Science

It’s Industry Over Environment in New ‘Bioeconomy Blueprint’

Staff / Truthdig Apr 27, 2012 Critics say a new White House-sponsored program aimed at encouraging the development of “green solutions" to energy and manufacturing problems is a green light for corporate giants like Exxon Mobil, BP, Chevron, Monsanto and Dow to develop the “bioscience” industry without government oversight. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

A Better Way to Learn Science

Staff / Truthdig Apr 14, 2012 Six years of consideration have led researchers to reject the current American K-12 science curriculum and propose instead a plan that would teach students the relationships between fundamental concepts across the disciplines, rather than force the memorization of loosely connected facts. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Chemical Exposure Is Suspect in Early Female Puberty

Staff / Truthdig Apr 1, 2012 Marcia Herman-Giddens first observed the age of puberty dropping for American girls in the late 1980s. Today, she and other researchers agree that the average age of onset has fallen significantly since the 1970s, and some point toward chemicals like bisphenol A—a ubiquitous hormone-like substance that the FDA recently refused to ban—as a possible cause. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Scientists Find Potential Clue to Bee Mystery

Staff / Truthdig Mar 31, 2012 It might seem somewhat obvious, but scientists looking for reasons why bumblebees have been dying in waves in recent years are pointing to pesticides as a possible cause, as the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Even More Good News About Chocolate

Staff / Truthdig Mar 27, 2012 This could be a particularly rich example of how scientific study results can be read in seemingly contradictory ways, as what we have here is research that purports to find a possible link between consuming chocolate and staying thin. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Doctors Get a Clue About How Shock Therapy Works

Staff / Truthdig Mar 20, 2012 It's long been a subject of controversy, as well as a few dramatic movie scenes, but electroconvulsive therapy, aka shock therapy, also appears to work when other treatments don't in some persistent cases of depression. Now the medical community has a little more insight into how it helps patients. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Flies, Too, Drink to Get Over It

Staff / Truthdig Mar 16, 2012 While studying the relationship between stress and alcohol in fruit flies, a group of neuroscientists found that sexually frustrated male flies were more likely to prefer food spiked with alcohol than their carnally satisfied peers, suggesting that humans aren't the only species to self-medicate. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Culture or Neurons?

By Susan Okie Mar 9, 2012 What accounts for our species' self-consciousness and awareness of our mortality, for our impulses to create art, to cling to our memories of childhood, to believe in a deity? Two new books suggest distinct approaches to such elemental questions.What accounts for our species' self-consciousness and awareness of our mortality, for our impulses to create art, to cling to our memories of childhood, to believe in a deity? Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Scientists Say T. Rex Had Three-Ton Bite

Staff / Truthdig Mar 1, 2012 And now for a brief bit of dinosaur geekery: Researchers at the University of Manchester had the fun job of putting together a computer model of a Tyrannosaurus rex skull that gave them a clearer idea about the bygone species' bite, which turns out to be more impressive than previously believed. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Study: Prescription Sleeping Pills May Cause Cancer, Death

Staff / Truthdig Feb 29, 2012 Having trouble catching enough shut-eye? Consider this before reaching for the Ambien: According to a new study published in BMJ Open, the potential risks of popping pills to help you sleep may far outweigh the benefits. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

And Now, This Neanderthal News Update

Staff / Truthdig Feb 28, 2012 Take this one to the Creation Museum: A team of researchers has advanced the idea, in a new journal article published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, that our Neanderthal cousins had mostly died out by the time we Homo sapiens entered the evolutionary scene in full force. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

When Evidence Isn’t Enough

Staff / Truthdig Feb 27, 2012 In the face of ever-increasing contradictory evidence, millions of Americans believe God created humans as they exist today and that Earth is just thousands of years old. Why? Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )