For every complex problem, there is a simple, easy to understand, incorrect answer. - Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, quoted in Robert Pennock, Tower of Babel, p. 367

It appears that some superbugs have evolved to develop the ability to manipulate the immune system - and that can be a good thing, say a team of researchers at The University of Western Ontario. Some…

How do you reproduce when you lack the genes for reproduction?   Duke University Medical Center researchers want to know also because that can tell a lot about how yeast infections occur.  …

Solving Problems in the New Math Generations of schoolkids have been puzzled by this problem:If it takes 10 workers 10 days to fill in a hole,how many days does it take 5 workers to fill in 1/2 a…

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Today’s children are coming of age immersed in a world video games, instant messaging and 3-D avatars  of themselves. Many have cell phones, laptops, and hand-held video games.  Heck, even…

Ethics, Expertise and LawDear reader: please excuse the style of this article.  I am dealing here with observations in law.  I have chosen a legalese style so that any student of law…

The question of what the major current problems of Biology are cannot be answered, for I do not know of a single biological discipline that does not have major unsolved problems... still, the most…

Here in Missouri, the annual intelligent design bill has died with the end of the legislative session. Every year, several representatives from Missouri's rural areas introduce some sort of…

This week's PhD Comic lists the 4 'research topics guaranteed to be picked up by the new media': Chocolate Robots Unrealistic Sci-Fi gadgets Experiments that might blow up the world So far I'm at…

San Diego, CA, March 17, 2009 – The benefits of moderate physical activity to general health and well-being are well known. It is recommended that people engage in 150 minutes per week of moderate…

I just saw over on Science Daily that they have found lots of new Green Flourescent Proteins in Amphioxus, aka the lancelet (which is the closest invertebrate relative to our phylum, Chordata). The…

That first early morning cup is wearing off; it's time for more coffee zen and a dose of science browsing to bring the day back into equilibrium: Who knew bugs could be beautiful? Bug Safari is one…

Recently, I was discussing the relative virtues of four-door and two-door cars with a friend. I prefer four-door cars, because they make it much easier for back-seat passengers to get in and out…

Ignorance is not just a blank space on a person's mental map. It has contours and coherence, and for all I know rules of operation as well.- Thomas Pynchon, Slow Learner, p. 15

The Beauty of Justice Some celebrities use their status to promote the most idiotic ideas. Fortunately, there are many more, who use that status to help make the world a better place.   In…

'Adaptation to exercise' is a familiar phenomenon, even if the phrase is not: A sedentary person takes up jogging and can barely make it around the block. After jogging regularly for a few weeks, the…

A lack of Vitamin D, due to reduced sunlight, has been linked to depression and the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but research by the University of Warwick shows there is no clear…

Researchers trying to uncover the mechanisms that cause attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder have found an abnormality in the brains of adolescent boys suffering from the…

The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an international committee of taxonomists – scientists responsible for species exploration and classification –…