Severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with lower cognitive function in older adults, according to research from Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Researchers compared…

Researchers have used genetific modification (GM) to bring salt-tolerant plants a little closer to reality. The research team – based at the University of Adelaide's Waite Campus in Australia – has…

A new monkey has been discovered in a remote region of the Amazon in Brazil, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) . The monkey is related to saddleback tamarins, which include several…

DNA : When Is A Code Not A Code ?Stephen C. Meyer is an intelligent design advocate and a co-founder of the Discovery Institute. The core argument of Stephen Meyer’s book, Signature in a Cell,…

Let me start by saying that I am not an economist. I’ve always been somewhat put off by the topic and felt that it was largely based on supposition and little science. After observing the antics in…

Unfortunately I was right: at least in predicting that the INFN exam dubbed "R5" would not go deserted. The R5 exam, which in exchange for a stressful pair of written tests (which I am trying to get…

"The INFN directorate may have invented the Identity operator in the space of qualifying exams" Guido Volpi (commenting on FB on the very offensive R5 exam held today by INFN post-docs).

Though New Orleans residents were told to evacuate days before the arrival of Hurricane Katrina, no one could have predicted the real extent of the devastation that would follow.  Researchers…

Scientists at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) say they have discovered that specialized complex sugar molecules (glycans) that anchor cells into place act as tumor suppressors in…

If you were born at a time when social security numbers were not required, you can probably recognize other people from your home state if you see or hear their numbers.    You may have…

Parasites don't get a lot of respect these days but we may have to reconsider that.  In spite of their nasty reputation, they may have given us the joy of sex. What's so great about sex? If you…

Contemplating Eudaimonea Some recent discussions here have prompted me to comment on the ideas of happiness and eudaemonia, which are considerations of note in my work. In fact, I’m currently writing…

Two studies published in Science Express show the analysis of gamma-rays from two dozen pulsars, including 16 discovered by  NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Fermi is the first spacecraft…

Why do some species  have parents working together to raise young?  In humans, it is the norm but in nature it is rare. Birds, like humans, have offspring raised by two parents and…

Even among giants Messier 87, with two to three billion times the mass of our sun, stands out, completely dominating the Virgo cluster. A supermassive black hole exists in the center of Messier 87…

The 2009 World Conference on Science Journalism took place last week in heat-wave-struck London, at the convenient location of Westminster Central Hall (see below). More than 900 delegates got…

Robots, lacking families and pensions, will rush into scenarios where humans fear to tread, like rescue missions following natural disasters.   So they need our support.   RoboCup Rescue is…

Six groups of scientists from the Departments of Biology and Chemistry at the University of York and the Astbury Centre for Structural and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, at the…

Mars, Incorporated, the global brand dealing primarily with chocolate, other candy and pet food (1), wants to discuss its cocoa sustainability program as part of a summer-long sustainability…

Philosophers have the embarrassing habit of apologizing for formal logic. Mathematicians don’t bother because they don’t care -- they’re just interested in the pretty pretty symbols and waste no part…