Many parasites depend on their host’s behavior in order to successfully reproduce. Instead of leaving this behavior to chance, some parasites actively manipulate their hosts to produce the desired…

VIB (the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) researchers linked to K.U.Leuven and Harvard University say they have shown that stretches of DNA previously believed to be useless 'junk' DNA play a…

Oxidative stress has been linked to aging, cancer and other diseases in humans. Paradoxically, researchers have suggested that small exposure to oxidative conditions may actually offer protection…

Scientists at the University of Leeds say they have uncovered a previously unknown giant volcanic eruption.   And it's no ordinary eruption, they say - it led to global mass extinction 260…

Even if we don't always notice, our brain is constantly distracted with 'noise' - unimportant messages that are filtered out.    When we pay attention, our neurons begin firing in harmony…

Biomedical engineers at Boston University have taught bacteria how to count.  The researchers have wired a new sequence of genes that allow the microbes to count discrete events, opening the…

How common is scientific misconduct?   It's a tough question to answer.   Scandals like Hwang Woo-Suk's faked stem-cell lines or Jon Sudbø's made-up cancer trials have demonstrated that…

Researchers using data from NASA's THEMIS mission have pinpointed the impact epicenter of an earthbound space storm as it crashes into the atmosphere - and given an advance warning of its arrival.…

The joint Japan-U.S. Suzaku mission is providing new insight into how assemblages of thousands of galaxies pull themselves together and, for the first time, Suzaku has detected X-ray-emitting gas at…

A team of physicists and engineers have demonstrated all-fibre quantum logic, where single photons are generated and used to perform the contolled-NOT quantum logic gate in optical fibers with high…

The Moving Finger WritesI cannot agree that much of what is, these days, called poetry, is in fact poetry.I base that assessment on a simple rule: If it isn't memorable, it isn't poetry, q.e.d.…

If you watched "Angels&Demons" recently, you may have thought particle physics was just about scary science that could do real harm on the chance it may do future good.   Not so, though most…

Five-fold symmetry is considered to be impossible in crystallography for the same reason that pentagonal tiles do not exist - it is not possible to cover a floor or wall simply using tiles with five…

The Centre for Epidemiological Studies into Sexually-Transmitted Diseases and AIDS in Catalonia (CEEISCAT) started a pioneering study in Spain in 2005 to look into the prevalence of sexually…

Two things men believe; first, women like them more when they are taken and second, a woman's relationship status influences her interest in the opposite sex.  At least that second part appears…

Following on the heels of 'missing links' in the popular media earlier this month, you might expect that research on mice carrying a "humanized version" of a gene believed to influence speech and…

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has found a cosmic "ghost" lurking around a distant supermassive black hole. This is the first detection of such a high-energy apparition, and scientists think it is…

Last year, ICANN announced an “open season” on top-level domains, to start some time in 2010. This will dramatically expand the namespace for Internet domain names, and will allow cities, industries,…

This afternoon Lisa Randall, one of the most famous theoretical physicists of our time, received from the hands of Flavio Zanonato, mayor of Padova, the keys of the city. The ceremony is part of…

It's been 9 months since I read Autism's False Prophets and participated in a discussion over at Science Blogs Book Club. The good news is that there is increased awareness of the overwhelming…