoS ONE . [Claire Loiseau et al, First Evidence and Predictions of Plasmodium Transmission in Alaska Bird Populations ]/p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=bird-malaria-moves-north-12-09-24[More]/a
