Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have shown that a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) applied as a cream directly to the skin is safe and effective in lessening muscle soreness experienced 24 to 48 hours following exercise, when soreness reaches its peak. In addition, the direct application bypasses the internal body-route taken by oral medications, thus avoiding unpleasant side effects sometimes experienced with NSAIDs.

In a study pu

Argonne physicists have precisely measured the masses of nuclear isotopes that exist for only fractions of a second or can only be produced in such tiny amounts as to be almost nonexistent in the laboratory. Some isotopes had their masses accurately measured for the first time.

The results help explain the characteristic X-ray spectrum and luminosities of strange astronomical objects called “X-ray bursters.”

X-ray bursters comprise a normal star and a neutron star. Neutron stars

Physics Lab in Japan reports evidence for the Pentaquark; Jefferson Lab data supports discovery

A Five-quark state has been discovered, first reported by a group of physicists working at the SPring-8 physics lab in Japan. All confirmed particles known previously have been either combinations of three quarks (baryons, such as protons or neutrons) or two quarks (mesons such as pions or kaons). Although not forbidden by the standard model of particle physics, other configurations of qua

Hypochondriasis, or excessive worry over one’s health, is a psychiatric disorder that can affect every aspect of a person’s life — especially interpersonal relationships. University of Iowa researchers are finding ways to study the condition and how it affects relationships, including patient-doctor interaction.

Hypochondriasis involves preoccupation with a fear of having or developing a serious illness, despite lack of physical evidence of illness. It affects 4 to 9 percent of f

Scientists at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, have unlocked an important door to understanding one of the most important crops in the world – corn. Researchers at Rutgers’ Waksman Institute of Microbiology have redefined the nature of heterosis or hybrid vigor, the phenomenon underlying corn’s remarkable success. Heterosis is the robustness seen in hybrids when different lines are crossed and result in higher yields than either of the parental lines would produce themselves.

University of Chicago researchers have found that a substance that functions as a neurotransmitter in humans also plays a crucial role in plant reproduction, guiding growth of the tube that transports sperm from a pollen grain on a flower’s surface to the egg cells within a plant’s ovules.

Their finding, published in the July 11, 2003, issue of the journal Cell, is a major step forward in understanding plant fertility. The discovery could also help researchers understand similar b