When ants go exploring in search of food they end up choosing collective routes that fit statistical distributions of probability, according to a team of mathematicians who analyzed the trails of a…

Imagine you are negotiating with a documentary maker to film your expensive and precious home. You are unsure about it, but are reassured that there are fixed procedures to follow; documents to sign…

During the short, dreary days of winter, some people feel tired and oversleep, they are depressed and irritable and have trouble concentrating.  But once spring arrives, they say they feel fine.…

Kids from multilingual environments become better communicators, according to a new paper in  Psychological Science which says that such children are better at interpreting a speaker's meaning…

"It takes a village to raise a child" is folk wisdom which means that quality communities turn out quality individuals. It may have seemed like a new idea when First Lady Hillary Clinton said it in…

It’s bee season and now’s the time to go outside and observe these popular insects. Bees hold a relatively special place in people’s affections – we have them to thank for honey, of course, and they…

Before 2009, nearly 4 in 10 cattle ranchers and slaughterhouse in Brazil reported recent deforestation but by 2013, this number dropped to 4 in 100, a 10-fold decrease. What changed? Policies that…

If you got a recent promotion, or a new car on Facebook, that's good news, and in the idealized vision of social media it should be shared. That is just social media marketing talking. In reality,…

For the last decade, engineers have deployed increasingly capable underwater robots to map and monitor pockets of the ocean to track the health of fisheries, and survey marine habitats and species.…

Photosynthesis, the process by which plants utilize the sun's energy to create their own, leaves behind a unique calling card in the form of a chemical signature that is spelled out with stable…

Rydberg atoms, atoms whose outermost electrons are highly excited but not ionized, might be just the thing for processing quantum information. These outsized atoms can be sustained for a long time in…

There is nothing like these RPN (Reverse Polish Notation) calculators from HP. But there seems to be two kinds of people: those who love RPN and those who just find it confusing. I happen to be in…

As scientists, my colleagues and I are often told we need to engage the general public and decision makers, to use our expertise to inform public discourse and debates and to reach a far wider…

A new study shows that the microbial communities we carry in and on our bodies, the human microbiome, contain the potential to uniquely identify individuals, much like fingerprints. Researchers and…

The new 9-valent human papillomavirus vaccine, can potentially prevent 80 percent of cervical cancers in the United States if given to all 11- or 12-year-old children before they are exposed to the…

A survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults has found misperceptions about miscarriage and its causes are widespread. Results of the survey show that feelings of guilt and shame are common after a…

Researchers  have demonstrated the functionality of a simple artificial neural circuit - a circuit of about 100 artificial synapses was proved to perform a simple version of a typical human task…

Women's magazines influence decisions to have a more 'natural' childbirth or not, with most stories in favor of epidural or potentially a Cesarean section. Scholars writing in Women&Health…

Male job applicants are perceived to have high levels of leadership potential and are rated as a better employment prospect than a female applicant with proven leadership track record, according to a…

A growing body of advice suggests doing small amounts of moderate exercise can make a significant difference to your health. Academic research is being turned into headlines such as: “Spending two…