In recent decades, a new global middle class has exploded, with a total population exceeding one billion people. A new study explores the consumption attitudes of some of these members of the "new class."

Tooth enamel is hardest material in the human body because it's made almost entirely of minerals. As tough as it may be, however, enamel can be broken down by bacteria, forming cavities and eventually destroying the tooth. That's why dentists repair cavities by filling them with a material to replace the lost enamel. The most common such restorative is a material invented in the 19th-century known as amalgam -- the classic silver-black fillings many people have.

The kelp forests off southern California are considered to be some of the most diverse and productive ecosystems on the planet, yet a new study indicates that today's kelp beds are less extensive and lush than those in the recent past.

A drug used to treat colorectal cancer also can reverse a rare stomach disorder and should be considered first-line therapy for the disease, researchers report. The targeted cancer drug cetuximab, brand name Erbitux, relieved symptoms of severe Ménétrier's disease in seven patients who completed a one-month course of treatment. Four of them showed near-complete remission, the researchers report.

A cancer vaccine carried into the body on a carefully engineered, fingernail-sized implant is the first to successfully eliminate tumors in mammals. The new approach, pioneered by bioengineers and immunologists, uses plastic disks impregnated with tumor-specific antigens and implanted under the skin to reprogram the mammalian immune system to attack tumors.

Are ladybugs being overtaken by wasps? An entomologist is investigating a type of wasp present in Quebec that forces ladybugs to carry their larvae. These wasps lay their eggs on the ladybug's body, a common practice in the insect world, yet they don't kill their host.

Researchers have identified a group of traders consistently able to outperform the market, even during the credit crisis. The study offers a rare glimpse into how biology, experience and compensation schemes work together to make a profitable and -- crucially -- a prudent risk taker.

Researchers have developed a unique new computer model called the Virtual StreamLab, designed to help restore real streams to a healthier state. The Virtual StreamLab demonstrates the physics of natural water flows at an unprecedented level of detail and realism.

Scientists provide the first direct evidence that cigarette smoke exposure prior to a heart transplant in either the donor, recipient, or both, accelerates the death of a transplanted heart.

Chemists and physicists have succeeded in getting custom-shaped particles to interact and assemble in a controlled way in a liquid crystal.