By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent Soldiers form loyal “Bands of Brothers” fighting and dying for each other because they have the same instincts that cause mothers to ferociously protect their newborns, a study suggests. Researchers have found that in the heat of battle they have the same chemicals running through their bloodstreams as protective mothers, meaning they develop incredibly strong bonds with each other but become extremely aggressive to outsiders. The effect resolves around the hormone oxytocin which is released at times of stress and when people socialise with...

Men take a fraction of a second to decide if they are attracted to a woman or not – but they should not be called shallow because they are genetically programmed to do so, scientists say. Men weigh up potential partners almost instantaneously based on their appearance because their “ancient” genetic preference for attractive mates leads them to, experts claim. According to research, a woman with an attractive face is taken by men to be fertile and able to continue the family line, appealing to the man’s survival instinct. In contrast women take longer to decide their feelings...

By Jenny Hope A drug used to treat several cancers can also stave off sight loss in elderly people, claim researchers. A new study shows Avastin is effective in treating wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), an eye disorder that leads to blindness. Some doctors have been prescribing the drug for AMD even though it is not licensed for the condition, because it is cheaper than the current treatment called Lucentis. As a result the Government’s rationing body is to investigate whether it could provide better value for money for the NHS. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence...

Artificial Antibodies Plastic antibodies like the ones clustered here could fight everything from viral infections to allergens in the bloodstream. We use plastics to make everything from our computers to our toothbrushes, but a collaboration of researchers from the University of California at Irvine and the University of Shizuoka in Japan has made a big breakthrough by taking plastics to microscopic levels. Using plastic nanoparticles just 1/50,000th the width of a human hair, the team has created plastic antibodies that successfully function in the bloodstream of living animals to identify and...

Charlotte Moore, who has two sons with autism, reflects on newly discovered genetic links to autism As the mother of two sons with autism and a third son without it, do I welcome this news? Yes, if it helps kill the idea that autism is somebody’s “fault”. Autism isn’t caused by neglectful parenting; not only that, but parents passing on autistic genes is less significant than had been thought. Although some of these gene variations are inherited, others are found only in children. This helps explain why in some cases autism “runs in the family”, but in others...

By Emma Wilkinson The amount of cholesterol circulating in the bloodstream is partly regulated by the brain, a study in mice suggests. It counters assumptions that levels are solely controlled by what we eat and by cholesterol production in the liver. The US study in Nature Neuroscience found that a hunger hormone in the brain acts as the “remote control” for cholesterol travelling round the body. Too much cholesterol causes hardened fatty arteries, raising the risk of a heart attack. The research carried out by a US team at the University of Cincinnati found that increased levels...

Wake up and smell the coffee. A caffeine pep-up is all in the mind say Bristol University Scientists by Kyrsty Hazell If your early morning nursery or school routine doesn’t start until you’ve had your cup of coffee, it may surprise you to hear that your first sip of the black stuff makes no difference to your daily alertness. It’s apparently all in your mind! The stimulating effect that coffee gives its drinkers in the morning is simply the body relieving overnight caffeine withdrawal. This means that while it may feel like it’s setting you up for the day, it’s only bringing your...

By Fiona Macrae Forgetting an unhappy love affair or a traumatic accident could soon be as easy as popping a pill. At the risk of being accused of developing a pill for everything, scientists have discovered a drug that helps numb the pain of bad memories by flooding the mind with feelings of security and safety. And the technique could one day be used to cure phobia sufferers of their fears, help soldiers recover from the horrors of battle or allow accident victims to put their trauma behind them. To test the effectiveness of the drug, researchers created bad memories by giving mice electric shocks...

By Melinda Dodd The Cleveland Clinic announced a possible breakthrough—but is a breast cancer vaccine too good to be true? It’s something generations of women could only dream about: a cancer vaccine that keeps malignant cells from taking hold in the breast, and stops tumors in their tracks. Announced earlier this week by the Cleveland Clinic, the proposed breast-cancer vaccine contains a small amount of alpha-lactalbumin, a protein that researchers say is present in the majority of breast tumors. The vaccine is intended to create an immune response in your body that should help you beat...

Many people depend on a morning cup of coffee as a wake-up call for the brain. But the effect could be all in the mind, according to new research. Tests show the mental stimulation for which caffeine is famous may be nothing more than an illusion – with the body simply compensating for overnight withdrawal symptoms. A new study suggests coffee drinkers may actually be better off without their habitual morning mug as it raises the risk of anxiety and high blood pressure. Altogether 379 people who abstained from caffeine for 16 hours before drinking either caffeine or a placebo (dummy drink)...