Science

Mars Methane Gas May Signal Biological Activity on Red Planet, Study Finds Mars’s surface shows signs of the presence of methane gas, a marker of biological activity or even primitive life forms, said scientists studying the Red Planet with telescopes.

Drinking Seven Cups of Coffee a Day May Trigger Delusions, Researchers Say Consuming the caffeine in seven cups of instant coffee a day may leave you more likely to see, hear and smell things that aren’t there, U.K. researchers said.

Long Ring Fingers May Be Indicators of Richer Traders, Academy Study Shows A glance at a trader’s hand may reveal the size of his paycheck. The longer the ring finger is compared with the index finger, the bigger his pay is likely to be, a study of London traders found.

Antidepressants Ease Pain, Aid Sleep in Fibromyalgia Patients, Study Finds Certain antidepressants lessen the distress of pain and sleep disturbances for fibromyalgia patients, boosting their quality of life, a report found.

St. Jude Blood-Flow Meter Cuts Heart Stent Need, Extends Lives, Study Says St. Jude Medical Inc.’s blood-flow meter reduced the need for stents in patients with clogged arteries and boosted survival rates, providing doctors a new way to assess the severity of the blockages, a study found.

Cookie-Eating Raids by U.K. Kids May Show Link to Obesity Gene, Study Says Genes might play a role in how likely a child is to raid the cookie jar after a full dinner, a finding that may help explain why some people become overweight and obese, U.K. researchers said.

Heart Attack Risk Doubled in Newer Lilly, J&J Antipsychotics, Study Finds Heart attack risks were doubled in people taking widely used antipsychotic drugs in a study that found the medicines are no safer than the older medications they have largely replaced.

Harvard's `Hippo' Jet Heads to Poles Testing CO2 Emissions for Forecasting Harvard University is flying a specially equipped jet between the North Pole and South Pole to test the atmosphere for variations in global-warming gases, aiming to improve computer models for predicting climate change.

Toilet-Trained Fishermen Helped Cut Snail-Spread Parasite Disease in Study Chinese fishermen who defecated into containers on their boats instead of the lake helped slash infections from a debilitating disease spread by snails, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Early Caesarean Section Births May Harm Babies' Health, Researchers Find Women who chose to give birth by Caesarean section one or two weeks before reaching full-term pregnancy were twice as likely to have babies with complications as those who waited until 39 weeks before having the procedure, a study found.