Inventors Covet Nature's Engineering
August 16, 2012
Scientists and entrepreneurs can't get enough of the design solutions found in the living world.
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Our Poisonous Moon: Better from a Distance
July 13, 2012
The moon stabilizes Earth's axis and regulates the tides, but enjoy it from a distance. Now there are more reasons you wouldn't want to live there.
Anxiety May Shorten Your Cell Life
July 12, 2012
Two newly published studies involving thousands of nurses show that lifestyle and attitude might influence the age of your cells.
Epigenetics: the 21st-Century Scientific Revolution
July 4, 2012
If genetics was the 20th century's major scientific revolution, epigenetics appears to be the big revolution for the 21st.
Wonders Inside You
June 25, 2012
Do you have any idea how many emergencies are resolved inside your body every day without your conscious knowledge or control? Here are just 3 examples.
Pitcher Plant Inspires R&D Award
June 21, 2012
The R&D 100 award, previously given for inventions like the fax machine and automated teller machine, has been given this year for a biologically-inspired design that could revolutionize society in many ways.
Belief in Hell Lowers Crime
June 20, 2012
A psychologist has determined that belief in hell reduces the crime rate. A finding like this might belong in the "Well, duh" category, but more interesting is the interpretation.
Don't Hate Bacteria Irrationally
June 2, 2012
It should be well known by now that we are surrounded by bacteria, mostly benign, all the time -- inside and out. Some reporters still attempt to gross out the public and make misleading statements from scientific findings.
Bacteria as a Vast Unexplored Medicine Chest
May 28, 2012
Most of our therapeutic agents have been derived from bacteria. A new survey shows we have barely tapped the surface of potential medicines beneath our feet.
Shrink Validity Is Shrinking
May 18, 2012
Should you trust the diagnosis of a psychiatrist? If it helps, individuals are free to choose. Behind the scenes, however, there are severe, deep-seated debates about whether psychiatrists understand disorders, let alone diagnose them properly.
From Toxin to Medicine
May 10, 2012
Botulinum toxin (botox) is now big business in health and fashion, but few may remember it derives from one of the deadliest substances known in nature. Other examples show that some forms of "natural evil" can be seen in a different light.
Evolution for Men and Women
May 8, 2012
Two recent entries in the evolution literature have application to one sex or the other.
Follow the Leader: Plants and Animals
May 7, 2012
Need solutions to engineering problems? Look no further than the plants and animals around you. That's what more and more scientists are doing.
Stem Cells Getting Healthier
May 6, 2012
Over the past decade, stem cells have been a hot news item. Here are some late breaking news stories about them.
Why You Are Waterproof
April 29, 2012
Can you imagine inflating like a water balloon every time you jumped in a swimming pool? Or what if water leaked out of your skin every time you drank a glass of water? Your skin forms an impermeable barrier to water, a new study found, because of a unique way certain molecules are arranged.