research highlights

Mapping the scents of smell

Paving the way to developing artificial noses, Duke researchers in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology are studying the ways in which peoples' noses recognize different odors. By testing hundreds of receptor genes in mice and humans, the researchers determined which odor molecules activated which receptors and how the receptors translated information about scent into brain signals. Knowing how receptors work could help researchers produce artificial noses that could detect odors ranging from cancer to bombs.

During economic strain, tighten the belt

Staying fit might be crucial to staying employed. Researchers at the Duke University Medical Center found that overweight workers had 13 times more lost workdays because of work-related injuries, and their medical claims for those injuries were seven times greater than those of their more fit counterparts. Those workers with body mass indexes of 40 or higher had the highest rates of workers' compensation claims and lost workdays.

Risky emotions

Stress and obesity may greatly increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes in black women, with stress possibly playing a more significant role. According to a study by Duke researchers, women with higher levels of epinephrine-a hormone released in response to stress-and more belly fat had higher fasting blood glucose scores than other groups.