Stress at work and fatigue increase the chance of acute infections such as common colds, flu-like illnesses and gastroenteritis. This was discovered in research carried out by Danielle Mohren at Maastricht University, in which more than 8000 employees from various companies were followed over a three-year period.

The study revealed that employees in highly demanding jobs suffered from colds 20 percent more often than employees in less demanding positions. Also job insecurity, for example as

Vessel wall cells and blood cells have been found to release cell particles which can damage blood vessels. This was demonstrated in laboratory experiments carried out by Marja van Wijk during her doctoral research at the University of Amsterdam. Poorly functioning blood vessels play a role in pre-eclampsia.

For her research (conducted at the Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam) Van Wijk isolated blood vessels from pieces of tissue taken from pregnant women. She placed the blood

With measures aimed at reducing the emission of pollutants such as ammonia, policy makers pay too little attention to the consequences for the emission of other substances. This is revealed in a computer model constructed by Corjan Brink from Wageningen University during his doctoral research. For example, the model shows that reducing the amount of ammonia emitted leads to an increase in the emission of nitrous oxide (laughing gas).

The computer model developed by the environmental economis

Opens new door to study of mood disorders in humans

Researchers report finding a gene that is essential for normal levels of anxiety and aggression. Calling it the Pet-1 gene, researchers at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Department of Neurosciences say that when this gene is removed or “knocked out” in a mouse, aggression and anxiety in adults are greatly elevated compared to a control (also called wild type) mouse.

(Videos displaying aggressive beha

Teenagers who say their parents restrict their television viewing of certain programs are likely to watch the restricted shows at friends’ houses, a study suggests.

These teens also reported less positive attitudes toward their parents, according to the research.

“Unfortunately, parents’ good intentions in restricting television viewing may actually backfire and contribute to them watching more of the programs they shouldn’t see,” said Amy Nathanson, author of the study and assista

Employing high-tech, digital X-ray microtomography (microCT), Northwestern University scientists have discovered the way in which newts form new bone and cartilage during limb regeneration. Newts are a type of salamander, the only vertebrates capable of rebuilding lost structures such as limbs throughout their lifetimes.

Reporting in the January issue of Developmental Dynamics, Northwestern researchers Hans-Georg Simon and Stuart Stock showed that bone formation in a regenerated forelimb co