Each individual decision along the way seemed rational at the time, but the result was insane. - Former Secretary of State Robert McNamara on the development of the nuclear arms race, interview with…

21st century computer modelling software has enabled a long-lost, trumpet-like instrument called the  Lituus to be recreated – even though no one alive today has heard, played or even seen a…

Created in a Bose Einstein Condensate, sound may enter these acoustic black holes but it may not leave.  This creates an system we can experiment with on a table top level and learn about black…

The likes of Snoop Doggy Dawg are joining the ubiquitous periodic table. Super-heavy element 112 is poised to join the ranks more than a decade after its discovery by German scientists.…

Kin selection is one of those special considerations derived from “selfish gene theory” that postulates that it is the degree of relatedness between organisms that will determine the likelihood that…

I wrote about the opening of the World Science Festival 2009 and Edward O. Wilson's 80th birthday at the Lincoln Center in New York City but he was not the only august personage in attendance.…

You age. As you age, your cells age. Your telomeres wear out. Even single-celled yeast age, giving birth to only a limited number of daughter cells. So how is it that each new generation starts fresh…

    Early science decided on the topology of matter as a system of atoms, durable units of mass.   The development of the full periodic table of elements gave each one a…

I'm mixing my movie references with the headline, perhaps, but it's honestly the first thing that popped into my head when I read about a worm helping scientists understand longevity.…

I've often talked about how amateurs still can make contributions in modern astronomy, making us unique among the sciences.  Well, 14-year old Caroline Moore became the youngest person to…

"It is incredible how technology changes our lives. I, for example, was not used to swear." (Teo Guadalupi)

Fingerprints are essential for crime dramas and look nicely distinct for each of us but what are fingerprints really for? According to Roland Ennos, from the University of Manchester, other primates…

It's No Soap - Laundry Saves Lives On January 7th 2007, at Sizewell A power station on England's Suffolk coast, an environmental disaster was narrowly averted when a worker visiting the laundry…

John Levine notes that using secure branding can be an effective way to combat phishing. “Secure“ branding, in this sense, means using trusted authorities to verify the credentials of a web site or…

From 1958 to 1970 Wladimiro Dorigo, my father, directed a political and cultural magazine called "Questitalia" ("This italy"), where emerging political issues were discussed, and the ongoing…

Injury of the peripheral nerves, such as the nerves in your arms, is common and often results in a loss of function or sensation.  Although these nerves have the capacity to regenerate and…

With school budgets already sub-par, and the purse strings futher tightened in this current economic state, teachers have to find ways to do more with less. One suggestion, if I may, is to…

The idea of the “selfish gene” was intended to shift focus from the organism to the gene to provide a different perspective on natural selection. It was been described as a metaphor, or simply a…

The second World Science Festival kicked off at Lincoln Center in New York City last evening with a birthday tribute to Edward O. Wilson, everyone's favorite ant man, and science fans fron the…

Space explorers have found another mystery. The Shrinking Betelgeuse! This red supergiant in the constellation of Orion appears as a bright star to the naked eye observer. It has been found to be…