A research team has discovered a molecular "rheostat" in the brain's appetite control center that may provide new insights into obesity, which is at epidemic levels in this country. The discovery of…

Acute kidney injury often arises after major surgery because the kidneys can be deprived of normal blood flow during the procedure. The use of contrast media, or dyes, can contribute to this problem…

Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, said Aristotle. That certainly applies to biology, where molecular motions in living systems have a macroscale effect - such as large muscles…

A recently published study offers new clues about the evolution of the immune system in European populations of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the underlying genetic mechanisms associated with…

There is a lot of talk about increasing longevity but 50 years of increasing frailty, doctor visits and overall decline is not really an improvement over 30 years of it. A new study shows that by…

Some groups want to label foods that contain anything created with modern genetic modification. Yet the previous generation of genetically modified foods, using mutagenesis, can be labeled…

A new species of dinosaur has turned out not to be a dinosaur at all, it is instead one of the large reptiles that lived before dinosaurs took over the world. But like many dinosaurs, it looked…

Most dogs and most humans get along well now and anthropological explanations are that selective selection is the reason; wolves that were not a threat were not killed and over time the agreeable…

Some cultural pundits contend that income inequality is linked to parenting inequality but new findings dispute that.  You don't have to be wealthy to be involved in your child's life, despite…

Scientists have analyzed extraterrestrial dust hat has settled on ocean floors to determine the amount of heavy elements created by the massive explosions. The dust is thought to be from…

A new study finds that vitamin D can protect some people with colorectal cancer by boosting the immune system's vigilance against tumor cells. The research in Gut represents the first time that a…

As the Earth warms and glaciers all over the world begin to melt, the natural concern has been how all of that extra water will contribute to sea level rise. Less considered is what happens to…

Each January, I scamper out of the basement and talk to folks during MIT's Independent Activities Period. The Alumni Association is the sponsor (no one from the physics or math department is inviting…

From the beginning of time, uranium has been part of the Earth and, thanks to its long-lived radioactivity, it has proven ideal to date geological processes and figuring out Earth’s evolution. …

Researchers have identified hyaluronon (HA) as a critical substance made by the body that protects against premature births caused by infection. Pre-term birth from infection is the leading cause of…

Wine, medicine and movies are two great examples of how the naturalistic fallacy - the old ways are better - retain a vice-like grip on aspects of culture.  The naturalistic fallacy issues of…

Beet juice is a fad in sports optimization because it is rich in nitrates, but does it work?  It has some value, though it does not enhance muscle blood flow or vascular dilation during…

Crops genetically engineered to produce proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to control insect pests have been planted on a cumulative total of more than a billion acres worldwide…

Autism Spectrum Disorder, a broad range of behavioral and cognitive issues that usually impair learning ability, has been studied for many years but there remain far more questions than answers. Some…

One of the biggest struggles in toxicology is creating the correct parameters so you are modeling the real world as closely as possible. It's an enormous task to model the environment with its…