Japan’s ageing population and low birth rate are fuelling fears of a population slump over the coming years.
 

Hemigraphis alternata, or purple waffle plant, one of the highest ratedornamentals for removing indoor air pollutants.

Air quality in homes, offices, and other indoor spaces is becoming a major health concern, particularly in developed countries where people often spend more than 90% of their time indoors. Surprisingly, indoor air has been reported to be as much [...]

New data from rats with head-mounted microscopes shed light on how we put the world together seamlessly while we move around.
By building a tiny microscope small enough to be carried around on a rats` head, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, have found a way to study the complex [...]

Body maps in our brain may influence how we perceive our physical bodies — for example, if there is a lot of brain area associated with our right arm, we will view it being as longer compared to our left arm.
There are areas in the brain devoted to our arms, legs, and various parts of [...]

Eating a meal quickly, as compared to slowly, curtails the release of hormones in the gut that induce feelings of being full, according to new research.
According to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), eating a meal quickly, as compared to slowly, curtails the release [...]

New research confirms that the volcanic processes at work beneath the Ethiopian rift are nearly identical to those at the bottom of the world’s oceans, and the rift is indeed likely the beginning of a new sea.

In 2005, a gigantic, 35-mile-long rift broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia. At the time, some geologists believed [...]

Nazca Lines in the Peruvian Desert.
An ancient South American civilisation which disappeared around 1,500 years ago helped to cause its own demise by damaging the fragile ecosystem that held it in place, a study has found.

Young tyrannosaurs did serious battle against each other.
We all know adolescents get testy from time to time. Thank goodness we don’t have young tyrannosaurs running around the neighborhood.

New research finds that a quick glance at someone’s facial structure may be enough for us to predict their tendency towards aggression.
Angry words and gestures are not the only way to get a sense of how temperamental a person is. According to new findings in Psychological Science, a quick glance at someone’s facial structure may [...]

Mark Tuszynski, MD, PhD.
Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that regeneration of central nervous system axons can be achieved in rats even when treatment delayed is more than a year after the original spinal cord injury.

This thin-section transmission electron micrograph (TEM) depicted the ultrastructural details of a number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) virus particles, or virions.
Researchers have shown how an antiviral protein produced by the immune system, dubbed tetherin, tames HIV and other viruses by literally putting them on a leash, to prevent their escape from infected cells. The [...]

Message-sent is often different than message-received
Professing your love (or lust) takes just a few seconds of typing in the age of flirtexting, also famously known as sexting. While ‘XOXO’ stands for hugs and kisses, ‘French’ is the new tongue-incheek for French Kiss and ‘IWSN’ (I want sex now) is the best way to tell your [...]

LED Eyelashes
False eyelashes not getting you enough attention? LED Eyelashes from Korean designer Soomi Park will have you turning heads so fast you might be sued for causing whiplash.  (Video)

A late-night class on writing, ending at 2:30 a.m., at a community college in Boston
Winston Chin hustles on Tuesdays from his eight-hour shift as a lab technician to his writing class at Bunker Hill Community College, a requirement for the associate’s degree he is seeking in hopes of a better job.
 

Nymphaea lotus.
Approximately 120-130 million years ago, one of the most significant events in the history of the Earth occurred: the first flowering plants, or angiosperms, arose. In the late 1800s, Darwin referred to their development as an “abominable mystery.” To this day, scientists are still challenged by this “mystery” of how angiosperms originated, rapidly diversified, [...]

New research shows that even one cigarette has serious adverse effects on young adults.
Even one cigarette has serious adverse effects on young adults, according to research presented by Dr. Stella Daskalopoulou at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

Staphylococcus aureus.
Globalisation and industrialisation are causing diseases to spread from humans to animals, a study has shown.

Researchers have identified a cellular pathway that may explain the link between alcohol consumption and cancer.

Alcohol consumption has long been linked to cancer and its spread, but the underlying mechanism has never been clear. Now, researchers at Rush University Medical Center have identified a cellular pathway that may explain the link.

When two populations of a species become geographically isolated from each other, their genes diverge from one another over time.
Cornell researchers have discovered a genetic mechanism in fruit flies that prevents two closely related species from reproducing, a finding that offers clues to how species evolve.

The great diversity of male sexual traits, ranging from peacock’s elaborate train to formidable genitalia of male seed beetles, is the result of female choice.
The great diversity of male sexual traits, ranging from peacock’s elaborate train to formidable genitalia of male seed beetles, is the result of female choice. But why do females choose among [...]

A mantis shrimp takes a peep from it’s burrow in the Sulu sea.
The remarkable eyes of a marine crustacean could inspire the next generation of DVD and CD players, according to a new study from the University of Bristol published today in Nature Photonics.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have used gene therapy to safely improve vision in five children and seven adults with a rare form of congenital blindness
Born with a retinal disease that made him legally blind, and would [...]

For Jessica Gwozdz, a professional photographer and mother of two, Flickr was a blessing. It allowed her to share photos of her children, Grace and Henry, with distant, tech-averse relatives for whom a username and password would have been too great an obstacle. It even allowed potential clients to freely browse her gallery.
Then a friend [...]

The grueling 150-mile (240km) Sand Marathon (Marathon des Sables) takes place near Ouarzazate in Morocco. Around 700 dedicated competitors from around the world take on the course over 11 long days. (Pics)
 

Not buying it?  Global warming is becoming a much tougher sell. A new Pew Research poll says the percentage of people surveyed, who believe climate change is a very serious problem, has dropped from 44 percent last year to 35 percent.