In animals that reproduce by internal fertilization, as humans do, the penis is invaluable, from an evolutionary point of view.  Yet birds have evolved to not need them. Developmentally…

I am used to odd looks when I say I'm flying a satellite to convert the ionosphere to music.  The field of art/science hybrids is hard to assess.  What's your call on putting a TARDIS in…

A Tool For Etymologists Advances in science frequently generate new words and phrases.  Accordingly, a good source of etymological information can often help pin down the era in which a new…

Astronomers can look back in time by gathering light from distant stars that was sent billions of years ago. Another way to learn about the past is to study similar stars to our own, but at a much…

In one sense, I am happy that there is enough interest in the concept of “junk DNA” (and by extension, my area of research in genome size evolution) that the subject gets regular media attention. A…

John Edward Mack, Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer and Harvard Medical School psychiatrist, believed lots of people had been abducted by aliens. Never heard of him? Most people haven't. His fame as…

John Edward Mack, Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer and Harvard Medical School psychiatrist, believed lots of people had been abducted by aliens. Never heard of him? Most people haven't. His fame as…

Studies have shown that religious people are actually helped by faith in stressful situations. Oxford University psychologists suggest atheists are also helped by belief during times of crisis; the…

Karlsruhe's Institute of Technology, Freie Universität Berlin and the University of Geneva set out to determine whether and how far laser light and plasma can influence cloud formation. For their…

The world’s oldest known fossil primate skeleton, unearthed from an ancient lake bed in central China’s Hubei Province, near the course of the modern Yangtze River, represents a previously unknown…

You're an animal, says Dominique Lestel, a French philosopher who opposes the separation of human and animal life.   In a new paper, Lestel reminds sociology readers that we…

A Georgia State University researcher says the Clean Air Act signed by President Richard Nixon in 1970 led to climate change - in a good way.  Jeremy Diem, an associate professor in the…

Fuel cells can be as efficient (or more) than internal combustion engines, silent, and at least one type produces zero greenhouse emissions at the tail pipe. Car and bus manufacturers as well as…

While the Orion Nebula is one of the closest stellar nurseries to Earth and that makes for great viewing in backyard telescopes, it is not the most prolific star-forming region in our galaxy. That…

The drug aflibercept, under the trade name Eylea, has been approved in Germany since November 2012 for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).  In an early benefit…

A new species of tiny blenniiform fish has been discovered in the southern Caribbean. Haptoclinus dropi is only around 2cm in length with a color pattern that includes iridescence on the fins. The…

A few years ago, I wrote a piece for Communicating Astronomy with the Public outlining how to more effectively reach the public.(1) I have some credibility. Science 2.0 has become a well-known…

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been stacked to make sure that nuclear power in America is hindered as much as possible. Without a proper storage policy, nuclear power is barely a blip on…

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been stacked to make sure that nuclear power in America is hindered as much as possible. Without a proper storage policy, nuclear power is barely a blip on…

Jellyfish Blooms Newspapers are currently reporting a surge in jellyfish numbers in the Mediterranean.  Along with the surge in jellyfish numbers, or bloom, is a surge in bad reporting about…