I have always been in the camp of those that think that there is life elsewhere in the universe.  Statistically, the universe is too vast, practically beyond human comprehension, for…

Since being found in Florida just a little more than a year and a half ago, citrus greening disease, which originated in China a century ago, has spread from 8 to 23 counties. The disease, called…

An age old preference for eating uncooked fish dishes like “koi-pla” puts people in SE Asia at risk of ingesting trematodes that can cause a type of liver cancer called cholangiocarcinoma (cancer of…

A pooled analysis of data from previous studies suggests that cigarette smoking appears to be associated with a reduced risk for developing Parkinson’s disease, with long-term and current smokers at…

Teenagers who forego a healthy and balanced diet may have a harder time catching their breath. A new study, published in the July issue of CHEST shows that a low dietary intake of certain nutrients…

In Earth's long history, its climate has changed many times. This was because orbit parameters altered, continents and oceans shifted, large asteroids fell and volcanoes began to erupt. In the last…

Post-menopausal women with lower levels of testosterone are more likely to suffer from heart disease. Research, published in the June edition of the European Journal of Endocrinology, shows that…

A fat-derived protein known for its effects on the liver and skeletal muscle might also serve as an energy-conserving signal to the brain during periods of starvation, suggests a new study. The…

Women don't just like men with muscles — they go for them. Men who are more muscular than average are much more likely to have short-term affairs and multiple sex partners than their scrawnier peers…

Those of us attempting to curb our emissions can soon travel with a little less guilt. Boeing unveiled its ~300-seat greenliner in Seattle yesterday. Made largely of composites, it is lighter than…

A multi-institutional consortium including Duke University has created startlingly crisp 3-D microscopic views of tiny mouse brains -- unveiled layer by layer -- by extending the capabilities of…

Back in June, John Greally, a biologist at Albert Einstein, wrote a frustrating Nature commentary on the ENCODE project in which he repeatedly and wrongly suggested that before ENCODE, biologists…

Looking at the chemical composition of stars that host planets, astronomers have found that while dwarf stars often show iron enrichment on their surface, giant stars do not. The astronomers think…

Johns Hopkins researchers have added to the growing mound of evidence that many of the genetic bits and pieces that drive evolutionary changes do not confer any advantages or disadvantages to humans…

By looking at temperature fluctuations and reduced agricultural production in eastern China's past, David Zhang from the University of Hong Kong and his colleagues say they can predict the…

Fossilised midges have helped scientists at the University of Liverpool identify two episodes of abrupt climate change that suggest the UK climate is not as stable as previously thought. The episodes…

A few years ago, the low-carb diet craze was in full force and it looked like sugar might never return to society's good graces. Sugar substitutes are a billion-dollar business. According to a…

As I've recently commented, there has been media interest in the use of the virtual online world Second Life for chemistry. We also recently demonstrated on Drexel Island that it was possible to…

First the obesity problem in humans alarmed physicians and then veterinarians worried about fat cags ( and dogs) but now a team of researchers in the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary…

Unlike moths and butterflies that are often brilliantly colored to warn potential predators that they carry toxins, flowers and the fruits they produce have brilliant colors to attract the attention…