Voices carry, reflect off objects and create echoes. Most people rarely hear the echoes; instead they only process the first sound received.

In real estate, location is everything. The same might be said of lipids – those crucial cellular fats and oils that serve as building blocks for cells and as key energy sources for the body.

Pathogens make themselves feel at home in the human body, invading cells and living off the plentiful amenities on offer. However, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, together with colleagues at Harvard University, reveal an opposite strategy used to ensure infection success.

The cave bear started to become extinct in Europe 24,000 years ago, but until now the cause was unknown. An international team of scientists has analysed mitochondrial DNA sequences from 17 new fossil samples, and compared these with the modern brown bear.

Researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) have successfully used a drug to reset and restart the natural 24 hour body clock of mice in the lab. The ability to do this in a mammal opens up the possibility of dealing with a range of human difficulties including some psychiatric disorders, jet lag and the health impacts of shift work.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.

Many scientists in academia bemoan the fact that their lifestyles do not allow them to have as many children as they would like. Surprisingly, male scientists harbor more regrets than female scientists, according to a study by Rice University sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund.