Using magnetic resonance images of the brain, researchers have identified a new abnormality related to disease progression and disability in patients with multiple sclerosis, according to a new study. There are four classifications of MS, but the two most common types are relapsing-remitting and secondary-progressive. Patients with relapsing-remitting MS will experience symptom flare-ups followed by periods of no disease progression. Patients with secondary- progressive MS exhibit an initial period of relapsing-remitting MS, followed by steady disease progression.

Scientist can now identify pluripotent stem cells based solely on their physical appearance. Some scientific results are hard to spot, especially in genetic research. Often scientists are unable to physically see if the gene they inserted into a cell has produced the desired trait. To overcome this problem researchers use various genetic markers that contain pieces of foreign DNA that cause cells to, for example, glow when exposed to ultraviolet light. But the latest results show that reprogrammed cells can be identified by looks alone.

A biologist is analyzing the "bite force" and feeding mechanics of great white sharks. Earlier this summer he traveled to Australia to dissect a rare 8-foot great white shark, and help create the first high-res 3-D computer model of its bite. Huber's research may lead to advances in protective swimwear, shark-proofing equipment and a better understanding of flexible cartilage -- which forms the sharks' whole skeletons.

The age-old stereotype that women do more housework than men has gotten more credibility with a new study. The study of more than 17,000 people in 28 countries found that married men report doing less housework than men who are live-in boyfriends. The study suggests that the institution of marriage changes the division of labor. Couples with an egalitarian view on gender -- seeing men and women as equal -- are more likely to divide the household chores equally. However, in married relationships, even if an egalitarian viewpoint is present, men still report doing less housework than their wives.

People often pay more attention to price tags than to real value. Researchers discuss when money illusion can affect markets (eg. the housing market). Standard economics assumes that people base their decisions on real value only and take changes in price tags properly into account. For example, a rational consumer is assumed to base his shopping decisions on "real" prices (e.g., how many hours do I have to work for a loaf of bread?) and would not change his consumption patterns if all "nominal" prices were to move in proportion (e.g. are inflated by the same factor). Yet, normal people are often confused by purely nominal changes.

The internal clock in living beings that regulates sleeping and waking patterns -- usually called the circadian clock -- has often befuddled scientists due to its mysterious time delays. Molecular interactions that regulate the circadian clock happen within milliseconds, yet the body clock resets about every 24 hours. What, then, stretches the expression of the clock over such a relatively long period? Researchers hypothesize that the accepted model of circadian rhythmicity may be missing a key link, based on a mathematical model of what happens during the sleeping/waking cycle in fruit flies.

NASA scientists have detected the first signs that tropical rainfall is on the rise with the longest and most complete data record available. Climate scientists predict that a warming trend in Earth's atmosphere and surface temperatures would produce an accelerated recycling of water between land, sea and air. Warmer temperatures increase the evaporation of water from the ocean and land and allow air to hold more moisture. Eventually, clouds form that produce rain and snow.

Researchers have further developed a technology that could represent a pollution-free energy source for a range of potential applications, from golf carts to submarines and cars to emergency portable generators.

Researchers have designed a nanoscale system to observe and measure how individual cells react to external forces. By combining microfabricated cantilevers and magnetic nanowire technology to create independent, nanoscale sensors, the study showed that cells respond to outside forces and demonstrated a dynamic biological relationship between cells and their environment.

Sheets of highly organized epithelial cells line all the cavities and free surfaces of the body, forming barriers that control the movement of liquids and cells in the body organs. Now, the researchers have found that the organized structure of normal breast epithelial cells may also serve as a barrier against cancer.

The impact of HIV in Zimbabwe since the early 1980s is explored in new research. Researchers found that HIV's impact on Zimbabwe's population as a whole has not been quite as severe as some predicted in 1989, when a group of epidemiologists at a World Health Organization meeting modelled its potential effects.