Abrasivity: How Safe Is Your Toothpaste?

Abrasivity: How Safe Is Your Toothpaste?

Everyone buys toothpaste and so they come in shapes and flavors, as pastes and gels, some guard against tooth decay or protect teeth from acid attack, while others that are designed for sensitive…
Finally, Schrodinger's Cat Hits A Nobel!

Finally, Schrodinger's Cat Hits A Nobel!

Well, kind of. David Wineland and Serge Haroche have not endangered any living beings. That is to say: probably not in their physics experiments.  Yet, although they stayed at a safe distance…
Infertility: A Protein's Tale

Infertility: A Protein's Tale

Five percent of men are affected by infertility and some new insights into sperms' swimming skills could shed light on why. In a new study, researchers have shown how a protein called RABL2 affects…
Naturalness Explained With The Roulette

Naturalness Explained With The Roulette

Five years ago I was fascinated by an analogy used by my friend Michelangelo Mangano to explain the problem of naturalness, a crucial issue in fundamental physics, and maybe the biggest single…
When Increased Pesticide Use Is A Good Thing

When Increased Pesticide Use Is A Good Thing

A recent study published in Environmental Sciences Europe has attracted attention because it documents a net increase in pesticide use on genetically engineered crops in the US.  The author,…
The Functions Of "yeah" (when Creaky)

The Functions Of "yeah" (when Creaky)

“Considerable work exists to describe the functions of yeah.” explain authors Chad D. Nilep and colleague Tamara Grivičić from the Department of Linguistics at the University of Colorado. And there…
Small Is Ugly

Small Is Ugly

The small is weird. No – I do not mean supposed "quantum weirdness", which is not* about small stuff. The non-quantum behavior of the small is counterintuitive enough. Many misconceptions could be…