Science News

Over time, patients end up providing a wealth of information to their health care providers, and when all our data are aggregated, they are also a boon to researchers studying trends in diseases and demographics for clues in how to better treat illness. And nowadays, as more patient health care records go digital , patient information becomes more widely shared among researchers--which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending upon who has access to it. [More]

Last week, we told you about some of the bad news in Madagascar, a nation whose political troubles have created a thriving illegal economy for rare wildlife species. But here's some good news from that same country: a species of lemur not seen in 100 years has been rediscovered . [More]

How long does a sad movie leave you feeling blue ? Remembering something sad can trigger emotions that persist long after the event itself has passed. But people with impaired memories seem to retain the emotion long after they have forgotten the emotionally charged event itself--longer, in fact, than people who can recall the incident well--according to a new study. [More]

By Janelle Weaver

Prejudice may seem inescapable, but scientists now report the first group of people who seem not to form racial stereotypes.

Children with a neurodevelopmental disorder called Williams syndrome (WS) are overly friendly because they do not fear strangers. [More]

Some 23 million additional U.S. residents are expected to become more regular users of the U.S. health care system in the next several years, thanks to the passage of health care reform . Digitizing medical data has been touted as one way to help the already burdened system manage the surge in patients. But putting people's health information in databases and online is going to do more than simply reduce redundancies. It is already shifting the very way we seek and receive health care. [More]

Venus, the closest planet to Earth in both size and proximity, remains a source of considerable mystery. Its reflective clouds prevent a clear view of the planet, and for centuries little was known about its surface and inner workings. But radar and gravity data acquired in the past few decades by spacecraft such as NASA's Magellan , which orbited Venus from 1990 to 1994, helped refine planetary scientists' understanding of Venus's past. The impact history recorded by the planet's craters indicated that Venus had been resurfaced by volcanic activity relatively recently, just a few hundred million years ago . [More]

On tiny keypads and greasy touch screens, doctors, nurses, NPs and physicians assistants these days are doing a lot more than checking email and phone messages. Increasingly, health care workers are using their iPhones and other smart phones to track patient information, take vital statistics and even make clinical decisions. [More]

Mining is the second most dangerous profession in the U.S., averaging 27 deaths for every 100,000 workers per year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That safety record is now blown. On April 5 th , 25 of the roughly 20,000 miners in West Virginia died in a tragic incident at the Upper Big Branch mine. Four remained missing as of Friday.  

The explosion appears to have been caused by a buildup of methane . An odorless, colorless, tasteless gas that you know as natural gas. It explodes at concentrations in the air of as little as 5 percent. The incident also could have been caused or exacerbated by coal dust, which is equally combustible. That's why we burn it to make electricity.