The Lacey Act is one of few government regulations I have praised for its effectiveness.  Few government regulations are actually designed to help anyone, they are either designed to hobble…

A new study, published in Science, describes a multi-gene synthetic circuit that can distinguish between cancer and non-cancer cells, after which it can target the cancer cells for destruction.…

Who knew pizza was so competitive?  I thought the truly ridiculous ideas would come from the uber-egos of Richard Branson and Larry Ellison but, no, it's about pie. Pizza Hut delivered pizza to…

Who knew pizza was so competitive?  I thought the truly ridiculous ideas would come from the uber-egos of Richard Branson and Larry Ellison but, no, it's about pie. Pizza Hut delivered pizza to…

It is sometimes said that top people in their fields are 'a mile deep and a yard wide' because they lack perspective about the broader world. Dr. Judit Nadal, 47, director of the Proteomics Facility…

It is sometimes said that top people in their fields are 'a mile deep and a yard wide' because they lack perspective about the broader world. Dr. Judit Nadal, 47, director of the Proteomics Facility…

This is about a thousand kinds of awesome.It's a jazz tune called "Cephalopod" which includes these memorable lines: Cephalopod.Would you like to study cephalopods?Teuthology is a branch of science…

Haute couture through history?  It is when St. Pölten takes the Catwalk! If your only knowledge of Stone Age fashion is stricly limited to old Flintstones cartoons, you are in luck.  On…

Mountains sure aren´t what they used to be. Take  the Dolomites in the Veneto Region of Italy and Austria; 140 to 90 million years ago, they were part of the sea floor rather than mountains.…

In Physics Today's 'We love you, you're perfect, now edit', three editors give advice to potential science writers.  Their advice includes the 3 holy rules:   1) know who you are writing…

Bias in science academia is a big topic, but it's selective.  If there are fewer women, it is regarded as a hostile environment but if there are no Republicans that is their choice.   Penn…

Every ramp-up to every election since blogging has been in existence has seen the blogosphere explode with the usual 'Republicans are anti-science' hype while whitewashing Democrats who do the same…

Arctic Ice September 2011 My March 2011 forecasts were quite wide of the mark.  For the first part of the Arctic summer much of the western Arctic saw lower than expected temperatures. …

In the 1980s, conservatives often sided with science while progressives demanded punitive actions regardless of benefit or even evidence of a detriment.  Alar, for example, was a head scratcher…

In the 1980s, conservatives often sided with science while progressives demanded punitive actions regardless of benefit or even evidence of a detriment.  Alar, for example, was a head scratcher…

Things sure have changed now that a Democrat is in power.  The New York Times, once proud to publish anything that might make Pres. George W. Bush look bad, has criticized WikiLeaks for…

Things sure have changed now that a Democrat is in power.  The New York Times, once proud to publish anything that might make Pres. George W. Bush look bad, has criticized WikiLeaks for…

Yikes! It's always interesting to have a reminder that the wild ocean remains wild, and taking a boat to sea is an entirely different matter from taking a car to the store: A Coast Guard statement…

A new oldest woolly rhino fossil in Tibet suggests some giant mammals evolved there before the beginning of the Ice Age, but it leaves a lot of questions about where these giants came from and how…

Have a telescope?   Heck, do you have a pair of binoculars? If so, head outside the city and take a look at a Type 1A supernova.  It's 21 million light-years away, which sounds like a lot,…