In scoliosis treatment for babies, doctors often try bracing first and if that fails, they escalate to surgery; placing metal rods in their backs with spinal fusion. These children face the risk of…

One of the professors at my marine station retired, and is in the process of clearing out his lab. This has resulted in a sudden windfall of free stuff, some awesome (an invertebrate textbook so old…

Most recent intellectual developments in post-human complex systems (see, e.g., www.hesiodproject.net) perceptively conclude that “social equilibrium” is just a theoretical state. But it is…

HIV/AIDS has been one of the most devastating diseases of the twenty first century. Since the discovery of the HIV virus, our research has demystified the life cycle and actions of the virus, but we…

Not a bad way to end a paper: The past is difficult to recover because it was built on the foundation of its own history, one irrevocably different from that of the present and its many possible…

Galileo merged the fields of cosmology and astronomy, thanks to his telescope, which gave scientists a more accurate way to observe and define the heavens. His telescope helped shift authority in the…

In the issue dated 10 October, Science News reports on a study that suggests that peer reviewers prefer positive results: Peer reviewers for biomedical journals preferentially rate manuscripts with…

I fly all the time and am usually engrossed in a book or asleep by the time the flight attendants go through their safety rigmarole. I will admit, however, that sometimes I sneak a peek during the…

Here's an experiment.  Prepare for 3 days of hiking.  Pack light-- sleeping bag, tarp, knife, matches.  Bring protein bars and rice for food.  And then pick up 3 gallons (11…

For the Brazilians an abstract funny about the situation of their country: O Brasil é um país, no mínimo, pitoresco, essa é a razão de o número de cronistas, contistas ser tão grande, no entanto, a…

Like Spain, Israel, the USA and some other countries, a survey of Danish citizens support using GM plants for production of pharmaceuticals - science Austria, Germany and Japan and some others…

Well, it is now official, so I thought I would let my blog know about it too: I am honored to announce that I was chosen to serve in the CMS Statistics Committee. Along with eight highly…

Think shoes aren't important for women?   You would be wrong, though perhaps not for the reasons you want to believe. A recent Arthritis Care&Research study says that women who make…

Not a week goes by in science that there isn't a new study related to synthetic biology or nanotechnology.   They are two of the hottest fields in science and there is discussion of either…

In an article reviewed by Faculty of 1000: Biology and Medicine, Faculty Members Robert Ruff, Brian Olshansky and Luis Ruilope say the blood-thinner dabigatran is shown to protect against stroke,…

Air pollutants which travel from a country like China, the world's top producer of CO2 who also happens to be exempt from  Kyoto because they insist they are a developing nation,  impact…

Should you use sand for stream restoration?    Common wisdom said no, because it disrupts salmon spawning, researchers have successfully built and maintained a scale model of a living…

CDC officials are anticipating a wave a vaccine horror stories, and reminding folks that by sheer coincidence bad things will happen after some people get their flu shots: As soon as swine flu…

We look at heroes and do-gooders as a special sort of breed; people who possess extraordinary traits of altruism, or self-less concern for the well-being of others, even at the expense of their own…

A recent article entitled "Educators could learn a thing or two from the automotive industry, study finds" piqued my interest.  "...explains how "Lean production" techniques have transformed…