Science & Society

According to a 2014 National Consumers League poll, 29% of American adults believe that childhood vaccinations can trigger autism. To many, these views are difficult to comprehend. After all,…

Women are not under-represented in science, they dominate in some fields and lag in others, part of the natural variation in humanity - but in academia at the highest levels, they are under-…

Immigration continues to be one of the key issues in the build-up to the general election. The latest figures show a net flow of 298,000 into the UK. This is higher than when David Cameron’s…

A recent study found that people without three risk factors by age 45 were diagnosed with heart failure 11 to 13 years later, on average, than people who had those risk factors. Heart failure, a…

The typical biography of a scientist might look something like this: At a young age, a boy or girl discovers a love for science. Their dream is to become perhaps a geologist, a chemist, or a marine…

The world's challenges demand science solutions - and fast - but it doesn't need the old style of detached experts, write a team of scientists in, ironically, one of America's most prominent and…

A new paper believes that a record drought in Syria from 2006-2010 and the 2011 Syrian uprising is not a coincidence. The rebellion was stoked by ongoing man-made climate change, they write. The…

Synthetic cannabinoids ("synthetic marijuana"), with names like Spice, K2, Scooby Doo and hundreds of others, are often sold as a safe, "legal" alternative to marijuana but that is just marketing by…

The worst kept secret in science media, what one honest liberal blogger called The White Elephant In The Room, is its overwhelming partisanship. It's easy to rationalize that. If Republicans are anti…

Academia could take some lessons from Silicon Valley about diversity. Credit: Wikimedia Last week, MIT released a report that closely examines the state of diversity within the university. The report…