New research shows it is the kind of diet a primate species consumes that offers the best explanation for its brain size, writes Darren Curnoe. It’s the mystery of all mysteries of science. Why is it that humans are so unusual compared to all other life? The key to solving this riddle lies in explaining the evolution of our large brains and exceptional intelligence. For as long as humanity has been contemplating our existence we must surely have been struck by the fa...

Research findings recently published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology state that Sleep researchers previously found links between insomnia and health deterioration. The study's author, Qiao He, a graduate school student at China Medical University in Shenyang, China, noted that adequate sleep is imperative for biological recovery. In fact, sleep takes up about one-third of the average human's life. Sleep researchers previously found links between insomnia and health deteri...

Students with behavioral and academic difficulties typically have limited awareness and understanding of their own behavior and its effects on others. Self-monitoring interventions equip students to recognize and keep track of their own behavior (Hoff & DuPaul, 1998; Rhode, Morgan, & Young, 1983). Using these strategies, students can learn to identify and increase positive, pro-social behaviors, the behaviors necessary for success in general education settings. Self-monitoring is a lo...

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory describes 2014 JO25 as being approximately 2,000 feet wide, or about 650 meters across, which is a little more than two-fifths of a mile. That's a pretty large chunk of rock, and NASA says it's the largest asteroid to come that close to Earth since 2004, with the next similar flyby predicted to occur in 2027 when asteroid 1999 AN10, measured at about a half mile in width, makes an appearance at a distance of 236,000 miles. https://youtu.be/cItnmeZGxZM  ...

Polymer nanocomposites mix particles billionths of a meter (nanometers, nm) in diameter with polymers, which are long molecular chains. Often used to make injection-molded products, they are common in automobiles, fire retardants, packaging materials, drug-delivery systems, medical devices, coatings, adhesives, sensors, membranes and consumer goods. When a team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory tried to verify that shrinking the nanoparticle size would adversely aff...

It is well accepted that severe spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to functional disconnection of ascending and descending spinal pathways, impairing neural circuitry through and below the SCI. However, in clinically complete SCI, defined as American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) level A, a portion of neural tissue commonly remains intact across the injury site1 and may provide nonspecific supraspinal influence on sublesional spinal circuitry.2, 3, 4, 5 This injury profile is defi...

Hormone replacement therapy has long been controversial. While some studies suggest that it lowers the risk of osteoporosis and improves some aspects of heart health, others link it to higher risk of cancer and stroke. A new imaging study by investigators at Cedars-Sinai suggests that women using hormone replacement therapy to relieve menopause symptoms face a lower risk of death and show lower levels of atherosclerosis — plaque buildup in the heart's arteries — than women who do not use horm...