Palm Lowers The Bar On Smart Phone Prices
Not long ago, folks were standing in line ready to shell out $600 for an iPhone. Today, the iPhone and its competitors can be had for a lot less. Palm’s new smart phone, the Centro, goes for $99 plus a service contract.

Singapore gives phones a tryout for contactless payments
San Francisco (IDGNS) - Taking a cue from mobile operators in Japan, Singaporean operator Starhub Mobile is dipping its toes into the waters of contactless payment, with plans to allow some subscribers to use their cell phones to pay for bus rides, subway trips, and purchases at convenience stores.

Love Hormone Improves Mother-Child Bond
The hormone oxytocin is related to familial bonding in animals and is tied to love and friendship in humans. Species that have more of it tend to develop stronger bonds. Oxytocin is considered a key hormone for monogamy in the animal kingdom. One study of humans found that just sniffing a little oxytocin made people more trusting of others. Now scientists find that mothers with high levels of oxytocin during pregnancy bond better with their babies.
Oxytocin can be good for the economy, too.

Childbirth: Position of Woman’s Body Could Ease Delivery
Women who go onto their hands and knees while in labor may be able to reduce the pain of childbirth, researchers say.

In a Competitive Middle School, Triage for Aches and Anxieties
As schools expand to include students with physiological and psychological challenges, the school nurse has become more than just someone to detect a fever from a fake.

Nicotine, Chili Peppers Offer Post-Surgery Pain Relief
Findings could bring new treatment options for patients, researchers say

Fruit compound fights head and neck cancer
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Lupeol, a compound in fruits like mangoes, grapes and strawberries, appears to be effective in killing and curbing the spread of cancer cells in the head and neck, a study in Hong Kong has found.

Obesity genetics
New evidence that genetics plays a key role in obesity is published today… [O]besity is thought to be linked to a thrifty metabolism that allowed [certain people] to metabolize food more efficiently in times when little was available but causes problems when food is in abundance.
You can count on it.  I can eat little to nothing, and still not lose weight.

Heart deaths, suicides up after weightloss surgery
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Among people who have undergone so-called bariatric surgery for obesity, death rates are higher than seen among other people of the same age, new research shows. In particular, deaths due to suicide and coronary heart disease are higher than might be expected normally.
You know, I’ve wondered.  This surgery is such a radical step.

In Diabetes, a Complex of Causes
An explosion of new research is vastly changing scientists’ understanding of diabetes and giving new clues about how to attack it.

Eye Scan May Help Diagnose, Treat MS
The inexpensive test could lead to new drugs, researchers add.

Blood Test Might Spot Alzheimer’s Early
18 proteins ID at-risk patients years before clinical diagnosis, scientists say

U.S. cancer death rates are falling faster
WASHINGTON — Declines in U.S. cancer death rates are accelerating, federal health agencies and the American Cancer Society reported Monday… The drop in cancer death rates has nearly doubled in recent years, analysts said.

America’s Top Hospitals Are Real Lifesavers
If all centers did as well, 266,604 fewer patients would die annually, survey finds

Scientist: Blood Helps Us Think
Research done by scientists at MIT suggests that in addition to providing nutrients and oxygen to the body’s cells, blood may affect the activity of neurons in the brain as it flows through, changing how they transmit signals to each other and regulating the flow of information through the brain.

Study Seeks DNA Clues on Homosexuality
CHICAGO (AP) - Julio and Mauricio Cabrera are gay brothers who are convinced their sexual orientation is as deeply rooted as their Mexican ancestry. They are among 1,000 pairs of gay brothers taking part in the largest study to date seeking genes that may influence whether people are gay.

Scientists Retrace Indian Trade Routes
POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) - Idaho State University anthropologists are retracing American Indian trade routes by bombarding arrowheads and other stone tools with radiation that helps locate their origins.

New Crew Settles in Aboard Space Station
Two veteran astronauts and Malaysia’s first spaceflyer are settling into orbital life as they near the midpoint of a crew swap aboard the International Space Station (ISS).  

Volcanic moon’s gassy mystery solved
Pictures of the aurora at Io, a pizza-faced moon of Jupiter, help scientists figure out the moon’s volcanoes contribute to its thin atmosphere of sulfur dioxide.