I doubt many of us will lament the loss of BIOS.   It is a testament to Microsoft that they made sure as much software as possible was as backward-compatible as possible for as long as possible…

I doubt many of us will lament the loss of BIOS.   It is a testament to Microsoft that they made sure as much software as possible was as backward-compatible as possible for as long as possible…

No one is canceling vacation plans just yet but the strongest warning yet about visiting France and Germany has come from Britian, that the terror threat there was high.  It's no surprise since…

No one is canceling vacation plans just yet but the strongest warning yet about visiting France and Germany has come from Britian, that the terror threat there was high.  It's no surprise since…

In 1995 the physicist HvL was employee of an internal software house of a large electronics company. His speciality was the creation of scientific software. Then he got the invitation from a software…

A new poll by Nature and Scientific American, out in SA's October 2010 issue, notes that scientists have had a tough year - the "leaked 'Climategate' e-mails painted researchers as censorious," the…

The IAC made "some incorrect assumptions and conclusions" in its report, according to this letter from IPCC Working Group II (fourth assessment), responding to criticism about the IPCC's process,…

The IAC made "some incorrect assumptions and conclusions" in its report, according to this letter from IPCC Working Group II (fourth assessment), responding to criticism about the IPCC's process,…

I have to be honest, if a casual question arose like 'who would you believe on science topics, Michael Shermer or Lady Gaga?' I would side with Shermer. I know, I know, that is a vicious stereotype…

Science comedian Brian Malow Brian Malow, ties much of science to growing up in a happily dysfunctional family. He asks: What if the driving force behind the evolutionary patterns of homo erectus was…

UPDATE: This was written before the 22 February earthquake, and I realise that recent events show my arguments may be a little too simplistic.  My heart goes out to all thouse affected. In…

The little people in China can never catch a break - there are a lot of them and the government in charge is not exactly benevolent so issues that might kill some peasants, like space debris falling…

The little people in China can never catch a break - there are a lot of them and the government in charge is not exactly benevolent so issues that might kill some peasants, like space debris falling…

I am spending a few pleasant days in Split for the conference "LHC Days". I will be representing the D0 and CDF collaborations here in a talk on top physics at the Tevatron; in the meantime, I am…

Cancer chemotherapy has been successful in delaying cancer progression but the flip side has been its side effects. Kinases have gained popularity as drug targets but achieving target…

Okay, in the past two days we've seen that our memories are malleable. We can easily be made to misremember, and easily be made to adopt memories of things that never happened. But what actually goes…

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2010 was awarded to Robert G. Edwards "for the development of in vitro fertilization". Their reasoning seemed to be partly cultural - that Edwards battled…

A group of researchers say receding glaciers due to global warming at the end of the last ice age, 20,000-100,000 years ago, resulted in the rampant biodiversity left behind in their wake. Certainly…

The fake orgasm scene in "When Harry Met Sally" is likely the only good thing about that movie, and that's because it resonated with nearly everyone.    To men, it seemed real, and…

If you're a squid, that is. Apparently squids of the species Martialia hyadesi like to eat oily fish. They're messy, so they leave oil in the water, which floats to the surface. Grey-headed…