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Our culture generally assumes that human beings are a monogamous species, with two people committed to one another for a long-term relationship. Scientifically, the existence of monogamy seems counter-intuitive. One of the principles of evolution is that…

If superior design is what you seek, look no further than your own front yard. Plants and photosynthetic microbes can convert sunlight and air into energy, with an energy efficiency that would make a Prius owner blush. In a less dramatic, but no less…

Since the first discovery of virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898, viruses have been classified in a number of different ways. First, viruses were considered a poison, then a life-form, next demoted to classification as a biological chemical, and finally…

In today’s busy world, it can be hard to find time to exercise. Various factors, such as sedentary jobs and the presence of TV and video games at home, can contribute to inactivity in adults and kids alike. Both fitness experts and medical professionals…

It has long been a goal of the scientific community to understand the mysteries of how the human brain develops from just a few cells into an organ capable of coordinating conscious thought. Slowly but surely, scientists are illuminating this black box…

Researchers studying neural development are plagued with an ever-present difficulty: how does one study the developing human brain without using invasive methods or being restricted to post-mortem tissue? Due to the complexity of human brain development,…

The public health world has been abuzz recently with the results of the Phase I clinical trial of a malaria vaccine that proved 100% effective in protecting vaccinated people against Plasmodium falciparum infection when they were bitten by infected…

Diabetes is a growing worldwide issue. In the United States alone, there are 25.8 million affected patients []. The annual cost of medical treatment (e.g. management and monitoring) and indirect expenses (such as disability and unemployment benefits) are…

Figure 1. Electron flow in Photosystem II. Plants take electrons from water to store energy from the sun. Whether it is the oxygen that we breathe or animals that we eat, our lives are made possible by photosynthesis.  Photosynthesis is the process that…

The basis for the origin of new species is thought to be well-known: new species emerge when two or more subpopulations of (what was formerly) the same species become sufficiently dissimilar in their genetic makeup that they can no longer breed with each…