(This is the first in what I anticipate to be a series of three essays on moral inquiry. The second will be a survey of some traditional themes and their contemporary applications, and the third will…

I've never been a shark guy, I will confess that to you.   Actually, I have never been an animal guy of any kind.   When I was a wee scientist / media guru / journalist / game show host,…

I can relate to what Isis is saying When I first told a more senior colleague what I was up to, he told me, "Isis, I don't care if you are building model trains in your spare time and then blowing…

OK, I agree lectures aren't the best format, but Google and Wikipedia aren't a substitute: The old-style lecture, with the professor standing at the podium in front of a large group of students, is…

A few weeks ago, I got a text message on my mobile. It said it was from my credit card company (and it had the right one). It said they had to talk with me urgently about my account, and I should…

There are things or entities in or on an object that could be present and be proven to exist by experiments and yet one can not see because they are too small to be seen by our naked eyes or some…

Designing a new hydroelectric power station can be a laborious task - the pressures, temperatures and fluid flows can be simulated but the actual results outside FEA showbiz graphics will still…

There's a bipolar force with a repulsive side that doesn't involve cosmic opera or wooden acting - it's light.  And it can be used to control components on silicon microchips, meaning future…

University of Denver researchers say that couples who live together before they are engaged have a higher chance of getting divorced than those who wait until they are married to cohabitate. In…

Cornell computer scientists say they have tracked and analyzed the "news cycle", the way stories rise and fall in popularity, and found a consistent pattern as stories rose into prominence and…

A study done by Stanford University School of Medicine and Stanford Hospital&Clinics suggests that the use of a dietary supplement after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery can help obese patients…

The cluster of stars surrounding a supermassive black hole after it has been ejected from a galaxy are a new kind of astronomical object, according to a paper published in Astrophysical Journal.…

The phrase 'like herding cats' resonates with people for a reason; it's difficult to get them to do anything they don't already want to do. But they have no problem getting humans to do their…

University of Dundee scientists say they have shown that E. coli, one of the most extensively studied organisms in the world, still has some secrets that may hold the key to human diseases, such as…

If you have a 'difficult' baby, don't worry too much about your parenting skills.   A new report in Psychological Science says that a child's temperament may be due in part to a combination of a…

Beppe Grillo, one of the most successful bloggers in the world (last time I checked his blog was number 11 in the world by traffic) descends in Italy's confusing political arena. In what many had…

Summertime, and the livin' is easy, wrote Ira Gershwin and Du Bose Heyward in 1933. The current gasoline prices are not easy on the budget because they are rising again. According to…

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and UC Berkeley say they have demonstrated a way to fabricate efficient solar cells from low-cost, flexible materials; optically active semiconductors in…

The American Chemical Society (ACS) has announced plans to launch a new journal devoted to the molecular aspects of neurological science in both health and disease. The bimonthly journal will be…

Want to live forever but starving is not for you?   A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences may be more to your liking. The secret to the newest 'anti-aging'…