No one cares about progress and society like the New York State Fair. Check out this beast: a quarter-pound of hamburger between slices of a grilled, glazed doughnut. Throw in cheese, bacon, lettuce…

Just as some flowers use bright colors to attract insect pollinators, other plants may use sound to lure in nectar-eating bats.  One rain-forest vine has a dish-shaped leaf located above a…

Heavy metals emit low-energy electrons when exposed to X-rays at specific energies, researchers  have found, which raises the possibility that implants made of gold or platinum could allow…

Sometimes how humans trade goods are as important as what is traded.    Even when it comes to trading dead humans. Human cadavers are a legitimate market?  Sure.  Commerce in…

Sheng Ding, PhD, has shown a new method for transforming adult skin cells into neurons that are capable of transmitting brain signals - one of the first documented experiments for transforming an…

A NASA satellite has caught a stunning, yet eerie, video of a huge plasma twister rising up from the surface of the sun.  The video, taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, shows a plasma…

No, I'm not suggesting that when a recession hits, you should go out and invest in squid fisheries. (But I'm not not saying that. I'm--oh, forget it.) Rather, in the words of my PhD advisor William…

Most scientists and science journalists argue vehemently for basic research - and even more taxpayer money should be devoted to it, they say.   Politicians usually disagree and feel like…

It's not often that paleontology makes the news. This week, however, it did - in a big way. And let me tell you, it wasn't the edgy paper on a new assemblage of South American bivalves ("Barremian…

COLUMBUS, OHIO -- After a full day in and out of airplanes and airports, there’s really nothing like stepping out of the terminal and taking your first breath of unfiltered, unconditioned,…