The active ingredient in cigarettes in nicotine, and its extremely addictive nature is reflected by the fact that it is used by approximately 35% of the US population.1 Nicotine works by binding to one type of acetylcholine receptor in the body.
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My first thought on this question was that perhaps the manufacturers of alarm clocks couldn't decide between the not-quite-long-enough 5-minute snooze and the potential for falling completely back asleep afforded by the ten minute snooze.
So, they compromised after many lively debates on the topic and now we all have an 8-minute snooze session. As a scientist, I wanted to determine the neurological basis for keeping a person on the fine line that separates sleep from wakefulness. It turns out, however, that the true basis for the 8 (to 9) minute ...

I have been observing the prevalence of stinky feet and shoes and realized a couple of things. First of all, stinky shoes are more common in humid environments. Secondly, they are usually shoes that have been sweated in, like running shoes. Dress shoes with which a person wears wool socks or no socks tend to be less stinky.
The reason is that bacteria thrive in moist environments like those created with sweat and cotton socks. With the right environment, the bacteria feast on the dead skin cells from your feet and ...

An increase in heart rate is one component of the "fight or flight" response. When we are startled, frightened, or angry, our bodies automatically ready themselves to stand up and fight or to run away.
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There are two ways to answer this question- one could consider the fuel consumed on a daily basis by our brain or one could take a longterm perspective of overall brain health.
From day to day, our brains primarily utilize glucose as fuel. Glucose is a simple sugar that is the most convenient form of fuel for cells. Although the brain is only two percent of the body’s total weight, it consumes an average of 70 percent of the body’s glucose, which comes as no surprise because we have up to ...

Dear Dr. Molly,
How am I supposed to know what is good for me and what is bad for me? Whenever I read the paper or a magazine, there are results from a new study that contradict that last study. What gives?
Pullman, Washington
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