A new study reveals that the general appearance of a neighborhood is the single most important factor affecting how satisfied residents are about the area where they live. But beyond general appearance, people living in different neighborhoods may be looking at distinct factors when making their overall evaluations.

The first NASA spacecraft to image and map the dynamic interactions taking place where the hot solar wind slams into the cold expanse of space is ready for launch Oct. 19. The two-year mission will begin from the Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

HHMI researchers have devised an ingenious way to the scan fetal DNA present in the mother's blood to determine whether the fetus' cells contain extra chromosomes associated with several types of severe birth detects, including Down syndrome.

Most glaciers in every mountain range and island group in Alaska are experiencing significant retreat, thinning or stagnation, especially glaciers at lower elevations, according to USGS research.

Researchers at Boston University are developing a new generation of wireless communications based on visible light instead of radio waves. This capability would piggyback data communications capabilities on low-power light emitting diodes or LEDs to create "smart lighting." This technology would also be more secure and faster than current network technology -- all over existing power lines with low power consumption, high reliability and no electromagnetic interference.

What does a mixture of two different kinds of cells have in common with a mixture of oil and water? The same basic force causes both mixtures to separate into two distinct regions. That is the conclusion of a new 3-D computer model of the cell sorting process produced by researchers at Vanderbilt University and at the University of Waterloo.

Using precise microscopes, University of Missouri researchers are dissecting coronary microvessels and testing which proteins are responsible for inflammation that causes blood-vessel dysfunction. By identifying the proteins that play important roles in blood-vessel dysfunction, they hope to develop new treatments for blood-vessel dysfunction in people with type 2 diabetes.

New research by the University of Warwick reveals that many credit card customers become fixated on the level of minimum payments given on credit card bills. The mere presence of a minimum payment is enough to reduce the actual amount many people choose to pay on their bills, leading to further interest payments.

A research team at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is clarifying a previously unappreciated way that cellular processes are disrupted in cancer. Following upon previous work showing that a splicing factor called SF2/ASF can induce tumors in cell cultures, the team now shows that the same splicing factor induces changes in proteins in a pathway called PI3K-mTOR well known for its involvement in cancers.

Michigan State University plant scientists have discovered another piece of the genetic puzzle that controls how plants respond to high temperatures. That may allow plant breeders to create new varieties of crops that flourish in warmer, drier climates.

Girls who don't share a common language may have more difficulty adjusting socially than boys, according to surprising new Michigan State University research looking at language acquisition among young children.

Combined results from two Phase 3 studies presented at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting in Orlando, Fla., demonstrated that TAK-390MR resulted in higher healing rates than lansoprazole among patients with more severe grades of erosive esophagitis. TAK-390MR combines dexlansoprazole with a Dual Delayed Release formulation, designed to provide two separate releases of drug for extended duration of acid suppression.

Leave it to hypothesized gravity to weigh down what physicists have thought for 30 years. If theoretical physicists, led by the University of Oregon's Stephen Hsu, are right, the idea that nature's forces merge under grand unification has grown fuzzy.

Several mamalogists at Chicago's Field Museum participated in the IUCN survey of the world's mammals, using the Museum's extensive mammal collections for reference.

Researchers at Wake Forest University are using nanotechnology to search for new cancer-fighting drugs through a process that could be up to 10,000 times faster than current methods.