Peer review in science, in which independent scientists who are experts on the subject assess papers, but this system frequently receives harsh criticism about its effectiveness and transparency.…

This article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones, Season 5, Episode 9, The Dance of Dragons. Royal families in myths and legends are infamous for intrigue, murder and mayhem. These very deeds are…

Plants can undergo the same extreme 'chromosome shattering' seen in some human cancers and developmental syndromes, UC Davis researchers have found. Chromosome shattering, or 'chromothripsis,' has…

I’m a philosopher, working in logic and related issues. This means that I spend a lot of my time working with words and arguments. And sometimes, when I’m not feeling so good about things, it can…

I apologize to you, dear reader, for not having written yet about the 2.5 standard deviation excess that the ATLAS collaboration has recently found in diboson final states at 2 TeV in the 2012 8-TeV…

A new study demonstrates that the atypical trajectory of cortical/brain development in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) extends well beyond young childhood and into late adolescence and young adulthood…

Over geologic time, the work of rain and other processes that chemically dissolve rocks into constituent molecules that wash out to sea can diminish mountains and reshape continents. Scientists are…

At the Brisbane Writers’ Festival some years ago, novelist Peter Carey responded to relentless historical questioning about his True History of the Kelly Gang (2000) by sinking in his chair and…

Gaze following to distant space has been documented in many species such as primates, domesticated goats, several bird species, dolphins, fur seals, the red-footed tortoise and wolves. Gaze following…

    Many people associate the image of an old man in glasses and crazy white hair with a scientist. This is largely due to the visage of Albert Einstein in his later years.…

Extremely poor vision can be caused by strabismus in early childhood or by a displaced optical axis. Amblyopia is caused not by organic damage to the eyes but by the brain incorrectly fitting…

The advent of online social networks has led to the rapid development of tools for understanding the interactions between members of the network, their activity, the connections, the hubs and nodes.…

Housing improvements could reduce malaria cases by half in some settings, according to research published in the open access Malaria Journal. As mosquitoes become resistant to insecticides and…

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have shown that the most complete giant sauropod dinosaur, Dreadnoughtus, discovered by palaeontologists in South America in 2014, was not as large as…

A research group has developed an assay whereby cultured human breast epithelial cells rebuild the three-dimensional tissue architecture of the mammary gland. A transparent gel is used in which…

If an extraterrestrial race - or indeed later civilization on the Earth looks at the relics of our space explorations - one thing they might notice is our fondness for placing flags and pennants in…

The return of diphtheria in Spain after nearly three decades highlights the challenges posed by infectious diseases that had been mostly eliminated from Europe. Falling vaccination rates, complex…

A variety of factors including questions about risk and reluctance to offend patients limits clinician willingness to prescribe a potentially life-saving medication that counteracts the effects of an…

The park is almost open. Two decades on and Jurassic Park has morphed into Jurassic World, the one and only dinosaur theme park. Science has apparently evolved too: the genetically-engineered…

Organic farming has had a pretty good run. While creating a $100 billion Big Ag juggernaut they were allowed to carve out their own special fiefdom inside the USDA, run by organic food lobbyists who…