- 11-05-2008 - Top Science News Stories from Firstscience.com

Female concave-eared frogs draw mates with ultrasonic calls
11 May 2008
O. tormota's ability to home in on the sound call is astonishingly precise, said Albert Feng, a professor of molecular and integrative physiology at the University of Illinois and team... Click here for more...

Is divorce bad for the parents?
11 May 2008
The elderly are cared for by their adult children regardless of their marital status. In a unique study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, researchers found British adult children help their elderly parents according to...

Fruit fly avoidance mechanism could lead to new ways to control pain in humans
11 May 2008
At first, fruit flies eat like horses. Hatching inside over-ripe fruit where they were laid, they feed wildly in the sugar-rich environment until nature sends them an offer they can’t refuse. To survive, they must leave the fruit, wander...

Human aging gene found in flies
11 May 2008
Scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have found a fast and effective way to investigate important aspects of human ageing. Working at the University of Oxford and The Open University, Dr Lynne...

Scientists dig deeper into the genetics of schizophrenia by evaluating microRNAs
11 May 2008
Joseph A. Gogos, M.D., Ph.D. associate professor of physiology and neuroscience, Columbia University Medical Center Click here for more information. NEW YORK – Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center...

Fish diet to avoid fights
11 May 2008
People diet to look more attractive. Fish diet to avoid being beaten up, thrown out of their social group - and getting eaten as a result. That is the fascinating conclusion of the latest research into fish behavior by researchers from the...

Binge drinkers have a disconnect between assessing their driving abilities and reality
11 May 2008
While many people believe that alcohol-impaired (AI) drivers are usually alcoholics, in fact, 80 percent of AI incidents are caused by binge drinkers. A recent study conducted among college students has found that binge drinkers, even when...

Naltrexone is effective for Alaska Natives and other Alaskans living in rural areas
11 May 2008
Access to treatment for alcohol dependence (AD) in rural and remote areas is limited. This study evaluated the effectiveness of two pharmacotherapies for AD – naltrexone alone, and in combination with sertraline – among Alaska...

A new gene trigger for pregnancy disorder identified
11 May 2008
Clues into how preeclampsia may surface in some pregnancies BOSTON – The COMT gene – known already for its role in schizophrenia – has been found to play a role in preeclampsia, according to a report in today’s advance...

Men are more likely than women to crave alcohol when they feel negative emotions
11 May 2008
Women and men tend to have different types of stress-related psychological disorders. Women have greater rates of depression and some types of anxiety disorders than men, while men have greater rates of alcohol-use disorders than women. A new...

Mutant gene causes epilepsy, intellectual disability in women
11 May 2008
Why women only? The mystery deepens A mutated gene has been discovered as the key behind epilepsy and mental retardation specific to women, thanks to new research at Adelaide’s Women’s & Children’s Hospital and the...

Key step in the 'puncture' mechanism of cell death revealed
11 May 2008
A team of medical researchers led by Dr Ruth Kluck at Melbourne’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) has discovered a key step in the mechanism by which cells destroy themselves. In this process, called “apoptosis”,...

Quit smoking message not getting air time in mental health care
11 May 2008
People with mental illness are not receiving the support they need to stop smoking, despite high rates of nicotine dependence and deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses. According to Professor Steve Kisely, from Griffith...