The scientific literacy of the American student has been dropping for quite some time now, and we often hear about this serious problem (here and here and, oh, over here). Our…

About 250 million years about 70 percent of life on land was wiped out.   A new study says it has evidence to support massive volcanic eruptions that had broad impact on the global oceans and…

A new fossil cephalopod has turned up in the news! It's funny cuz I was just pondering ammonites recently. "It is a new species of squid, totally new, that has not been seen in other parts of the…

If you've ever been a grad student, post-doc, or a research assistant, surely there have been days when you thought, "This is the worst research project on the planet. Is this really science? Does…

I was contacted a few weeks ago by Bruno Arpaia, an Italian jornalist, translator, and writer of several remarkable novels. He explained that he had just finished a novel, "L'energia del vuoto" (the…

Ipomea mauritiana Jacq.? Family Convolvulaceae Tuber ( Tuberous root) Throughout India, in deciduous and evergreen forests and coastal tracts. An extensive perennial climber with tuberous roots,…

A few science-related chuckles for the day... This is how professors should talk... For all of you new parents out there... Technology lets us exist in the winter, even today when the temp is about…

For hundreds of years, mathematicians even as great as Leonhard Euler(1) have tried to make sense of partition numbers, the basis for adding and counting.  Progress has been made but there has…

Over at the Journal of Cosmology, an engaging open journal I've discussed before, there is a controversy over their book, "The Human Mission to Mars: Colonizing the Red Planet".  Namely,…

Lab rats generally don’t live pleasant lives. Some are infected with diseases. Some are exposed to radiation. Some are sucked nearly dry with ticks. But occasionally a rat makes it lucky and is…