Despite being larger in size and heavier in weight, an analysis of the cardiovascular disease risk factors of about 500 National Football League players finds that they have a lower incidence of impaired fasting glucose and similar prevalence of abnormal cholesterol levels as compared to a sample of healthy young-adult men, but have an increased prevalence of high blood pressure.

In physics many subtle phenomena can be studied by allowing waves to interfere with each other. In an interferometer, light waves travel by two different paths, directed from place to place by strategically places mirrors, and converge at a detector, where they produce a striped interference pattern.

Women of childbearing age can reduce the risk of having a child born with a neural tube defect such as spina bifida by eating enough folate or folic acid. New research using mice confirms the importance of another nutrient, inositol, to protect against the development of neural tube defects.

Fallow deer become hoarse when trying to attract a mate, according to scientists.

In what could be a major pharmaceutical breakthrough, scientists have devised a one-two punch to stop HIV. First the report describes a new protein that can kill the virus when used as a microbicide. Then the report shows how it might be possible to manufacture this protein in quantities large enough to make it affordable for people in developing countries.

A previously unknown giant volcanic eruption that led to global mass extinction 260 million years ago has been uncovered.

An oscilloscope is a device for displaying signals that are too fast to be seen by the human eye. Typically the signal consists of a voltage level that changes quickly moment by moment (over millisecond to nanosecond timescales). What is seen on the screen of the scope is a waveform whose value is graphed along the vertical axis as a function of the horizontal axis representing time. An electron beam, aimed at a phosphorescent screen, is swept horizontally providing a light-trace on the screen while, coincidentally, the instantaneous voltage of the input signal is used to deflect the electron beam up or down, creating the visible trace.

Sensory ataxic neuropathy (SAN) is a recently identified neurological disorder in Golden Retriever dogs with onset during puppyhood. Affected dogs move in an uncoordinated manner and have sensory deficits. Researchers in Sweden have now revealed that SAN is caused by a mutation in mitochondrial DNA.

Stretches of DNA previously believed to be useless 'junk' DNA play a vital role in the evolution of our genome, researchers have now shown. They found that unstable pieces of junk DNA help tuning gene activity and enable organisms to quickly adapt to changes in their environments.

Oxidative stress has been linked to aging, cancer and other diseases in humans. Paradoxically, researchers have suggested that small exposure to oxidative conditions may actually offer protection from acute doses. Now, scientists have discovered the gene responsible for this effect. Their study explains the underlying mechanism of the process that prevents cellular damage by reactive oxygen species.