Your gut is filled with trillions of bacteria that feed on the remains of your every meal(1). These bacteria, however, are not simply freeloaders that take advantage of a cozy habitat where food is always abundant; they serve many important … Read more

The race to fertilize an egg can be fierce. Millions of sperm cells compete against each other so as to pass on their genes to the next generation. Only one of them can be victorious. And yet, within this sexual … Read more

One of the biggest challenges for climate change scientists is pinpointing direct evidence of disturbing changes in the global climate. In Australia, however, a small but significant shift in the timing of spring events may be the place to start. … Read more

Check out this ophthalmotrope, found at Harvard’s Putnam Gallery! (photograph by the blogger) The device, which served to demonstrate muscular control of ocular vision, was made by Max Kohl in Germany at around 1893. The device consisted of lead weights … Read more

How many of us would like to hear something like that from their doctor? Probably most. But is it really possible to devise a drug that will make you live longer? You may be surprised that the answer is “probably”, … Read more

The placebo effect – the curious phenomenon in which a patient feels better and even gets better when he thinks he is receiving treatment but in fact is not – has received great attention by the scientific and medical communities … Read more

The ethically fraught field of embryonic stem cell research received much attention in late 2007 when induced pluripotent cells stem cells (iPSCs) were derived from somatic cells manipulated with the Yamanaka factors– Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4, c-Myc. These genes, which are … Read more