No one knows why Hypospadias, a birth defect where the urethral opening is abnormally placed, became more common among Swedish boys in recent decades. Before 1990, it happened in 4.5 per 1,000 boys,…

Though the end of the 20th century looked like we were going to see runaway temperatures around the globe, that hasn't really happened despite countries like China and Russia and Mexico and India…

A study has identified a protein that appears to play a key role in protecting people infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis — the bacterium that causes tuberculosis — from developing the active…

Tekmira Pharmaceuticals and collaborators at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, have protected nonhuman primates against Marburg virus, also known as Angola hemorrhagic fever.…

Paid editors on Wikipedia – should you be worried? By Kim Osman, PhD Candidate at Queensland University of Technology Whether you trust it or ignore it, Wikipedia is one of the most popular websites…

Calcium buildup in the coronary arteries of chronic kidney disease patients may be a strong indicator of heart disease risk, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Society of…

When America invaded both Iraq and Afghanistan, critics of President George Bush insisted that Muslim countries were not ready for democracy and he would fail.  Were they right? Does Islam only…

By James Smith, Research Fellow in Fisheries at UNSW Australia It may sound overly simple, but just five processes can define us as animals: eating, metabolism, reproduction, dispersal and death.…

The moon is a tranquil place but an article in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Planets suggests that periodic storms of solar energetic particles may have significantly altered the properties of…

The recently published genome of Brassica napus — commonly known as canola — paves the way for improved versions of the plant, which is used widely in farming and industry.  Canola is native to…

Young girls with an intense, red, itchy rash on their outer genital organs - vulvitis - may be at increased risk of developing urinary tract infections, according to new research from Wake Forest…

Most new species come about in geographic isolation, or at due to least large-scale geographic distance, but a controversial hypothesis known as sympatric speciation, which occurs when a new species…

Across Australia, catch Mars and Saturn around 8 pm local time.Source: Museum Victoria/Stellarium By Tanya Hill, Museum Victoria Look up at the night sky this week and you’ll find Mars and Saturn…

By Mark Lawler, Queen's University Belfast Personalized medicine is the ability to tailor therapy to an individual patient so that, as it’s often put, the right treatment is given to the right…

It’s possible to assess dietary compliance from a blood sample - that is useful in controlled dietary intervention studies investigating the health benefits of specific diets, since such studies have…

Due to increased regulations, a culture war against pharmaceutical corporations, and the high costs of trials, companies have increasingly allowed early taxpayer-funded biomedical research to spread…

Tropical Storm Karina was weakening on August 20 when NASA's Terra satellite passed overhead. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard Terra snapped a visible…

A team of researchers  is a step closer to solving the mystery of how lizards regenerate their tails. They have found the genetic "recipe", which involves genetic ingredients in just the right…

When salmon encounter turbulent, fast-moving water, such as rapids or areas downstream of dams, they must move upstream using a behavior known as "burst swimming" that is similar to sprinting for…

A common orb-weaving spider may grow larger and have an increased ability to reproduce when living in urban areas, according to ecologists from the University of Sydney. They believe urbanization may…