Once again, your resident tellytraveller has turned his gaze to the Southern Hemisphere, this time with second series of Coast Australia.  Episode 8 took us to New South Wales, and most…

Grape vineyards experimenting with sustainable pest management systems are seeing an unexpected benefit: an increase in butterflies. This method of conservation is easier in Washington, since…

Scientists have discovered that mutations in the gene DRAM2 cause a new type of late-onset inherited blindness.  The article describes individuals from five families with a variety of DRAM2…

A new paper demonstrates how XML markup using GoldenGATE can address the challenges presented by unstructured legacy data, like those presented in the widely used PDF format.  The paper…

Recently, Sheri Lederman, a 4th grade teacher, filed a lawsuit against the New York State Department of Education on the grounds that the metrics used to appraise her performance…

We may think that not wanting to live around relatives is a modern trait, but our closest anthropological relatives, modern day hunter-gatherers, choose to not live among family members as much…

Researchers have discovered that a brain protein plays a key role in controlling binge drinking, defined as drinking to the point of intoxication. They found that deleting the gene for this protein…

Sometimes one food fallacy can conflict with another, and so you must choose - if you like paying over 240 percent more for a gluten-free label and 200 percent more for a probiotics label, you may…

The theme of fetishism and disability came up in ribald and raunchy conversation during the Talking Dirty session at the Unlimited festival held at London’s Southbank Centre in September 2014. A…

This is a question which was asked recently on quora: Is it possible to have a moon so reflective that when it reflects the light of the sun, it will be as if it is daylight? Anyway it is a rather…

Your genes may influence how sensitive you are to emotional information, according to a new study which found that carriers of a certain genetic variation perceived positive and negative images more…

California Senator Dianne Feinstein recently declared war on homemade soap in order to placate her corporate donors, so it is no surprise the public holds her in rather poor regard. Yet it is…

A study of portable ultrasound in detecting the presence of minor fractures in patients showed that 85% of patients with a fracture confirmed by X-ray had injuries detected through ultrasonography.…

We've all been captivated by ocean waves, we accept (everyone except Galileo anyway) that the moon has an impact on tides and waves, but less well known is that the ocean contains rolling…

A few months ago, a snapshot of a lace-decorated dress puzzled social networks worldwide. Some people saw a blue and black dress while others saw the same dress as white and gold The reason behind…

When fruit flies respond to the threat of an overhead shadow, is that fear? The response to visual threats includes many essential elements of what we humans call fear and David J. Anderson of the…

Dogs who suffer with separation anxiety become more optimistic when taking the animal equivalent of Prozac during behavioral treatment, according to a paper in which the authors say they revealed how…

The prospect of death, and the impact of mortality, is a lot less daunting when there is belief in the afterlife, say psychologists. Dr. Arnaud Wisman and Dr. Nathan Heflick, of the University of…

When certified, digital signatures - mechanisms for authenticating the validity or authorship of a certain digital message - have the same legal power as traditional signatures. Introduced by Diffie…

Between the ages of 40 and 80, an estimated 30 to 50 percent of muscle mass is lost, resulting in lower strength and less ability to carry out everyday tasks. This process is known as sarcopenia and…