Science & Society

A physics professor, writing in Inside Higher Ed, asks why intellectuals think it's ok to be ignorant of math and science, but not of art, music and literature. When among intellectual company,…

Overall alcohol use—particularly consumption of beer—is declining in the US, according to a new study published in the August 2008 issue of The American Journal of Medicine. Researchers examined 50…

In case you aren't reading them yet, take a minute to check out these relatively new blogs by scientists: BdellaNea A blog about leeches -- Mark Siddall (American Museum of Natural History)…

My colleague Peter Turchin over at the University of Connecticut (my Alma Mater) has recently published an intriguing short article in Nature (3 July 2008) on what he termed “cliodynamics…

The mad scientist stereotype seems to be alive and well.  This time it is emerging in a disturbing way.  A US Army scientist, Bruce E. Ivins, committed suicide at the age of 62.…

The value of open access is an on-going debate, at least in the science community, with some stating that it leads to greater citations and others concerned that it leads to less rigorous research…

It may seem like an odd marketing campaign but "Come visit Spain, the European point of entry for cocaine" remains apt. A study of randomly selected Spanish euro notes carried out by chemists at the…

The age of your housing plan may influence your risk of obesity, according to a new study from the University of Utah. Neighborhoods built before 1950 tend to offer greater overall walkability as…

By the age of 18 years, two in every five South African schoolboys report being forced to have sex, mostly by female perpetrators. A new study, reported in International Journal for Equity in Health…

A national survey into the bedroom behavior of British women has revealed that 46% percent never or rarely achieve orgasm. The survey, conducted by Scarlet magazine and the makers of the PelvicToner…