Why do we yawn? It's unclear. One hypothesis is that yawning helps to increase the oxygen supply but there no association between yawning and blood oxygen levels has been found. Psychologists…

This must be the boosted b-jets season... Just a few days ago I discussed here the nice new observation of boosted Z->bb decays pulled off by the ATLAS collaboration using 8-TeV proton-proton…

In California, Hawaii and Washington, the percentage of fatally injured drivers with cannabis in their systems grew an average 6.6 percent after medical marijuana laws increased access to the drug.…

It isn't just U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry insulting Jewish people, the whole world harassed, threatened and used abusive language toward Jews on an individual basis more in 2013. But there was…

U.S. mothers who have unintended pregnancies return to work sooner than mothers who had planned pregnancies, and that is a reason to mandate contraception at every institution, says Dr. Rada K.…

The pioneering health insurance exchange in Massachusetts - the model for President Barack Obama’s health care law - is headed for the scrap heap. The state wants to merge it with the federal…

Despite the rarity of celiac disease, a growing number of people in the Western world are adopting a gluten-free lifestyle. In Australia, for example, for every person who's diagnosed with celiac…

Despite the rarity of celiac disease, a growing number of people in the Western world are adopting a gluten-free lifestyle. In Australia, for example, for every person who's diagnosed with celiac…

If you are obese when you are young, it's likely to get worse when you are older. A recent paper examined the relationship between BMI at age 25, obesity later in life, and biological indicators of…

Cigarette smoking, overuse of screen media and even poor diet have been significantly associated with weekly consumption of sports drinks and energy drinks by adolescents.  Data for the study…

An international team of researchers has, for the first time, identified an avian influenza virus in a group of Adélie penguins from Antarctica. The virus, found to be unlike any other circulating…

How can science help save the wild finches Darwin made famous in the Galapagos Islands from invasive species? By leaving cotton balls treated with a mild pesticide laying around. In an experiment,…

A gene that codes for a protein that scientists have found helps the body’s immune cells recognize and fight Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria has been implicated in premature birth risk. The…

It's a well-known fact that spending on health care has consistently grown faster than the rest of the U.S. economy but what's behind this trend is less certain. Economists cite multiple variables:…

Skin cancer is a common and growing problem, accounting for one in every three cancers diagnosed worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Recent findings suggest that malignant melanoma…

"The spotted owl is the poster boy on how to use the Endangered Species Act to accomplish a goal beyond the species itself and how things can get messed up." Ban Nock writing in the Daily Kos The U…

A research team gave old mice -  the equivalent of 70- to 80-year-old humans - water containing an antioxidant known as MitoQ for four weeks and found that their arteries functioned as well…

DURHAM, N.C. -- Along with our big brains and upright posture, thick tooth enamel is one of the features that distinguishes our genus, Homo, from our primate relatives and forebears. A new study,…

Why is science academia so heavily slanted toward one political party in the last generation while private sector science is not? Why, in 1999, would the lead authorship of an IPCC report chapter be…

There may be a reason why emissions regulations that reduced air pollutants like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide haven't really led to a drop in ozone. A report from 2012 found…