Here's a look at how other developed countries provide and pay for healthcare compared with the U.S. system, based on the most recent information available. picked by Bornbad 2 months ago

Everyone knows too much beer can cause brain damage — but did you know alcohol might actually help cure it too? picked by suebe 2 months ago

We've been looking at other planets through telescopes for four centuries. But if you really want to get to know a place, there's no substitute for being there. And in the past decade, more than 20 spacecraft have ventured into the deepest reaches of our solar system.*check out Photo Gallery* picked by Bornbad 2 months ago

A new ghostshark species has been identified off the coast of Southern California, and it’s darker and weirder than any shark we know. The purplish black ancient relative of the modern shark comes packed with a suite of odd features that give its taxonomical family the name chimaera, after the mythical beast made from the parts of many animals. picked by equinox 2 months ago

The main premise of the New Agers is that our thoughts create our reality—positive or negative. So, by extension, our thoughts make us sick or well. On an elementary level, that seems easy enough to accept. After all, we all know people who are stuck in a quagmire of self-pity, depression, and anger who exhibit physical symptoms that mirror their mental state picked by Bingo 2 months ago

It is supposed to the happiest news a couple can get, especially a couple who have difficulty conceiving and carrying babies. The in vitro fertilization procedure had been a success: Carolyn Savage was pregnant. picked by nateebiinature 2 months ago

The New York State Health Department is now requiring mandatory seasonal and swine flu vaccinations for all hospital, home health and hospice workers. No other state or city agency in America has such a requirement, and a coalition of local health care workers unions are considering filing a lawsuit to block it. picked by suebe 2 months ago

At MIT, an experiment identifies which students are gay, raising new questions about online privacy. picked by suebe 2 months ago

Scientists have found another reason for Mars appearing red. For a long time scientists hypothesized that it must be 'rust' coloring, but they now have an alternate explanation. picked by Ankabout 2 months ago

A three-pronged approach to treating spinal cord injuries allowed paralyzed rats to walk without receiving signals from the brain. picked by proverb 2 months ago

Right from the start of modern evolutionary science, why humans are hairless has been controversial. "No one supposes," wrote Charles Darwin in The Descent of Man, "that the nakedness of the skin is any direct advantage to man: his body, therefore, cannot have been divested of hair through natural selection." picked by kakana 2 months ago

As if bushfires, drought and floods aren't enough, Australians have now been warned to watch out for volcanoes.
A scientist has warned an eruption is "well overdue" and says there are hundreds of volcanoes that could cause trouble, from South Australia and Victoria through to Queensland. picked by kakana 2 months ago

Just as humans speak louder in noisy locations, great tits likely avoid low-pitched tones so that their calls will carry further, said the researchers, who will present their findings at an Ornithological Society of Japan's conference that began on Saturday in the Hokkaido Prefecture city of Hakodate. picked by kakana 2 months ago

If you pop the head off a dandelion, white sap oozes freely from the wound for about a second.
But if you pop the head off the genetically engineered variety, the sap oozes for minutes, producing five times more latex than from the average dandelion. picked by kakana 2 months ago

Most people can see and most textbooks point out the evolutionary similarity between a human arm, a dolphin's fin, and horse's leg. Insect legs, lacking bones are far different. Both type of limbs evolved independently of each other. However scientists are finding there is more homogeneity between the two evolutionary paths and similar seemingly disparate features than we thought. picked by 2manyusernames 2 months ago

Are you taking a daily aspirin or multivitamin to stay healthy? Avoiding eggs and choosing no-cholesterol margarine over butter? Convinced that jogging will ultimately kill your knees? Advice that was once considered gospel truth among the medical community is now being questioned. picked by Bornbad 2 months ago

Many years ago a teacher asked me, "Hoosker, if a tree fell in the forest, and no one was there, would it make a sound?"
After several minutes of contemplating the question I replied "Yes, but only if you made me aware of it falling. If you hadn't told me about it, then it actually never would have existed, then No."
Turns out, I may have been on to something. picked by hoosker 2 months ago

Some scientists believed the T.Rex evolved to its enormous size, then its arms shrank, when they were no longer needed. A new discovery though, shows that the tiny-armed killing machine may have evolved from a much smaller killing-machine-with-tiny-arms.

(As a special bonus, check out the religious debating going on in the comments.) picked by Bingo 2 months ago

Two male squirrel monkeys were given gene therapy and now the normally color blind animals are able to distinguish between shades of red and green in color vision tests. In normal situations, female squirrel monkeys can see a full range of colors, but males cannot see red or green. picked by Bingo 2 months ago

1001 (ish) ways to open a bottle of beer. I've tried about 4...

Site is German, but so are some of the best beers picked by davethefish 2 months ago

Until recently, anthropologists believed that evolutionary pressure on humans eased after the transition to a more stable agrarian lifestyle. But in the last few years, they realized the opposite was true. picked by karenben 2 months ago

Those of you with children, or taking care of children know they like to taste everything, especially if it smells good. I got an email at the office that illustrates the dangers of alcohol based hand sanitizers and curious children. Another source picked by suebe 2 months ago

Listening to sounds with our eyes closed seems to wire together a direct connection to the regions of our brains that process emotions picked by stinkobinko 2 months ago

One out of five male black bass in American river basins have egg cells growing inside their sexual organs, a sign of how widespread fish feminizing has become. picked by proverb 2 months ago

Dr. Norman Borlaug, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist and father of the "green revolution" who was credited with saving 1 billion lives from famine, died in Dallas at age 95.

Dr. Borlaug died late Saturday night at his home from complications of cancer, said Kathleen Phillips, a Texas A&M University spokeswoman. picked by Bingo 2 months ago