Smiling helps to relieve stress

A person smiling is mostly considered to be a good thing. While the gesture is not universally positive in the animal kingdom, it is definitely something that most of us human beings appreciate. A smile shows pleasure or joy, and can be quite 'contagious'. It is sometimes said that smiling makes you live longer. While that seems unlikely, scientists did recently show that a smile helps to relieve stress, indicating there may be real health benefits after all.

Genes 'collaborate' in order to cause cancer

It is often said that cancer is a disease of the DNA. Indeed, tumours often start due to genetic modifications that alter the growth rate of cells. Scientists therefore spend a lot of time on genetics, in order to find specific mutations that tell us something about the foundations of the disease. Genetic alterations also help us predict future cases of cancer, and tell us something about possible treatment. Researchers from a Singaporean institute found a way to scan the DNA for modified genes that 'cooperate' in order to make a cell cancerous, while they would be harmless on their own. This new way of detecting harmful genetic changes enables doctors to more accurately predict cancer and disease progression.

Termites can act as 'suicide bombers' against intruders

Suicide by blowing yourself up has become increasingly popular in the last decade, sadly. Most of us would say only certain, confused people would do such a thing, but surprisingly, such behaviour can also be found elsewhere in the animal world. An international team of researchers studied termites and found that old workers defended their lair against intruders by 'blowing' themselves up.

Uganda is suffering from a deadly Ebola outbreak

Ebola is one of the deadliest viruses known to roam the world. It causes deadly internal bleeding all over the body and it is especially lethal because there is no known cure, despite the fact that a recent study shows a vaccine may prevent infection in the future. That does not help us now, as is evident from the fact that the virus has wreaked havoc in the African country Uganda.

Important protein for pain regulation discovered

Although trying to prevent pain does not cure anyone from a disease or injury, it is arguably one of the most important things doctors can do for a patient. Pain relief increases feelings of well-being tremendously, which is why scientists still devote resources to discovering how the body regulates these feelings, despite the fact that we have already have access to a rather large library of painkillers. A recent study from John Hopkins University shows that modifying a certain protein may help us create a new class of such drugs, but it also tells us more about how the body regulates pain.

Lucid dreams aid attempts to find the conscious brain

Lucid dreams are arguably the most interesting when it comes to dreaming. People capable of lucid dreams are aware that they are dreaming and can act on it. This can be rather amusing, but it can also help us to discover where consciousness is located in the brain. Because a lucid dream is quite similar to being conscious, comparing brain activity between ordinary periods of sleep and a conscious dream  is of interest to scientists. At the Max Planck Institute in Germany, such experiments were set up, which helped to discern brain patterns involved with consciousness.

Women's brains age faster, possibly due to stress

Stress is not just a psychological thing: it can greatly impact physiology, because the body acts differently under stressful conditions. For example, the hormone cortisol is produced by many mammals during feelings of stress. A so far unproven hypothesis states that stress can lead to faster ageing, and scientists from the University of California in Berkely set out to investigate whether there is any truth to it. They found that the brains of women age faster, and that stress is likely increasing the pace.