In 2013, archaeologists working in Alsace, in eastern France discovered the tomb and skull of an aristocrat who died some 1,600 years ago. Her skull was heavily deformed, with the front flattened, and the rear rising into a cone shape. An amateur digger might have been forgiven for thinking they had found one of the “Grey aliens” that UFO-spotters regularly claim to see. Instead, this was this was an example of “artificial cranial deformation,” or in layman’s terms, the practice of altering the head’s natural shape through force.

Michael LaCour, the UCLA graduate student at the center of a bizarre "science" scandal - we'd do science a real favor if we stopped calling political science and sociology science, even if they get published in Science - apparently made up data in a different study about political bias in the media. The one that got people looking into his other work was his claim that if we just talked to each other, people would change their minds. It was a delight for the truly gullible and cultural activists and it made political science feel relevant.

It's time to end the federal porn subsidy.You might be asking, What federal porn subsidy? Fair question. Technically, there isn't a federal porn subsidy. However, if we borrow some of the logic commonly used by politically driven economists discussing fossil fuels, we can redefine the word subsidy to mean whatever we want.

That the Tennessee Valley Authority, arguably one of American history's most famous public works projects, has been pursuing the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant near Spring City, Tennessee after 36 years is testament to endurance, namely being willing to persist in the face of bizarre government obstacles that the modern Nuclear Regulatory Commission, run by people without nuclear expertise, exists to create.Though approved in 1973, the near-disaster at Three Mile Island in 1979 put Democrats squarely against nuclear science and concerns - some manufactured (quality assurance records with incomplete information) and some real (concerns about welding in non-critical areas) - led to delays.

Slate used to be a trusted source for in-depth science journalism, writes Dr. Alex Berezow at Real Clear Science, so much so that the Real Clear aggregator even used multiple articles per week, but now it has devolved into "angry, opinion-driven reportage that is mostly aimed at insulting Republicans and Christians."

A pat on the head is better than some kind words to your dog, found a study from January. If they have a choice, dogs will always take petting over praise, and that was found among shelter dogs and those with owners.Phrased in fancy science talk: "We first assessed preference using a concurrent choice procedure in which dogs were able to choose between interacting with a person providing petting or a person providing vocal praise. The time allocated to available alternatives can be used as a measure of preference (Baum and Rachlin, 1969), in this case dogs’ preference for different types of human social interaction. By measuring proximity, our results might point to interactions that could be relevant in producing attachment behaviors."

The World Trade Organization ruled Monday that U.S. labels on meat put Canadian and Mexican livestock at a disadvantage, rejecting a U.S. appeal after a similar WTO decision last year.  Americans say they want more transparency in labels but the WTO wants less.And so the House Agriculture Committee voted 38-6 to repeal a "country-of-origin" labeling law for beef, pork and poultry Wednesday. The labels tell consumers what countries the meat is from: for example, "born in Canada, raised and slaughtered in the United States" or "born, raised and slaughtered in the United States."

The KFC Tray Typer is a paper thin, durable, rectangular, standard QWERTY keyboard that you link to your device via Bluetooth and use it to type answers, questions, stories, thoughts or impressions to your personal contacts. Use SMSes, emails, tweets, or whatever else you have on your phone. You can echarge it via USB when it runs out of juice.Most importantly, you won't get your device all greasy because, you know, you can't go 5 minutes without showing people your chicken bones on Instagram.

Being organic is not the hardest thing in the world; fill out some paperwork, pay a fee and assure the world you only use toxic organic pesticides rather than toxic synthetic ones.Thanks to having their own special niche under the USDA, with standards created by a panel of organic insiders, even dozens of synthetic ingredients are allowed. 

DogTilligent has developed the All-in-One Smart Dog Collar with GPS, WiFi capability, an accelerometer, a thermometer, a speaker, LED lights, and a microphone. It helps a dog owner keep track of the dog by warning when the collar has traveled beyond a predetermined location. The Virtual Leash warns the dog when it’s moving away from a human companion by whistling, vibrating, and simulating a tug on the collar.H/T Neatorama