Two studies found that heavy smoking is linked to increased craving for illicit drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Researchers suggest that smoking cessation programs should be offered as part of other drug treatment programs to combat this trend.
A study by Jeffrey Mogil, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Illinois, reveals that genetic differences play a significant role in pain response. The research found that involved genes are different in males and females, leading to varying responses to pain and analgesics.
A Cornell psychologist has challenged the idea of universal music experiences across cultures by finding a Western bias in the explanation. Research suggests that expectations play a crucial role in our emotional response to music, and that this may be specific to Western musical backgrounds. The study's findings have implications for ...
The boom in global trade poses a significant threat to the US ecosystem, resulting in $136 billion in annual losses from invasive species. Invasive insects, plant pathogens, and weeds are entering the country through nursery stock, cargo containers, and imports, causing widespread damage to crops, forests, and native wildlife.
The solar system's ultimate fate is predicted to be a collapse of the sun into a white dwarf, incinerating the Earth and inner planets in the process. However, a close encounter with a passing star may rescue life by hurling the Earth out of the solar system.
A NY pilot study is pushing the Human Genome Project towards developing promising drug targets for disease. The initiative uses recent advances in computational biology to quickly analyze and categorize proteins, focusing on those that cause or treat diseases.
A three-dimensional computer simulation of the geodynamo was achieved in 1995, revealing how Earth's magnetic field is generated. The model shows that the magnetic field reverses polarity every few hundred thousand years due to nonlinear, chaotic behavior.
The Earth's oceans are predicted to evaporate within 1 billion years as the sun's temperature increases, leading to a waterless planet. The process is driven by the sun's increasing brightness, which will eventually cause water to evaporate into space.
Water vapor and clouds cause difficulties in atmospheric models due to their lumpy nature and turbulent motion, making it a 'messy problem' for modeling. Researchers aim to develop new approaches to represent these phenomena in numerical form.
Research funded by NIDA explores how craving tobacco increases urge to use illicit drugs. Studies found that smokers who use illegal drugs have a harder time quitting their drug habit than nonsmokers.