The saying goes that we shouldn't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, so while there is no cure for muscular dystrophy, rather than solely focusing on the underlying genetic defect might…

A tiny fragment of Martian meteorite 1.3 billion years old contains a 'cell-like' structure, which investigators say once held water, according to findings published in Astrobiology. While…

The Asian monsoon was believed to have begun about 25 million years ago  as a result of the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalaya Mountains but a new study finds it existed 40 million…

There was a time when medicine was considered 'at all costs' but the costs were a lot lower. With malpractice attorneys on call and 'defensive medicine' to include every test so that during fact…

A third of the inherited risk of prostate cancer is closer to being identifiable with 23 new genetic variants associated with increased risk of the disease. But there are a lot of factors. The total…

Students at the City Colleges of Chicago may have to do without textbooks until as late as mid October.  While the students are as bright as any they need their books, for reference, and a sense…

Agriculture has one hell of a footprint, occupying 37.6 percent of earth’s land area, or about 0.7 hectares (1.7 acres) per person to feed our world's current population. “There is no activity that…

Yogurt with probiotics are one of the latest health fads, but no one is sure they are doing anything at all and, if they are, that it is helping.  Probiotics are defined by marketing groups as…

A decade ago there was mass hysteria among the fringes of science academia because American President George W. Bush limited federal funding for human embryonic stem cells to existing lines.…

Around 3,000 farmers work 6,000 hectares in Veracruz, the west coast of Mexico, to grow potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). In recent decades, the fields of the Cofre de Perote area were affected by the…

Rheumatoid arthritis causes chronic pain and inflammation in joints, such as those in the hands and feet, as well as knees and hips. Over time, rheumatoid arthritis can destroy the cartilage that…

Given its rampant crime, corruption and money issues, a lot of residents of Illinois publicly wish they could give Chicago away. They almost never had it at all. The original proposed northern…

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease with symptoms which include the formation of red inflamed lesions that appear on the skin, vary from mild to severe. It affects around 125 million people worldwide…

There is a link between our brain structure and our tolerance of risk, find economists who say they have found the first stable 'biomarker' for financial risk-attitudes. Does that mean there is a…

"Nobody understands the cloud," shouts a character in a recent comedy about a couple trying to remove a private video from the Internet.  In reality, the cloud is completely understandable, and…

Imagine being able to go from the hottest of hots to the coldest of colds, and endure both extreme droughts, where 97% of your body water is gone, and airless vacuums such as space. The African midge…

Keys at your fingertips, but the technology isn't there yet. Credit: Rachmaninoff, CC BY-SA By Andrew Smith, The Open University How can we ensure that someone is who they say they are? How can be…

When you read something in a book, do you believe it? You might say, “Of course not if it’s fiction,” but well-researched historical or science fiction can offer plenty of accurate information,…

Recently a study was published in the Milbank Quarterly analyzing the voting patterns of FDA Advisory Committee members with apparent conflicts of interest. Since I would have to pay to actually get…

Artificial hearts were invented at a time when progress in science couldn't come fast enough. In 1969, when they first went into human use, DDT hadn't been banned, vaccines were considered the…