At what point does it become "easier" for us to run rather than to walk? Many of you reading this might be thinking; "right, umm never" ... but surprising research out of NC State’s Human PoWeR (Physiology of Wearable Robotics) Lab proves that the muscles of the body might be helping make that decision for us.

NC State University biomedical engineers Dr. Gregory Sawicki and Dr. Dominic Farris have discovered that around 4.5 miles per hour, running makes better use of an important calf muscle than walking, and therefore is a much more efficient use of the muscle’s – and the body’s – energy.

The results from this unique study are published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists' discovery of new form of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome offers clues to treatments for infants who don't respond to steroid drugs

A new awareness campaign warns of the dangers of improper cooling and handling of laboratory samples.

Mill Valley, California: Scientists working with laboratory samples are accustomed to having to control for many variables, but a new awareness campaign led by biotechnology firm BioCision aims to reduce deterioration of samples as a result of another potential threat in the lab--inconsistent sample temperature during cooling and handling.

The campaign, called Scientists Against Sample Abuse (SASA), takes a humorous approach to a serious issue that’s garnering more attention recently within the scientific community.

The fight against glioblastoma, one of the deadliest brain cancers, may have received a big boost thanks to a team of researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. In a new study published September 15 in Cancer Discovery, senior author Dr. Paul Mischel, a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher and a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and of molecular and medicinal pharmacology, and his colleagues discovered that blocking cholesterol uptake into glioma cells can potently kill cancer cell lines and malignant tumors in mice. This novel finding potentially offers a more effective treatment strategy for patients with glioblastomas that have become resistant to traditional chemo and radiotherapies.

Our graphic designer was inspired by an M.D. Anderson press release that came out yesterday offering age specific tips for men to manage their cancer risk. The graphic highlights these recommendations and we have republished the press release including detailed links to studies and resources for those wanting to understand more.

Men: Cancer Prevention Tips By Age

Researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences have concluded a study which demonstrates that regular exercise modifies the brain environment, and could help prevent damage associated with diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Imperial College London researchers have discovered a new benefit for a compound that has been prescribed by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine for more than 1000 years. Before modern production techniques from pharmaceutical companies allowed the compound to be produced and purified in the lab, Ursodeoxycholic acid ( or UDCA), was found in bear bile.

How do babies decode all the spoken sounds they hear to learn words and their meanings? An “alien” language may provide a clue, according to new research to be presented at the 161st annual meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Seattle, Wash.

For the first time in 27 years, clinical diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease dementia have been revised, and research guidelines for earlier stages of the disease have been characterized to reflect a deeper understanding of the disorder.

A neurodegenerative disease affecting between 1 and 2 percent of people over the age of 65, Parkinson's disease can be difficult to diagnose as no definitive test exists. Its symptoms, which include tremors, sluggish movement, muscle stiffness and difficulty with balance, can be caused by many other things, including other neurological disorders, toxins and even medications.

Up until about twenty years ago, late-onset Parkinson's disease was thought to be caused exclusively from environmental factors. Even after researchers determined the disease to have genetic components - previous studies had only helped to confirm that genes previously had been found to confer "risk".

This new study took 18 years to build, and studied more than 4,000 individual DNA samples - half from unrelated patients with the disease, and the other half from healthy 'controls'. Patients from whom samples were taken were tracked for at least a dozen years after their initial diagnoses to assure that they indeed had Parkinson’s.