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Latest Australian research into myopia or shortsightedness reveals that people who wear glasses are not stereotypical geeks or nerds.

Low doses of the toxic gas responsible for the unpleasant odor of rotten eggs can safely and reversibly depress both metabolism and aspects of cardiovascular function in mice, producing a suspended-animation-like state. Heart rate and metabolism drop, while blood pressure and oxygen levels are maintained.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, Americans average as much sleep as they did 40 years ago, and possibly more, according to sociologists. The researchers report that adult sleep averages have increased about three hours per week over the last decade, up from 56 to 59 hours.

Patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease have suboptimal levels of cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, body composition and physical fitness, according to a new study.

Male infants in developed nations are more likely to die than female infants, a fact that is partially responsible for men's shorter lifespans, reveals a new study. The paper analyzes 15 countries spanning three continents and hundreds of years. It finds that the gender gap in infant mortality was as high as 30 percent at its peak around 1970.

A new mathematical model gives scientists a smarter way to learn which cellular processes are key in many diseases and thus find the most effective drug targets. Scientists say the model, now freely available to researchers, should speed the search for effective treatments for cancer, inflammation and other conditions that affect millions of people.

A team of scientists has succeeded in creating a new type of enzyme for a reaction for which no naturally occurring enzyme has evolved, by using a combination of novel computational methodologies and molecular in vitro evolution. This achievement opens the door to the development of a variety of potential applications in medicine and industry.

Researchers provide a challenge to the classic economic model of information manipulation, in which knowing more than anybody else is the key to influence. Instead, economists present a situation -- commonly observed in real life -- in which all parties have access to the same information, but one party still manages to control public opinion.

Hepatitis C-related deaths in the United States increased by 123 percent from 1995 through 2004, the most recent year for which data are available. Mortality rates peaked in 2002, then declined slightly overall, while continuing to rise among people 55 to 64 years old.

Humanity's age-old battle against infectious diseases stands to rage on and on, unless scientists develop a new generation of triple-action antibiotics, according to a new article.