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The health of people who never marry is improving, narrowing the gap with their wedded counterparts, according to new research that suggests the practice of encouraging marriage to promote health may be misguided.

Hui Liu, assistant professor of sociology at Michigan State University and lead researcher on the project, said sociologists since the 1970s have emphasized that marriage benefits health more so for men than for women.

"Married people are still healthier than unmarried people," Liu said, "but the gap between the married and never-married is closing, especially for men."

The findings of Liu and fellow researcher Debra Umberson of the University of Texas at Austin will appear in the September issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. The article is called "The Times They Are a Changin': Marital Status and Health Differentials from 1972 to 2003."

University of Florida College of Pharmacy researchers have discovered a marine compound off the coast of Key Largo that inhibits cancer cell growth in laboratory tests, a finding they hope will fuel the development of new drugs to better battle the disease.

The active chemical in chili peppers can directly induce thermogenesis, the process by which cells convert energy into heat.

New research from The University of Western Ontario reveals how the brain processes the 'rewarding' and addictive properties of nicotine, providing a better understanding of why some people seemingly become hooked with their first smoke.