New prostate screening guidelines recommend that the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test not be used to screen for prostate cancer based on evidence that shows uncertain benefits and   an…

When the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, champagne bottles get popped all around the world. So what is it exactly that sends that cork flying? And what's the best way to pour your bubbly?…

Have you made your 2015 New Year's Resolutions yet? Toni Blay By Jayashri Kulkarni, Monash University “I will definitely give up smoking – that’s my New Year’s resolution,” she stated emphatically as…

By David Glance, University of Western Australia One of the characteristic features of Massive Open Online Courses is the observation that no matter how many students enroll in a course, only…

NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover, also known as "Oppy", is continuing its traverse southward on the western rim of Endeavour Crater despite computer resets and "amnesia" that have occurred after…

Binge drinking in young, healthy adults significantly disrupts the immune system, according to a new epidemiology paper. Depending on their weight, study participants drank four or five shots of…

An increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could initiate a chain reaction between plants and microorganisms that would unsettle one of the largest carbon reservoirs we have; soil. Citing a new…

They should have stuck to white wine. By Laurence Totelin, Cardiff University Slightly over-indulged in wine this festive season? Suffering from throbbing headache, dry mouth, and nausea after the…

Drawn directly from the flesh Public Domain Review/Flickr, CC BY-SA By Richard Gunderman, Indiana University-Purdue University December 31, 2014 marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of one of the…

Let 'er rip! Simon James, CC BY-SA By Siobhan Weare, Lancaster University Every year thousands of new laws are introduced. Some of these are well publicized and debated, such as the recent changes to…

A pleasant or disgusting odor is not always just a preference, in some cases an organism's survival depends on it. Odors can provide important information about food sources, oviposition sites or…

Recent results released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse finds that use of cigarettes, alcohol, and abuse of prescription pain relievers among teens declined from 2013 while marijuana use…

2014: the year crystallography went mainstream. CSIRO, CC BY-SA By Mark Lorch, University of Hull ’Tis the season for listicles rounding up the stories of the year. So with, the authority vested in…

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome is a genetic condition in children that is characterized by dramatic, rapid appearance of aging. Affected children typically look normal at birth and in early…

There is a disease killing honeybee populations around the world but you won't be surprised to find that environmental groups never mention it. It's called American foulbrood disease and it…

Puffed rice with a bit of poison. Shutterstock By Andy Meharg, Queen's University Belfast There are two sides to rice: the grain that feeds half the world – and the primary carcinogenic source of…

It's no secret that war is tough on innocent buildings so it is no surprise that four of six major archaeological sites in Syria have been heavily looted and damaged, according to an analysis of high…

Apologizing for the silence of last week, due not so much to Christmas holidays but to my working around the clock to write a grant proposal, I wish to show you today a graph which describes very…

Even though many of us are aware of the higher rates of alcohol-related traffic fatalities on New Year’s Eve, myths about drinking and driving persist. These myths are related to how quickly…

A solid 12 years after most of its audience stopped watching "The West Wing", I decided to start - all 154 episodes. In the interest of transparency, I disclose I skipped two - one was a…