The start of the Universe may have been more like water freezing into ice than the popular conception of a Big Bang, say theoretical physicists from the University of Melbourne and RMIT University.…

Transparency is the slogan of a new, heterogeneous movement. The demand for transparency unites very different orientations. Many conservatives feel that transparency is similar to anarchy. However,…

Perhaps a bit too simple, but certainly appealing. Extensions of the Standard Model which imply the existence of a new U(1) gauge group to complement the SU(2)xU(1) structure of electroweak…

Science 'consensus' is a dirty word to the environmental community - some of the time.   When it comes to global warming, the science consensus is accurate but when it comes to food, biologists…

I have been an active member of the self-described Community of Reason since about 1997. By that term I mean the broad set encompassing skeptics, atheists and secular humanists (and all the assorted…

Photosynthesis inplants can fall into three types C3 , C 4 and CAM. C3 photosynthesis: Photosynthesis is conversion of light energy into chemical energy utilizing chlorophyll (  LHC II.PS II…

Urban legend says that alcohol is a social icebreaker - and we want to believe, given our preference for commercials where impossibly attractive young people converge on some beach and all have a…

Photosynthesis is conversion of light energy into chemical energy utilizing  Carbon di oxide, light energy, chlorophyll ( LHC II. PS II and LHC I PS I  and  electron transport chain )…

British women no longer feel inferior next to sassy siren Spaniards or chic French women. They are taller - in heels, anyway. Brits sport a towering 3.3 inch heel on average.  3,792 women across…

Whenever 'the poor' and 'minorities' are invoked in the same headline, it's good to set your skepticism filter extra low or you will likely never get through the first paragraph of an article (umm,…

The forests of the coastal regions from California to British Columbia are known for unique and ancient animals and plants, like redwoods, tailed frogs, mountain beavers and even folk tales of the…

A team of Portuguese researchers have developed amathematical tool that can classify any region in the world according to itspattern of development into one of 5 types - each with specific…

A version of this article with less scientific details (so easier to read) can be found here. A team of Portuguese researchers have developed a mathematical tool that can classify any region in the…

The sailing event of the recent 2012 London Olympics were held at Weymouth, half-way along Dorset and East Devon’s famous Jurassic Coast.  Thinks: Sources: Sailing picture: goc2012.culture.gov…

China, as you would expect with all those people, is the world's biggest energy guzzler.  They are also the world's biggest polluter. Nothing wrong with being the biggest energy user, it would…

Don't like Paul Ryan?  You're not alone.  When he was an outsider, Democrats gushed over how rational and amazing he was but now that he is a Republican Vice-Presidential contender, all…

Too hot to grill outside?  Too cold?  Stuck in a New York City Restaurant?   Here is how you pan fry a steak.  Put a bunch of salt and pepper on it, some butter too.  Heat an…

The latest literature suggests that brain activity patterns change at an early stage in Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, there is reason to believe that, instead of being the consequence of structural…

The weak force is the most mysterious force in the standard model, it is the only force thatisn't long range, thanks to the Higgs mechanism, the weak forces carriers gain a mass can only travel a…

Funny how you can go from darling of the intelligentsia to pariah in a short amount of time.  As I have mentioned before, when he was at Scienceblogs.com and then Wired.com, a few of us used to…