From a quantitative standpoint, mineral oil is probably the largest contaminant of our body. That this contaminant can be tolerated without health concerns in humans has not been proven convincingly. The current Editorial of the European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology reflects on this and concludes that this proof either has to be provided or we have to take measures to reduce our...

A new study by Narendra et al. suggests that Parkin, the product of the Parkinson's disease-related gene Park2, prompts neuronal survival by clearing the cell of its damaged mitochondria.

Women who took the antidepressant fluoxetine during the first three months of pregnancy gave birth to four times as many babies with heart problems as women who did not and the levels were three times higher in women taking paroxetine.

Racial prejudice in Britain has been declining sharply in Britain since the 1980s thanks to the greater tolerance of younger generations - according to a new study.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have found evidence of a novel pathway for potential human exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria from intensively raised poultry—driving behind the trucks transporting broiler chickens from farm to slaughterhouse. A study by the Hopkins researchers found increased levels of pathogenic bacteria, both susceptible and...

Watching plenty of television combined with low self-esteem, poor relationships with parents, and low academic achievement are some of the factors that may add up to young people having sex before the age of 15. Alternatively, a parent's positive influence may go a long way to reduce risky sexual behavior during adolescence, according to Myeshia Price and Dr. Janet Hyde from the University of...

Michael Phelps may be fast, but dolphins can kick with 212 pounds of power.

CBC News has obtained a document that says reducing greenhouse gases from Western Canada's oilsands will be much harder than politicians and the industry suggest.

Himalayan glaciers are dwindling much faster than scientists realized.

LiveScience.com - The walls that line human coronary arteries have been imaged for the first time in 3-D, a team of researchers says. Such images will allow cardiologists to see inside patients' arteries more clearly and check for areas of inflammation or plaque deposits that can cause a heart attack. "This is the first human demonstration of a technique that has the potential to change how...

SPACE.com - NASA astronaut Don Pettit loves his coffee. So it comes as no surprise that he found a way to drink coffee from a cup, instead of the traditional straw, on his day off Sunday aboard the International Space Station.

Member states of the European Space Agency meeting in The Hague to approve policies and projects for the next three years.

Something vital is missing in the far distant reaches of the Universe: hydrogen - the raw material for stars, planets and possible life.

Research chemists at the University of Warwick have devised an elegant process which simply and cheaply covers small particles of polymer with a layer of silica-based nanoparticles. The final result provides a highly versatile material that can be used to create a range of high performance materials such as: self healing paints, and clever packaging that can be tailored to let precise levels of...

Landfill sites produce the greenhouse gases, methane and carbon dioxide, as putrescible waste decays. Growing plants and trees on top of a landfill, a process known as 'Phytocapping', could reduce the production and release of these gases, according to Australian scientists writing in a forthcoming issue of International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management.

Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have improved their understanding of the inner workings of our computers and mp3 players, thanks to an exciting new field of research called 'organic spintronics'.

While there is plenty of buzz around Google's new SearchWiki, another Google experiment is quietly disappearing: SearchMash. Once located at SearchMash.com, the service was Google's experimental search interface, a non-branded search engine that Google used to test new technology. SearchMash let users search the Internet in different ways. Specifically, it let searchers reorder results and see...

The UK's space funding body is to assess a proposal to send a British spacecraft to the Moon.

The Web's rumor mill kicked into overdrive during the weekend, with speculation that Microsoft is preparing to rebrand its Live Search service. Several sites noted that the software giant has taken control of a domain that could be the new Live Search -- Kumo.com. The question of whether Live Search will become Kumo is being debated among those who follow the attempts by Microsoft to better...

Canadian researchers are working to develop specially treated 'bioactive' paper that can help in the battle against SARS, listeriosis and other deadly pathogens.

A new mission will study gamma ray bursts above Earth that may be tied to lightning.

LiveScience.com - More people believe in aliens and ghosts than in God, a new survey finds, according to a British newspaper.

SPACE.com - Two astronauts will float outside the International Space Station on Monday to wrap up repairs on a clogged solar array-turning gear while engineers troubleshoot glitches with the outpost's finicky new water recycler.

Holiday shopping season has arrived, and tough financial times mean that more people will probably be shopping around for the best price. But a new study co-authored by North Carolina State University's Dr. Jonathan D. Bohlmann shows that shoppers who compare prices at multiple online retailers will not only find the best value, but will also likely contribute to driving down prices for that...