Last month, an article that had caused something of a buzz in science circles since November was published in the journal Icarus.   John Matese and Daniel Whitmire, physicists at the…

Losing virginity can improve your self-image,  according to Penn State researchers - if you are a college-age male.  On average, college-age males become more satisfied with their…

In Australia, babies born since 1971 have had drops of blood taken, which are then tested for a variety of genetic conditions such as cystic fibrosis.  It has been an effective health check…

Tree islands, patches of high, dry ground a meter high that dot the marshes of the Florida Everglades, are elevated enough to allow trees to grow and provide a nesting site for alligators and a…

The great thing about being a dictator is you can make any ridiculous claim and no one in your country can dispute you -so if Kim Jong Il wants to claim he is Batman, well, okay. Venezuela's…

The great thing about being a dictator is you can make any ridiculous claim and no one in your country can dispute you -so if Kim Jong Il wants to claim he is Batman, well, okay. Venezuela's…

While lauded by activists as leadership, the Air Resources Board in California and its mandate of a controversial cap-and-trade scheme was always scientifically and economically suspect (see…

While lauded by activists as leadership, the Air Resources Board in California and its mandate of a controversial cap-and-trade scheme was always scientifically and economically suspect (see…

There has clearly been enough controversy around the risks and hazards created by the Fukushima reactor problems over the past days.  Part of the controversy seems to originate with the idea…

Because of the time difference, many discovered the news of the Tohoku earthquake hours after the 9.0 magnitude tremor was recorded 81 miles off the Japanese East Coast - an earthquake so epic that…

The New York Times has not just gone astray with its payment scheme; it’s gone completely off the deep end, gotten lost in the forest, fallen off the cliff and into a pit, and is knee-deep in any…

Back in October I made my picks for the hotly contested Etsy/NASA contest.  And now the winners are announced.  Neither of my picks (stenciled glass bottles and wooden toy blocks for alien…

Reading The Cryosphere A picture is worth a thousand words - but only if you can speak the language. When examining satellite images of the cryosphere it helps to know something of the mechanisms…

As we are already talking about light bulb jokes, the many useless comments to my rather more serious articles lately got me to compile the answer to the following question, although it is certainly…

Lacking the papers to prove I am a theoretical physicist, I have built something working class: a lunchboxThe box contains Yoplait Yogurt, Del Monte 100 Calorie Mixed Fruit, and White Cheddar Cheese…

Coastal areas and inland water bodies , salt marshes have their own flora and fauna. High tides and low tides have their role to play. During monsoon season rain water allows the growth of certain…

I'll confess it. Even though they're the divas of the ocean, the quintessential charismatic megafauna, even though they overshadow all the other weird and wonderful marine life, I still like whales.…

You may not have heard of Chandra Wickramasinghe, but he is due to be sacked alongside all of his collegues at the center for Astrobiology at the University of Cardiff. Yes, he and all his collegues…

At the Top of the World.The massive 9.0 M earthquake at Tohoku, Japan, 11. March 2011 literally shook the entire planet. The signals were read even at the top of the world, close to the north pole.…

In the days of yore, organic chemistry was considered a branch of science that dealt with endless interactions involving carbon atoms as atomic and molecular interactive forces were not understood.…