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FDA approves first patch to treat the blues

The Food and Drug Administration today approved Emsam, the first skin patch for use in treating major depression. The once a day patch works by delivering selegiline, a monoamine oxidase inhibitor or MAOI, through the skin and into the bloodstream. At its lowest strength, Emsam can be used without the dietary restrictions that are needed for all oral MAO inhibitors that are approved for treating major depression.

Salt and Protein Drive Cricket Cannibals

Group living has its price. At least that’s the case for the millions of Mormon crickets that trekked together across the grasslands of southern Idaho last summer. In observing this massive march, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) ecologist Gregory Sword and colleagues discovered that while the insects’ banding together shielded them from predatory birds and mammals, food deprivation brought on by a competition for certain nutrients led the crickets to cannibalism.

Mangroves key to ocean life, health

Mangroves, the backbone of the tropical ocean coastlines, are far more important to the global ocean’s biosphere than previously thought. And while the foul-smelling muddy forests may not have the scientific allure of tropical reefs or rain forests, a team of researchers has noted that the woody coastline-dwelling plants provide more than 10 percent of essential dissolved organic carbon that is supplied to the global ocean from land, according to a new report.

Meetings at work decrease employee well-being, but not for everyone

How are things going at work? While plenty has been written on a wide variety of factors affecting employee well-being – on everything from management style and organizational structure to the effects of ergonomic furniture and natural lighting – the “elephant in the room” in our workplaces is something that almost everyone complains about but no one has studied: how much time we spend in meetings.