They're suspected al-Shabaab militants – but probably not ivory traders. UN, CC BY-NC-SA By Diogo Veríssimo, Georgia State University It is often said that if something is repeated often enough, it…

Sex or no sex?  If you want to be healthier as a species over time, sexual reproduction is the way to go, according to a new study.  It's a long-debated topic among biologists - some argue…

Engineers in Austria have given us a blessing and a curse - they have created a giant laser system that sends beams in different directions, which makes them visible from many different angles. …

 On November 23rd, 2014, a new volcano eruption commenced on Fogo, one of the Cape Verde Islands, and it continues even now, making it the largest and most damaging eruption - and the biggest…

Scientists have developed a new biosensor that allows them to see, in real time, what happens when a plant’s defenxe system swings into action. When plants come under attack internal alarms signal…

Can the promise of free community college be delivered? President Obama at Pellissippi State College in Knoxville, TN Kevin Lamarque/Reuters By Donald E. Heller, Michigan State University Last week,…

Memorizing the ions is one of the most challenging part of mastering the basics of inorganic nomenclature.  As I agree with Gerhand, Lind (1992), students of chemistry should master the naming…

Land-based plants respond to hormones in order to survive and it was once assumed that such hormone signaling machinery only existed in these relatively complex plants but new research shows that…

Interbreeding of two malaria mosquito species in the West African country of Mali has resulted in a "super mosquito" hybrid that's resistant to insecticide-treated bed nets. Anopheles gambiae, a…

A new study identifies the BCL11A gene is especially active in aggressive subtypes of breast cancer. The research suggests that an overactive BCL11A gene drives triple-negative breast cancer…

For patients with spinal stenosis, long-term outcomes are comparable with surgery or conservative treatment, according to a new study. While earlier reports suggested an advantage of surgery, the…

This morning I woke up at 6AM, had a shower and breakfast, dressed up, and rushed out in the cold of the fading night to catch a train to Mestre, where my car was parked. From there I drove due north…

These semi-serious but mostly joking statements are based on my observations as a student and as a Adjunct Professor at community colleges.  Thinking about the initiative to give school through…

Dolphins and seals have had eons to adapt to aquatic life, but they can still be taxed while pushing the boundaries, according to a paper in Nature Communications which found a surprisingly high…

Two miles below the surface of the ocean, researchers have discovered new microbes that "breathe" sulfate. These microbes, which have yet to be classified and named, exist in massive undersea…

Evidence from some wrongful-conviction cases suggests that suspects can be questioned in ways that lead them to falsely believe in and confess to committing crimes they didn't actually commit. The…

Funding for institutions of higher education in Norway is partially determined by how many publications their employees produce. While there are already six troubling…

Scientists propose a new, potentially more accurate way, to measure the rate of sea level rise. Shutterstock By Carling Hay, Harvard University When you ask yourself what the biggest unanswered…

By Monica Grady, The Open University Landing a spacecraft on a celestial body, whether it be the moon, Mars or a comet, is not easy. The European Space Agency found out the hard way in 2003 when its…

In 1973, during a symposium to celebrate the 500th birthday of Copernicus, Brandon Carter, a post-doctoral researcher in astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, tweaked his audience by stating…