A study comparing the impact of diet versus drugs on the inner workings of our cells has found nutrition has a much stronger impact. The pre-clinical study by the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre suggests the makeup of our diet could be more powerful than drugs in keeping conditions like diabetes, stroke and heart…

Aerosol products used in the home now emit more harmful volatile organic compound (VOC) air pollution than all the vehicles in the UK, new research shows. A new study reveals that the picture is damaging globally with the world’s population now using huge numbers of disposable aerosols — more than 25 billion cans per year.…

Smoke from wildfires may have contributed to thousands of additional premature births in California between 2007 and 2012. The findings underscore the value of reducing the risk of big, extreme wildfires and suggest pregnant people should avoid very smoky air. The study, published Aug. 14 in Environmental Research, finds there may have been as many…

Although most beer consumers can distinguish between different bitter tastes in beer, this does not appear to influence which beer they like. It seems they just like beer, regardless of the source of the bitterness. That is the conclusion of Penn State sensory researchers who conducted multiple studies with more than 150 self-identified beer drinkers…

Why do mice without taste buds still prefer real sugar to the fake stuff? ‘We’ve identified the cells that make us eat sugar, and they are in the gut,’ said one of the researchers. Specialized cells in the upper gut send different signals to the brain for sugar and sugar substitute. Not long after the…

An international team of scientists has discovered that some of the most renowned classic Belgian beers, including Gueuze and Trappist ales, are fermented with a rare and unusual form of hybrid yeasts. These yeasts combine DNA of the traditional ale yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with that of more stress-resistant feral yeasts such as Saccharomyces kudriavzevii. Mixed…

Although alcohol use is ubiquitous in modern society, only a portion of individuals develop alcohol use disorders or addiction. Yet, scientists have not understood why some individuals are prone to develop drinking problems, while others are not. Now, researchers have discovered a brain circuit that controls alcohol drinking behavior in mice, and can be used…

Environmental pressures may have led humans to become more tolerant and friendly towards each other as the need to share food and raw materials became mutually beneficial, a new study suggests. This behaviour was not an inevitable natural progression, but subject to ecological pressures, the University of York study concludes. Humans have a remarkable capacity…

New research reveals that items in litter typically originate less than two miles from where they’re found — and unless humans remove them, most of these items will never leave the environment. For the study, researchers from the University of California, Riverside spent a month collecting trash from seven sites across the Inland Empire. They…

Researchers have confirmed Germany’s first-ever case of animal-to-human transmission involving a specific species of virus known as the ‘Seoul virus’. Researchers were able to confirm the presence of the virus in a young female patient and her pet rat. Following multiple outbreaks earlier in the 21st century, hantavirus disease syndromes have gained increasing levels of…