NIH

In 2009, science got a hefty shot in the arm from the federal government's stimulus spending. Now U.S. citizens can see exactly how their taxpayer dollars go toward funding video games that test autism responses, or discovering lakes hidden beneath the Antarctic ice sheet.

A new genetic database for 100,000 elderly Californians is slated to come online within two years, and marks the first time that genetic data becomes available for such a large and diverse group.

Health-care provider Kaiser Permanente will hand over patient data that includes electronic health records, lifestyle surveys, and info on air and water quality in patients' neighborhoods. The effort draws on $25 million from the National Institutes of Health, and also involves researchers from the University of California, San Francisco.

As one of his first acts as president, Barack Obama dismissed former-president Bush's rules governing the federal funding of stem cell research. And on Monday, the National Institute of Health issued its new set of replacement guidelines.

The new rules overturn the ban on creating new cell lines, establish a registry of stem cell lines approved for federally funded research, and create a system where stem cell lines approved under previous guidelines can petition for federal funding under the new regime.

Perhaps youre the type of health nut who takes four or five different vitamin concoctions each morning to support weight loss, anti-aging, good digestion, clear skin and high energy. Or maybe youre just curious about the medicinal effects of black tea, cranberry juice and licorice. Well, youre in for a treat.

We know lipids as the molecules in cholesterol, fats, oils, and waxes (different from fatty acids, like the unhealthy transfats New York City recently banned). We're maybe less familiar with them as a key structural component of cell membranes. They are not only part of the mix that makes up the semipermeable membrane between the cell wall and the guts of a cell, they're also responsible for shielding a cell's organelles, enclosing each in a protective membrane.

Lipids also make up the protective outer layer on viruses (called an envelope). Read Full Story ]