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By Science Daily Stanley Miller, the chemist whose landmark experiment published in 1953 showed how some of the molecules of life could have formed on a young Earth, left behind boxes of experimental samples that he never analyzed. The first-ever analysis of some of Miller’s old samples has revealed another way that important molecules could …

By Becky Crew Scientists from Abertay University in the UK have developed tiny beating hearts to help them find a cure for hypertrophy – a potentially lethal form of heart disease caused by abnormal cell growth. Hypertrophy makes the heart muscles grow so big so fast, they become thick and stiff, making it harder for the heart …

By Michael Grunwald   Global warming is a terribly complex problem. It’s really a slew of problems: carbon problems and methane problems, electricity problems and fuel problems, sprawl problems and deforestation problems, supply problems and demand problems. We waste too much power, we eat too much meat, we drive too much, we fly too much, …

By Mark Crislip   I knew that Jann was thinking of writing about reiki and fraud, but did not know the details of her most excellent discussion from yesterday until I had finished my penultimate draft for today. Think of them as a match set, two perspectives on the same elephant. Fraud: a person or thing intended …

By Science Daily So accustomed are we to metaphors related to taste that when we hear a kind smile described as “sweet,” or a resentful comment as “bitter,” we most likely don’t even think of those words as metaphors. But while it may seem to our ears that “sweet” by any other name means the …

By Matt McGrath   Britain is running out of land for food and faces a potential shortfall of two million hectares by 2030 according to new research. The report, from the University of Cambridge, says the growing population plus the use of land for energy crops are contributing to the gap. It criticises the government’s lack of …

By Science Daily Women who are able to naturally have children later in life tend to live longer and the genetic variants that allow them to do so might also facilitate exceptionally long life spans. A Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) study published in Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society, says women …

By Alexandra Sifferlin   Illinois is the first state to ban tiny plastic microbeads in cosmetics like face wash, which damage marine life. Exfoliating microbeads, which are tiny bits of plastic, in your face wash are causing some serious damage to your skin and environment, and states are starting to crack down. This month, Illinois …

By Elizabeth Howell   Ultra-strong spider silk, one of the toughest known natural fibers,  could one day protect soldiers on the battlefield from bullets and other threats, one company says. Spider silk is light and flexible, and is stronger by weight than high-grade steel. Its potential applications span a wide range of industries, from surgical sutures for doctors to protective …

By AFP Twitter has restored access inside Pakistan to dozens of tweets and accounts, after blocking them last month following official complaints about ‘sensitive’ content, in a move hailed by free speech activists. The microblogging site said it had changed its May 18 decision – to restrict access to the material from within Pakistan in …

By Reuters The United Nations torture watchdog called on the Vatican on Friday to cooperate with civil authorities in prosecuting all cases of suspected sexual abuse by pedophile priests and to set up its own independent complaints mechanism. It was the second time this year that a U.N. human rights body has criticized how Roman …

By Ian Dunt Creationism cannot be taught as a valid scientific theory in any free school or academy, the government has said. The move, which came in a little noticed document last week, marks a significant victory for secular campaigners, who have long fought to ensure the freedom granted to free schools and academies does …