Optimal Monitoring has produced a free eBook about the Department of Energy and Climate Change consultation period, which is open until the end of January.  The Department of Energy and Climate…

A century ago, “past” and “future”, previously strictly apart, mixed up and merged.  Temporal terminology improved.  Today, not actualized quantum states, that is merely “possible”…

Our behavior is critically linked to our genetics but the relationship remains murky. Genes, by constructing our brain and nervous system and by regulating our hormones, influence behavior — in…

Two weeks ago I got a call inviting me to attend one of the inauguration balls for President Obama. But it wasn't to be held in Washington, D.C. it was in Texas. Texas? you might think, but aren't…

Psychiatrist Dr. Eric Hollander says the hygiene hypothesis -  the idea that by eliminating some harmful organisms we are weakening our immune systems - may be a reason to study the use of…

Psychiatrist Dr. Eric Hollander says the hygiene hypothesis -  the idea that by eliminating some harmful organisms we are weakening our immune systems - may be a reason to study the use of…

I am changing my nickname on a few sites I visit - ones where a nickname is useful - to "allhadronic". The name makes reference to the hadronic final state of certain particle decays. Hadron comes…

"Believe it or not—and I suspect most readers will not—there's a liberal war on science. Say what?" So begins famed skeptic Michael Shermer's review of "Science Left Behind" in his Scientific…

"Believe it or not—and I suspect most readers will not—there's a liberal war on science. Say what?" So begins famed skeptic Michael Shermer's review of "Science Left Behind" in his Scientific…

Almost three years have passed since the US patent for a Domestic Animal Telephone was issued. The patent describes : “A phone for pets and pet owners is taught [sic?] which allows the owner to call…

It has been a while since the last time I posted the last riddle of this series. It was fun though, so upon seeing the graph below I immediately decided I would use it here, to let you guess what it…

Studies are revealing new details about a molecular surveillance system that helps detect and correct errors in cell division that can lead to cell death or human diseases. The purpose of cell…

“It is demonstrable,” said he, “that things cannot be otherwise than as they are; for as all things have been created for some end, they must necessarily be created for the best end. Observe, for…

Safe, Tasty, Nutritious Almonds We Shouldn't Take For Granted Sometimes we need to hear about things that are working well in our food system.  I'd like to describe a case where sound regulation…

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is going to take the field in two hours and it won't just be a vindication of the decision by coach Jim Harbaugh to replace Alex Smith and his 13-3…

Public health scholars in Spain say they have done the first comparative study on the evolution of sperm quality in young Spanish men and found that over a ten year period, spermatozoid concentration…

Arctic sea ice has not only declined over the past decade but has also become distinctly thinner and younger - mainly thin, first-year ice floes which are extensively covered with melt ponds in the…

Cyanobacteria belong to the Earth's oldest organisms. They are still present today in oceans and waters and even in hot springs. By producing oxygen and evolving into multicellular forms, they played…

No, it is NOT a star! Several orders of magnitudes far from being a star actually. I am talking about quasars (quasi-stellar radio source) - often being described as distant stars. Oh, astronomers…

A new view of 20,000-year old supernova remnant W50 provides more clues to the history of this giant cloud that resembles a beloved endangered species, the Florida Manatee. W50 is nearly 700 light…