How is it that people can sometimes show such empathy when other times our ability to feel compassion seems to be in such short supply? A study published in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on…

Fortifying food with folic acid saves about 1,300 babies each year from serious birth defects of the brain and spine known as neural tube defects (NTDs), according to new data published by the US…

Credit: Don Davis By Claire Belcher, University of Exeter and Rory Hadden, University of Edinburgh The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs set off an intense heat wave that briefly boiled the Earth…

Literature scholars love to debate Shakespeare. Like 'the greatest baseball player of all time' everyone can have an opinion and they are all just as valid, if even a modicum of thought went into it…

Women are at an increased risk of relapse after a smoking cessation attempt. Research indicates that both the hormonal fluctuations of the menstrual cycle and the negative symptomatology…

Adult sea turtles find their way back to the beaches where they hatched by seeking out unique magnetic signatures along the coast, according to new evidence. "Sea turtles migrate across thousands of…

A new study found a causal link between the activation of serotonin neurons and the amount of time mice are willing to wait, and rejected a possible link between increased serotonin neuron activation…

A National Institutes of Health white paper that was released today finds little to no evidence for the effectiveness of opioid drugs in the treatment of long-term chronic pain, despite the explosive…

A study has found that reducing expression of the Myc gene - found in the genomes of all animals, ranging from ancestral single-celled organisms to humans - significantly increased the healthy…

Political conservatives in the United States are somewhat like East Asians in the way they think, categorize and perceive, while liberals in the U.S. are more extreme in thought, categorization and…

We use our hands a lot each day. Humans have highly developed fine motor skills and so we are able to perform grasping movements with variable precision and power distribution, everything from tying…

The actions of cells underpin new thinking about pancreatic cancer, which took the life of Apple's Steve Jobs. James Mitchell, CC BY-SA By Catherine Hogan, Cardiff University Pancreatic cancer is a…

AirAsia 8501 - More Bodies Retrieved, More Data Released Detik News reports that there was some difficulty in relocating the fuselage.  Sidescan sonar was used and the fuselage was discovered "a…

An analysis of Danish women of reproductive age suggests that long-term use of hormonal contraceptives is associated with an increased risk of brain tumors.  Hormonal contraceptives, commonly…

The government's ad promoting proposed changes to higher education. Is it legal? And if so, should it be? Youtube screen grab, CC BY-SA By Andrew Hughes, Australian National University The federal…

In the brain, blood flow and cognitive function peak during young adulthood, but a new study of 52 young women found that oxygen availability, which is known to positively relate to brain health and…

If someone won't move around for 20 minutes a day, can anything more be done to help people get off the couch? Too much sitting has been linked to increased risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes…

The use of animal translocations as a means to mitigate construction projects and other human developments is a widespread animal-management tool. A paper published today, produced through…

Only recently has conversation about access to new drugs been moving to acknowledging the need for a community debate about affordability as well. pixxiestails, CC BY-NC By Sally Wortley, University…

The debate over wind turbines is heated, so it's best to rely on solid science. Fir0002/Flagstaffotos/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC By Jacqui Hoepner, Australian National University and Will J Grant,…