A new study reveals that many European hospitals fail to routinely test people who may be at risk of an HIV-infection. If tests were more widely offered in the healthcare system, fewer HIV-patients…

As an editor of the new Elsevier journal "Reviews in Physics" I am quite proud to see that the first submissions of review articles are reaching publication stage. Four such articles are going to be…

Research efforts on the intestine have increased in recent years. Owing to its enormous surface area - comparable to that of a one-bedroom apartment - and the huge number of neurons it contains -…

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Researchers in the College of Engineering at Oregon State University have discovered a new approach to "vitrification," or ice-free cryopreservation, that could ultimately allow a…

Scientists have mapped out the genes that keep our cells alive, creating a long-awaited foothold for understanding how our genome works and which genes are crucial in disease like cancer. A team of…

Proteins are often referred to as the building blocks of life, and make up about 15 per cent of the mass of the average person, performing a wide variety of essential functions in the body.…

Both in materials science and in biomedical research it is important to be able to view minute nanostructures, for example in carbon-fiber materials and bones. A team from the Technical University of…

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have discovered that a dim, cool dwarf star is generating a surprisingly powerful magnetic field, one that rivals the most…

Fastest pigeons tend to become flock leaders Leaders learn navigation skills more effectively than followers Many birds travel in flocks, sometimes migrating over thousands of miles. But how…

As you're driving to work along a busy road, your eyes on the traffic lights ahead, hoping they won't turn to red, you pass signs warning of roadworks, ads on bus shelters... Suddenly a dog runs out…

Health services in many countries increasingly rely on prescribed 'psychosocial interventions': treatments that use counselling techniques to tackle mental health issues, behavioural problems such as…

As doctors in England prepare for strike action next month, researchers at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston, USA) show that, in high-income countries, "patients do not…

The widespread misuse of skin creams and lotions that contain steroids in India is harmful and out of control, argues an expert in The BMJ this week. Corticosteroids, also known as steroids, are…

A new study from the University of Exeter has found that teaching is not essential for people to learn to make effective tools. The results counter established views about how human tools and…

In the mood for some science on Thanksgiving?  Me too, science is the one thing that has not been steamrolled by Christmas. Instead, Thanksgiving is arguably the most scientific holiday, because…

Anna's hummingbird from the US west coast has the spangly plumage of a ballroom dancer, could out-maneuver a fighter pilot and can out-hover a helicopter. New research to be published in the journal…

UK researchers have unearthed ancient fossil forests, thought to be partly responsible for one of the most dramatic shifts in the Earth's climate in the past 400 million years. The fossil forests,…

In epilepsy, nerve cells or neurons lose their usual rhythm, and ion channels, which have a decisive influence on their excitability, are involved. A team of researchers under the direction of the…

Discussions of the ethics of terraforming often touch on  rights of planets or extraterrestrial lifeforms, or near term utilitarian values. But what about our responsibilities to…

Today, the NYT reported that Coca-Cola's Chief Scientist is stepping down in the midst of a controversy regarding Coke's support of researchers who emphasize exercise for weight control. Dr. Rhona…