Nanotubes are the big hope for the first decade of the 21st century. They offer promise to produce a new class of composite materials that are stronger than conventional composites for use in…

Patients in therapy to overcome addictions have a new arena to test their coping skills — the virtual world. A new study by University of Houston Associate Professor Patrick Bordnick says that a…

Gestational age has long been the factor most commonly used to predict whether an extremely low-birth-weight infant survives and thrives, but four additional factors that can help predict a preemie’s…

Maturity, in some respects, brings diminished possibilities. As a fertilized egg cell repeatedly divides to grow into a mature animal, most of the resulting cells become ever more specialized. But a…

There was a disturbance in the force of the blogosphere earlier when it appeared that ERV was no longer accessible . But you know what they say, if you strike her down she will become more powerful…

Most people know that restaurants are inspected regularly, but many assume that regularity means 5-12 times per year rather than the once that is actually the case. That's one finding in an article…

Jean Piaget, founder of genetic epistemology and key researcher in child development psychology, showed that kids attribute “life status” to all things that move on their own, like bikes or clouds,…

I have promised to move some "classic Genomicron" posts to this new page, but in the meantime here is a list of what I consider the most significant posts from the last year. For readers who have…

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Florida State University have confirmed evidence of domesticated sunflowers in Mexico — 4,000 years before what had been previously believed. “People…

It's legal, it's gaining popularity among teenagers and young adults and it's one of the most potent hallucinogens around. Brain-imaging studies performed in animals at Brookhaven National Laboratory…

Women who have used Fosamax are nearly twice as likely to develop the most common kind of chronically irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation) than are those who have never used it, according to…

A widely used class of diabetes medications appears to be associated with an increased risk for fractures, according to a report in the April 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the…

Young women who took the commonly used epilepsy drug phenytoin for one year showed significant bone loss compared to women taking other epilepsy drugs, according to a study published in the April 29,…

New heart research published inNature Genetics reveals how a gene called osteoglycin (Ogn), which had not previously been linked with heart function, plays a key role in regulating heart growth. The…

Are climate change and carbon emissions inextricably linked? New research published in Carbon Balance and Management suggests that this may not be the case, although it may be some time before we…

Nitric oxide has emerged as an important signaling molecule in plants - as in mammals including people. In studies of a tropical medicinal herb as a model plant, researchers have found that nitric…

As a futurist I speak and write about trends and the future. I am often asked questions about the future of one thing or another. In most cases I speak to general trends, not specific outcomes. In…

This is interesting. You know, in a "I kinda wish I hadn't seen that" sort of way... Hat tip: Science After Sunclipse

Depending on which variant of the gene CYP1A2 a woman has, a coffee consumption rate of at least two cups a day can either reduce the total risk of developing breast cancer or delay the onset of…

'Functional foods' are those that provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition and more people are recognizing that they are an important part of a lifestyle that leads to long-term fitness and…