My picks from ScienceDaily

Ancient Lemur's Little Finger Poses Mystery:

Analysis of the first hand bones belonging to an ancient lemur has revealed a mysterious joint structure that has scientists puzzled.

Impaired Sense Of Smell May Be Early Indicator Of Parkinson's Disease:

Impaired sense of smell occurs in the earliest stages of Parkinson's disease (PD) and there is mounting evidence that it may precede motor symptoms by several years, although no large-scale studies had confirmed this. In the first study involving the general population, researchers found that smell impairment can precede the development of PD in men by at least four years.

In Poker, Psychologists Place Bets On Skill:

Is it luck of the draw in poker? No, says Michael DeDonno, a doctoral student from Case Western Reserve University. He suggests putting your bets on skills over luck when playing the card game.

Virtual-reality Video Game To Help Burn Patients Play Their Way To Pain Relief:

To a patient recovering from severe burns, no place would be more soothing than a polar landscape of gently falling snowflakes, snowmen, penguins, igloos and icy rivers. That's the thinking behind SnowWorld, an interactive, virtual-reality video game being used at Loyola University Hospital in Maywood, Ill., to manage pain felt by burn patients during wound care and physical therapy. Loyola is the first hospital in Illinois and only one of a handful across the nation that is employing this 21st century technology to help burn patients recover from their injuries.

Rwanda Conservation Effort To Link Isolated Chimps To Distant Forest:

A group of some 15 chimpanzees isolated in a pocket of Rwandan rain forest will have a greater range -- and, thus, greater chances for survival -- thanks to one of Africa's most ambitious forest restoration and ecological research efforts ever. Organizers of the project, named the Rwandan National Conservation Park, said that a 30-mile (50km) tree corridor will be planted to connect the Gishwati Forest Reserve, the chimpanzees' home range, to Nyungwe National Park.

More like this

A couple of href="http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec16/ch221/ch221g.html" rel="tag">Parkinson's Disease related items came across the news wires, briefly.  There are lessons in both of them, but both leave me with unresolved questions.   The first one I noticed was a report based upon a journal…
Adult Male Chimpanzees Don't Stray Far From The Home: When it comes to choosing a place to live, male chimpanzees in the wild don't stray far from home, according to a new report. The researchers found that adult male chimps out on their own tend to follow in their mother's footsteps, spending…
Buying Experiences, Not Possessions, Leads To Greater Happiness: Can money make us happy if we spend it on the right purchases? A new psychology study suggests that buying life experiences rather than material possessions leads to greater happiness for both the consumer and those around them.…
There are so many ridiculous alternative medicine treatments being “integrated” via “integrative” medicine into medicine, no matter how ridiculous they are, that it’s not only hard to believe, but it’s hard to keep track. Homeopathy is, of course, the most ridiculous, although “energy medicine”…

Ha! For once I beat you to a (lemur) story!

By afarensis (not verified) on 22 Mar 2008 #permalink