Recent public health studies on the US mass transit system have identified several sources of environmental hazards associated with mass transit, including excessive noise. Scientists have found that MTA subways had the highest average noise levels of all mass transit in New York City, with levels high enough to potentially increase the risk of noise induced hearing loss.

Tremendous growth in the development of nanomaterials with enhanced performance characteristics which are being used for commercial and medical applications prompts researchers to take a proactive role in examining the nano-bio interface to identify potential risks of engineered nanomaterials and explore methods for safer designs for use in drug delivery therapeutics and commercial products.

Scientists have completed the first description of the mechanics of so-called nuclear herpes virus capsids.

Sagebrush engaged in self-recognition and communicate danger to their "clones" or genetically identical cuttings planted nearby, researchers show.

A Japanese research group has successfully generated a novel kinase-dead mutant mouse of the CaMKIIalpha gene that completely and exclusively lacks its kinase activity. They examined hippocampal synaptic plasticity and behavioral learning of the mouse, and found a severe deficit.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are spreading to and throughout the environment. The resistance pattern for antibiotics in gulls is the same as in humans, and a new study shows that nearly half of Mediterranean gulls in southern France have some form of resistance to antibiotics.

Most healthy 25 year olds don't stay up at night worrying whether they are going to develop diabetes in middle age. But many should be concerned. Researchers have found young adults with low aerobic fitness levels are two to three times more likely to develop diabetes in 20 years than those who are fit. The study also shows that young women and young African-Americans are less fit, placing more of them at risk for diabetes.

Detailed, accurate evolutionary trees that reveal the relatedness of living things can now be determined much faster and for thousands of species with a computing method developed by computer scientists and a biologist.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has advised consumers to stop using three products marketed over-the-counter as cold remedies because they are associated with the loss of sense of smell (anosmia). Anosmia may be long-lasting or permanent.

A new study suggests that vaccination with 1918 H1N1 influenza virus-like particles not only protected mice and ferrets against the lethal 1918 influenza virus, but also displayed cross-reactive immunity against the potentially pandemic H5N1 influenza virus.