Pakistani office-goers waste maximum time on Facebook

ISLAMABAD – Facebook is right on top of the list of activities on which office-goers in Pakistan waste their time, a survey said Friday.

The Daily Times undertook a survey to find out how Pakistanis kill time in office. It showed that besides gossiping on the office premises, there are a slew of web-based applications …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Pakistani office-goers waste maximum time on Facebook.

Bio-plastics ‘aren’t necessarily greener than oil-based relatives’

WASHINGTON – Biopolymers are more eco-friendly, but farming and energy-intense chemical processing means they are dirtier to produce than petroleum-derived plastics, according to a new study.

University of Pittsburgh researchers suggest that biopolymers are not necessarily better for the environment than their petroleum-based relatives and that traditional plastics can be less environmentally taxing to produce.

Michaelangelo Tabone … Read more »»».

Now, a 3D molecular view of the mysterious egg-and-sperm encounter

WASHINGTON – The fundamental biological event of an egg combining with a sperm to create new life has always been an obscure one, but now researchers have been able to describe the complete molecular process in a three-dimensional structure.

Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have created a 3D structure of how sperm binds … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Now, a 3D molecular view of the mysterious egg-and-sperm encounter.

‘Goatsucker’ chupacabras monster ‘is as much victim as villain’

WASHINGTON – For a long time, chupacabras – a hairless, fanged animal – has been labelled as a monster that attacked and drank the blood of livestock.

But University of Michigan biologist Barry Oconnor believes that chupacabras is as much victim as a villain. Oconnor reveals that a tiny, eight-legged creature turns a healthy, wild animal …. Original source  : ‘Goatsucker’ chupacabras monster ‘is as much victim as villain’.

Understanding efficacy of current drugs and paving way for new ones

WASHINGTON – Scientists at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and Institute of Molecular Biophysics at Florida State University and researchers at Brigham Young University in Utah are close to understanding why these drugs have become less effective – and how new drugs might take their place.

“Resistance to drugs is a fundamental problem that develops …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Understanding efficacy of current drugs and paving way for new ones.

1,400-year-old pyramid ‘used for ritual sacrifices’

WASHINGTON – Archaeologists have found remains of five females who may have been ritually sacrificed in a 1,400-year-old flat-topped pyramid in the Lamayaeque region’s southern Jequetepeque Valley.

But it’s the signs of life that make a half-excavated Peruvian pyramid of the Moche culture stand out, archaeologists say.

“Often these pyramidal mounds were built as mortuaries …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Scientists solve mystery of massive, not-so-bright large star

LONDON – Astronomers have been baffled over an exceptionally massive black hole that is travelling around a massive star in an unusually tight orbit. Also odd, the star is not as bright as it should be.

Now a Northwestern University research team has produced a model of the system’s evolutionary history and formation that explains all …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Scientists one step closer to universal flu vaccine

LONDON – Researchers at Scripps Research Institute in la Jolla, California, teamed up with Peter Palese and colleagues at Mount Sinai Medical School in New York to test a protein that works against viruses from every flu family that attacks people.

These included three pandemic viruses (H1, H2 and H3), three others that attack occasionally (H6, … Read more : Scientists one step closer to universal flu vaccine.

Low-salt advice based on spurious science, say experts

SYDNEY – Scientists have slammed spurious science underlying advice that minimizing salt consumption lowers blood pressure, insisting it does not recognize the complex role of sodium in the body.

As Australian authorities consider slashing salt recommendations to even lower levels, the most comprehensive survey of salt intake in the US found consumption there had not changed …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

‘Evolving’ malaria-transmitting mosquito ‘to complicate disease control efforts’

WASHINGTON – The major malaria-transmitting mosquito species, Anopheles gambiae, is evolving into two separate species with different traits, a development that could both complicate malaria control efforts and potentially require new disease prevention methods, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have found.

