Much artificial-intelligence research addresses the problem of making predictions based on large data sets. An obvious example is the recommendation engines at retail sites like Amazon and Netflix.…

Researchers have detected a previously unknown interaction between microorganisms and salt. When Escherichia coli cells are introduced into a droplet of salt water and left to dry, bacteria…

This is just a short post to report about a useful paper I found by preparing for a talk I will be giving next week at the 3rd International Conference on New Frontiers in Physics, in the pleasant…

Insecticides that behave like nicotine, known as neonicotinoids, became popular in the late 1990s as replacements for more toxic products. They have been effective but like all products there is…

Concert promoters and sports teams have long insisted that scalping - private ticket sales outside a venue - hurts their revenue and forces fans to pay exorbitant prices for tickets. Not so,…

I’ve often wondered about the Scopes trial, and wanted to read a good account of it.  I was recommended the account by Edward J. Larson in When Science and Christianity Meet, edited by DC…

In 312, Roman Emperor Constantine was told in a dream to paint a cross on his army’s shields.[1] Based on that dream, he commanded his generals to slap crosses on pretty much everything. If it went…

A new National Academy of Sciences (NAS) assessment examining the causes of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident affirms the culture of safety adhered to by the U.S. nuclear industry. Core…

It's no secret that the last few decades have seen a whirlwind of improvements in agricultural science. Where the world once feared the future of Paul Ehrlich and John Holdren, with mass starvations…

In Australia, annual barley production is second only to wheat, with 7-8 million tons grown per year. Powdery mildew is one of the most important diseases of barley and a new project has opened the…

When Typhoon Matmo crossed over the island nation of Taiwan it left tremendous amounts of rainfall in its wake.  How much? The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite orbits the…

Assembling yttrium-based high-temperature superconducting tapes in order to fabricate a large-scale magnet conductor has led to the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS) in Japan …

In 2015, damage after heart attacks will become a thing of the past. In the UK alone, over 100,000 people die from heart attacks each year, but in many cases people who are successfully treated still…

Parts of the primordial soup in which life arose have been maintained in our cells today, according to a new paper. The articles in the Journal of Biological Chemistry  discusses how cells in…

Researchers have identified the functions of two classes of pheromone receptors, and found pheromones crucial to triggering the mating process in mice. They found one class of receptors helps a male…

New York, NY - July 24, 2014 -- Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. has published results from the long-term, randomized, active control Phase 3 study of Zerenex (ferric citrate), their investigational…

Why do women prefer bad boys? Why do men prefer nice women? Why do social psychologists love to conduct surveys about sweeping stereotypes and call it science? These are complex questions without…

Acoustic disturbance has different effects on different species of fish, according to a new study which tested fish anti-predator behaviour.  Three-spined sticklebacks responded sooner to a…

The pesticide methoxychlor has been linked to adult onset kidney disease, ovarian disease and obesity - generations after rats were exposed.   Methoxychlor, also known as Chemform, Methoxo,…

There's a concern that global warming may push Earth's climate system past a "tipping point," where rapid melting of ice and further warming may become irreversible. It's a hotly debated conjecture…