Researchers identify gene linked to alcohol dependency
A gene linked to alcohol dependency has been identified by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
They found laboratory mice with a deficiency in the CREB gene consumed excessive amounts of alcohol. The mice preferred ethanol to water and were highly anxious while doing maze tests.

A popular antidepressant, Paxil, significantly improves the overall well-being of people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), researchers report.
Paxil is also known as Seroxat, and technically as paroxetine. In a statement, Dr. George Arnold of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine said that the findings highlight “the benefits of this drug as a potential […]

Nearly twice as many people kill themselves than are killed by others in New Jersey, according to a new study. The state Department of Health and Senior Services report “Suicide in New Jersey, 1999-2000″ finds that suicides far outpace homicides in the Garden State.
In 2000, the most recent year for which statistics were available, there […]

Levels of testosterone in the womb may have profound effects on a person’s social development. The findings might also explain why men are four times as likely as women to suffer from autism.
The team has already found that the babies with higher fetal testosterone levels had a smaller vocabulary and made eye contact less […]

Smells trigger memories but can memories trigger smell, and what does this imply for the way memories are stored? A UCL study of the smell gateway in the brain has found that the memory of an event is scattered across sensory parts of the brain, suggesting that advertising aimed at triggering memories of golden beaches […]

People are not drawn to religion just because of a fear of death or any other single reason, according to a new comprehensive, psychological theory of religion.
There are actually 16 basic human psychological needs that motivate people to seek meaning through religion, said Steven Reiss, author of the new theory and professor of psychology and […]

Court Backs Oregon’s Assisted Suicide Law. Yay.

The recent controversy over antidepressant use in children is not making psychiatrists prescribe the drugs less often, several area child and adolescent psychiatrists said. But they are sometimes making different choices about which drug to use and are being especially careful to document discussions about side effects and effectiveness with parents.

Jailing a mental patient can be expensive. A single arrest may cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars while doing little to help the defendant’s state of mind or keep him from committing a crime again.

A child’s behavior during the preteen years may predict whether he or she will experience depression, violent behavior or social phobia as a young adult, new research findings suggest. In a decade-long study, the researchers collected data for 765 children between the ages of 10 and 11 years old. At follow-up, they found […]

Picture this: You must climb a mountain to reach a temple. But to get there, you will need to make an ally of a magic tree, which inhales, holds the breath for five seconds, and slowly exhales. If you can ape that pattern for a full two minutes, the tree will build you a set […]

A SCHOOLGIRL suffering from a rare form of autism has to have vitamins slipped into her drinks - because she can eat nothing but chocolate and crisps.
Rachel Scowcroft, nine, of Breightmet, Bolton, eats cubes of chocolate and chocolate digestive biscuits for breakfast; crisps, chocolate stars and chocolate fingers for lunch; and chocolate on cereal and […]