Divorce cuts person’s wealth by 77 percent

A new nationwide study provides some of the best evidence to date of the devastating financial toll divorce can wreak on a person’s wealth. The study of about 9,000 people found that divorce reduces a person’s wealth by about three-quarters (77 percent) compared to that of a single person, while being married almost doubles comparative wealth (93 percent). And people who get divorced see their wealth begin to drop long before the decree becomes final.

Why the Pretty Prosper

We might not be able to resist a pretty face after all, according to a report from the University of Pennsylvania. Experiments in which subjects were given a fraction of a second to judge “attractiveness” offered further evidence that our preference for beauty might be hard-wired. People who participated in the studies were also more likely to associate pretty faces with positive traits.

Study Links Alzheimer’s Disease to Abnormal Cell Division

A new study in mice suggests that Alzheimer’s disease may be triggered when adult neurons try to divide. The finding helps researchers understand what goes wrong in the disease and may lead to new ways of treating it. For unknown reasons, nerve cells (neurons) affected by AD and many other neurodegenerative diseases often start to divide before they die. The new study shows that, in animal models of AD, this abnormal cell division starts long before amyloid plaques or other other markers of the disease appear.

HIV/AIDS Trial Finds Continuous Antiretroviral Therapy Superior to Episodic Therapy

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced that enrollment into a large international HIV/AIDS trial comparing continuous antiretroviral therapy with episodic drug treatment guided by levels of CD4+ cells has been stopped. Enrollment was stopped because those patients receiving episodic therapy had twice the risk of disease progression (the development of clinical AIDS or death), the major outcome of the study.

Evolution Doesn’t Always Favor Bigger Animals

Biologists have long believed that bigger is better when it comes to body size, since many lineages of animals, from horses to dinosaurs, have evolved into larger species over time. But a study published this week by two biologists at the University of California, San Diego in an early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that maxim, known as “Cope’s Rule,” may be only partly true.

Stronger link between cat faeces, schizophrenia

Researchers have found stronger evidence for a link between a parasite in cat faeces and undercooked meat and an increased risk of schizophrenia. Research published today in Procedings of the Royal Society B, shows how the invasion or replication of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii in rats may be inhibited by using anti-psychotic or mood stabilising drugs.

Researchers Create Tiny Cages to Enclose Drug, Pesticide Molecules

Tiny chemical cages created by researchers at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, show potential for delivering drugs to organs or tissues where they’re needed without causing harm elsewhere. Tiny chemical cages created by researchers at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, show potential for delivering drugs to organs or tissues where they’re needed without causing harm elsewhere.

‘Universal translator’ bird mimics others in times of crisis

Imitation of other species is one of the most intriguing and mysterious aspects of birdsong. Often — as in the case of mockingbirds — there seems to be little connection between what the bird is imitating and what it is doing at that moment. But in the rainforests of Sri Lanka, a bird that travels in mixed-species flocks has learned to use the calls of other species in the same contexts that those species use them.

Protein ‘Nanosprings’ Most Resilient in Nature

A component of many proteins has been found to constitute one of the most powerful and resilient molecular “springs” in nature, researchers have discovered. The engineers and biologists from Duke University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute say their discovery could lead to a new understanding of mechanical processes within the living cell. The discovery also could provide potent nanoscale “shock absorbers” or “gate-opening springs” in tiny nanomachines.

Second Attempt at Pluto Launch Today

NASA will try again today to launch an Atlas V rocket carrying the New Horizons spacecraft. The launch window extends from 1:16 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. EST. The Atlas V is poised for liftoff from Launch Pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. During the first launch attempt on Jan. 17, the countdown was extended several times in hopes that excessive upper level and ground winds would die down. But ultimately, the winds surpassed limits during the final minutes, preventing a liftoff. The spacecraft and launch vehicle remained healthy throughout the countdown, with no technical issues.