Why men have more heart disease than premenopausal women has been unclear, but a new study shows that the sex hormones testosterone and estrogen alter cardiovascular risk factors in a way that raises…

In a previous blog post, I demonstrated how to build a magnetic optical mount for a laser using Erector set parts. Here's another method of attaching a chip clip to the Erector set stand. Parts…

A new study has found that high levels of blood lipids such as cholesterol and triglycerides can keep Vitamin E, an essential micronutrient, tied up in the blood stream, and prevent vitamin E from…

A team of researchers can detect how taste is encoded in patterns of neural activity in the human brain. That means they can basically read your mind when it comes to food. Tastants in the mouth…

An important food resource has been disappearing from streams without anyone noticing until now. In a new study published March 6 in the journal Science, a team of researchers led by University of…

We have tens or hundreds of active 'foreign' genes, according to a new paper, and that may merit a rethink of how we discuss evolution, say the authors. The reason is horizontal gene transfer,…

The composition of intestinal bacteria and other micro-organisms--called the gut microbiota--changes over time in unhealthy ways in black men who are prediabetic, a new study finds. The results will…

Sometimes popular concepts catch fire with the public for no reason, even when they are shown to be incorrect - virtual water, a gallon of gas to create a pound of beef, you didn't build that - but…

In parts of the country that do not have icebergs washing up on shore or falling from the sky, it is almost spring planting season.  For tomatoes, that mean unless you use a toxic organic or…

A team of scientists have successfully transferred a receptor that recognizes bacteria from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, a dicot, to wheat, a monocot. The receptor can trigger a defensive…

A new paint makes robust self-cleaning surfaces and can be applied to clothes, paper, glass and steel and when combined with adhesives, maintains its self-cleaning properties after being wiped,…

Bacteria that live on iron were found for the first time at three well-known vent sites along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, one of the longest undersea mountain ranges in the world. Scientists report that…

In 2015, it doesn't need to be said for anyone over the age of 40, but for young people still newer to Miracle Vegetable and Scare Journalism claims that get pumped out in diet books, mainstream…

The origin of life remains a mystery with more questions than answers. How were molecules created? How did they assemble into large structures? Among the conundrums, the "homochirality"…

Would you want to know if you or your children had risk of hereditary cancer, a genetic risk for cardiovascular disease or carried the gene associated with developing Alzheimer's disease - even if…

Academics have written a lot of articles claiming their competitors in the private sector selectively publish trials that favor their own interests don't care as much about transparency as academia,…

Why do people cooperate? This isn’t a question anyone seriously asks. The answer is obvious: we cooperate because doing so is usually synergistic. It creates more benefit for less cost and makes our…

Researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University's Brain Mechanisms for Behaviour Unit have found a surprise upon mapping the precise connectivity inside a brain…

A decade ago there was a culture war surrounding human embryonic stem cells - people assumed it was a science issue, though in hindsight it was mostly politics. hESCS had never been funded by the…

Once upon a time it was believed that greedy insurance companies were bad for patients - now they are a sign of the have's and have nots. A new analysis in Neurosurgery finds that brain tumor…