Studies and Analyses

Researchers have developed an analytical model that explains why the internet may actually be bad for consumers in some cases.

Many experts had argued that the internet will be a boon to consumers, forcing businesses to compete more aggressively on prices as customers effortlessly compare prices on the web.

There’s just one problem: actual empirical studies have shown mixed results, with prices on the web sometimes no better than brick-and-mortar competitors. “We’re chal

Experiments with liposomes – cell-like “water balloons” composed of artificially created phospholipid bilayers similar to natural cell membranes – have revealed unexpected behavior in the presence of electrical fields that may provide a paradigm-shifting change in science’s understanding of biomembrane function in operating living systems.

Arizona State University chemists Mark Hayes and Michele Pysher have found that liposomes have a tendency to form tube-like extensions in t

Contrary to the prevailing belief that the HIV epidemic in the UK can be traced back to one source, a new study suggests that HIV spread via at least six independent virus introductions and subsequent transmission chains. The findings, published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also suggest that antiviral therapy has not had a significant impact on the growth of the epidemic and that changes in sexual behaviour have been more effective in slowing the sp

A new study by Temple University School of Medicine researchers has shown why the pounds melt so quickly on low-carbohydrate diets, and it’s not related to water, metabolism or boredom. The research was conducted in a group of obese patients with type 2 diabetes who followed the Atkins diet.

According to lead researcher, Guenther Boden, M.D., “When carbohydrates were restricted, study subjects spontaneously reduced their caloric intake to a level appropriate for their heigh

A standard drink is generally calculated as a 12-ounce glass of beer, four-ounce glass of wine, or a one-ounce shot of hard liquor. Malt liquor beers (MLBs), which have a higher alcohol content by volume compared to other beers, are typically sold in larger containers, and are priced lower by volume. MLB drinkers are more likely to be homeless, unemployed, receive public assistance, and tend to drink more alcohol, more often, than other types of drinkers. A stand

’Life on the bubble’

A team of researchers, led by an environmental engineer at Washington University in St. Louis, has applied a molecular approach to identify the biological particles in aerosol responsible for making employees of a Colorado hospital therapeutic pool ill. They found: when the bubble bursts, the bacteria disperse, and lifeguards get pneumonia-like symptoms.

Lars Angenent, Ph.D., Washington University assistant professor of chemical engineering, and col