Mind over matter. Think happy thoughts. Don't worry be happy. Accentuate the positive. Is happiness really that simple? Sure, it's easy to say, "Think positively." But to actually do it? Not so much…

In the first article, we explored the determinism of the brain and considered that within the constraints of brain physiology it is clear that random or indeterminate processes cannot be responsible…

In my recent article on Understanding natural selection in E:EO, I reviewed a large number of studies that examined conceptions of evolution among students from the high school to undergraduate level…

Tomorrow's Science will be a special issue reporting tons of new information on the fossil hominid Ardipithecus ramidus ("Ardi"), which is really exciting (though not as much as Darwinius, which was…

This seems to be a simple enough question: what exactly constitutes the definition of ‘life’? Let us begin, at the beginning – as they say. Life, according to scientists, begins at the cellular…

Is 'dark energy', the mysterious unidentified thing that would be a nice explanation for a lot of universal questions, physics or religion?  Maybe baryon oscillations can tell us.   Baryon…

Researchers writing in Science have described Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia.   The last common ancestor shared by humans and…

What a difference a bulb makes? On the 6th of November the 2100 inhabitants of the Isles of Scilly - a small British archipelago just off the mainland – will be asking this and a little more, by…

Reduviasporonites were tiny organisms that covered the planet more than 250 million years ago.  According to new research in Geology, they appear to be a species of ancient fungus that thrived…

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley say they have identified critical biochemical pathways linked to the aging of human muscle and, by manipulating these pathways, they were able to…

Biologists from the University of Maryland writing in Science have described the genetic basis for two co-existing systems of sexual determination in cichlid fish from Lake Malawi and, in doing so,…

By thinking about packaging size and shape, major environmental gains can be made, says Renee Wever, who will defend his thesis on this topic at Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) on…

From time-to-time, one has the opportunity to assist in developing a research tool with the versatility of a Swiss Army Knife (or sonic screwdriver for the Dr. Who aficionados). I was lucky enough to…

Estimates can be funny things because usually they're brought up by people with agendas rather than people interested in objective analysis.  Some estimates in competitive sports put athletic…

Sometimes it is helpful to have a catchy word to describe one's type of research. I think that's why "omics" words are so popular -- they encapsulate a complex combination of approaches (usually…

A research team led by Dr Howard Falcon-Lang from Royal Holloway, University of London, analyzed spectacular discoveries of 300-million-year-old rainforests in Illinois coal mines and came to a…

Researchers writing in BMC Cancer say that post-menopausal women who engage in moderate or vigorous exercise have reduced risk of breast cancer. Over 110,000 post menopausal women were asked to rate…

I was delighted to receive a message yesterday from a teacher on the Oregon coast who had seized the opportunity to dissect a Humboldt squid with her students. First--how cool is that? Good teaching!…

There's drama in two galaxies in the Virgo Cluster, NGC 4522 and NGC 4402.    An extremely hot X-ray emitting gas known as the intra-cluster medium lurks between galaxies within clusters…

Women who considered themselves sexually satisfied had a higher overall psychological well-being score and scores for "positive well-being" and "vitality," compared with sexually dissatisfied women…