There has been discussion among cosmologists about galileons, a hypothetical class of effective scalar fields which are extremely universal and arise generically in describing the short distance…

A catalyst made from a foamy form of copper has vastly different electrochemical properties from catalysts made with smooth copper in reactions involving carbon dioxide, a new study shows. The…

A new study identifies a novel gene, Inpp4b, that controls nerve conduction velocity. Investigators report that even minor reductions in conduction velocity may aggravate disease in multiple…

Men, women and children exposed to high levels of phthalates tended to have reduced levels of testosterone in their blood compared to those with lower chemical exposure, according to a new paper in…

It is a well-known fact that given the availability of food, we eat far more than what would be healthy for our body. Obesity has become a plague in many countries, and the fact that it correlates…

A new paper delineating spiders’ roles within their colonies is intriguing because the spiders’ specialization (like caregiver or hunter-warrior) isn’t determined by size or physical structure, like…

If you want to do something more practical with your phone than playing Angry Birds and reading email you won't reply to until you get to a computer, researchers at U.C. Davis have created Easy…

Bacteria's ability to destroy viruses has been a mystery but researchers say they now have a clear picture of the bacterial immune system and say its unique shape is likely why bacteria can so…

Hydraulic fracturing is emerging as one of the primary methods of drilling for natural gas, yet is equally controversial in its potential to induce harm to humans and the environment. The…

A scientist has discovered a potentially new form of plant communication, one that allows them to share an extraordinary amount of genetic information with one another. Professor Jim Westwood…

A team of researchers has developed a technique to record the quantum mechanical behavior of an individual electron - contained within a nanoscale defect in diamond. Their technique uses ultrafast…

Women with a vitamin D deficiency were nearly half as likely to conceive through in vitro fertilization (IVF) as women who had sufficient levels of the vitamin, according to a new study in the…

A picture is worth a thousand words, the saying goes, meaning that a picture can tell a big story quickly, but what if it could also represent a hundred thousand other images?  New software…

Kidney failure is a devastating condition and there are never enough donors for recipients - so it seems strange that anyone would be hesitant about getting one, but a new paper in the Clinical…

After spending many years thinking about and writing about quantum gravity theories both mine and those of others I have come to the conclusion that a theory like M-Theory is the way to go.  …

Mucus is key to keeping our lungs clean and clear of bacteria, viruses, and other foreign particles that can cause infection and inflammation. When we inhale microbes and dust, they are trapped in…

An enzyme called 12-LO promotes obesity-induced oxidative stress in the pancreatic cells and that has been linked to diabetes (and pre-diabetes, if you prefer made-up conditions mainstream science…

The first analysis of space dust collected by a special collector onboard NASA's Stardust mission and sent back to Earth for study in 2006 suggests the tiny specks, which likely originated from…

Trees have been a part of the human existence for as long as humans have existed but that doesn't mean we know everything about them, like why they are the size they are. What limits the height of…

It’s hard to focus after a bad night’s sleep and by using mice and flashes of light, scientists have found why; just a few nerve cells in the brain may control the switch between internal thoughts…