Anopheles gambiae is the most common vector of human malaria in sub-Saharan … Read more : ‘Evolving’ malaria-transmitting mosquito ‘to complicate disease control efforts’.

Astronomers develop new way to weigh planets

WASHINGTON – A new method to weight planets in our Solar System has been developed by an international CSIRO-led team of astronomers-using radio signals from the small spinning stars called pulsars.

“This is first time anyone has weighed entire planetary systems – planets with their moons and rings,” said team leader Dr David Champion from Germany’s … Original source on Gaea Times at : Astronomers develop new way to weigh planets.

Kashmir gets season’s first snowfall, early winter chill

SRINAGAR – The Kashmir Valley received the season’s first snowfall in the tourist resort of Pahalgam Friday. As the minimum temperature in Srinagar dropped all of a sudden, the early winter chill took people by surprise and caused many to scamper for the warmth of the all-enveloping phiran.

“The first snowfall of the season was …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Kashmir gets season’s first snowfall, early winter chill.

India-origin scientist’s findings may hold key to novel malaria vaccines

WASHINGTON – Out of the 72 molecular switches that control the three key stages in the life cycle of the malaria parasite, over a third of these switches can be disrupted in some way, an Indian-origin researcher has found.

The research by the University of Nottingham and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute researchers is a significant … Read : India-origin scientist’s findings may hold key to novel malaria vaccines.

Oz study links snoring to brain damage

SYDNEY – Latest Australian research indicates that snoring and troubled nights could be a red flag for brain damage occurring during sleep.

Brain scans of 60 people, aged in their mid-40s and recently diagnosed with a common sleep disorder, have shown a ‘decreased amount of grey matter’ when compared to healthy sleepers.

The damage was seen in … Original article on : Oz study links snoring to brain damage.

Study suggests it is easier to rewire younger brains

WASHINGTON – A new study has found that it is easier to rewire the brain in the early stages of life, however, in the later stages; it is difficult, but not impossible.

The paper from MIT neuroscientists, in collaboration with Alvaro Pascual-Leone at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, has shed light on how the brain … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Study suggests it is easier to rewire younger brains.

Women really are more generous than men

LONDON – Women really are more generous, for a new study has found that they are significantly more likely to make a donation to charity.

Researchers at the Indiana University have found that women across nearly every income level give significantly more to charity than men-in some cases twice as much.

The researchers studied the donating patterns …. Read the original article  : here.

Smart people drink more alcohol: Study

WASHINGTON – The next time you feel tempted to enjoy an extra glass of wine, consider it as a reflection of your intelligence, says a new study.

In the National Child Development Study in the UK and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in the US, childhood intelligence was measured before the age of 16.

It …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Smart people drink more alcohol: Study.

Sexsomnia runs in the family, says expert

SYDNEY – Scientists at Victoria University have found world-first evidence that sexsomnia – the bizarre act of having sex while asleep – could be genetic.

In his 16 years as a sleep expert, Gerard Kennedy, an associate professor in psychology, has met a man, who an hour after falling asleep would roll over and begin “rough, … Original source on Gaea Times at : Sexsomnia runs in the family, says expert.

Hamster study shows cholesterol-lowering drug shrinks enlarged prostates

WASHINGTON – In a new study, researchers found that a cholesterol-lowering drug reduced the enlarged prostates of hamsters to the same extent as a drug commonly used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Together, the drugs worked even better, say researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston and their colleagues.

“We don’t know the mechanism, but the results … Read more »».

Scientists discover risk gene for severe heart disease

WASHINGTON – Researchers have identified a common variant of the cardiovascular heat shock protein gene, HSPB7, which was found to increase risk for dilated cardiomyopathy by almost 50pc.

Klaus Stark and Christian Hengstenberg of the University of Regensburg have led the research.

Per year, about 6 in 100,000 individuals develop dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), with a …. Read the original article  : Scientists discover risk gene for severe heart disease.