What if God were part of the natural order?Stephen Kosslyn once put forward the intriguing notion that God exists but is not supernaturalThu Jun 19 2014 - 01:00
Breaking the silence of those with brain injuryImagine the horror of being fully conscious but unable to communicate. Research is helping to break this barrierThu Jun 05 2014 - 01:00
Body Mass Index is not an infallible measureCalculate your BMI but also check the ratio of waist-to-hip circumference and be ultra- conscious of abdominal fatThu May 22 2014 - 01:00
So saturated fat is okay again? Not so fastA recent study into fat is not a green light to load up on steak and butter, one nutrition expert warnsThu May 15 2014 - 01:00
The bilingual brain is more nimble and efficientMultilingual people are better at reasoning and multitasking, and work faster and with less effortThu Apr 17 2014 - 01:00
Birds do it, bees do it – but how did T Rex do it?Stop sniggering down the back: the delicate question of how dinosaurs had sex remains a mysteryThu Apr 03 2014 - 01:00
Clever chickens come home to roostGrowing evidence should greatly trouble us when we consider how poultry is treated on factory farmsThu Mar 20 2014 - 01:00
Supplements in diet may do more bad than goodRecent Swedish research suggests that antioxidant dietary supplements may actually increase cancer risk in certain peopleThu Mar 06 2014 - 01:00
No evidence of threat to public health from power linesLatest studies fail to support claims that overhead cables represent a danger to the publicThu Feb 20 2014 - 01:00
The truth about fast food and getting fatAs studies show, it is unwise to demonise fast food but wise to eat it only very occasionallyThu Feb 06 2014 - 01:00
Philosophers must oppose arrogance of scientismOpposition to religion stems from the fact that many of these scientists are fundamentalist materialistsThu Jan 16 2014 - 01:00
Passive smoking: have the risks been overstated?The latest study in the US adds to the argument that links with lung cancer may not be as strong as previously believedThu Jan 02 2014 - 01:00
Thinking on obesity is overly simplisticThere is much more behind the obesity problem than sugary drinks and fast food. Genetics are keyThu Dec 19 2013 - 01:00
Little to show from 42-year war on cancerProgress has been slow because the roots of the disease hide in the fantastic complexity of our cellsThu Dec 05 2013 - 01:00
Science loses credibility if studies can’t be replicatedAn increasing proportion of the scientific literature is irreproducible, with major consequences for progressThu Nov 21 2013 - 01:00
What makes people fat? It’s not obviousThere are two competing theories to explain the causes of obesity, and they are about to be testedThu Nov 07 2013 - 01:00
Let’s open our minds and mouths to GM foodGenetic modification is still highly controversial despite extensive research having failed to produce evidence of harmThu Oct 17 2013 - 01:00
Theories on monogamy tend to be promiscuousTwo research groups area at loggerheads over the implications of their studies for human evolutionThu Oct 03 2013 - 10:16
Tackling Obesity with Processed FoodIt’s time to re-think the advice given to those struggling with obesity about what food is goodThu Sept 19 2013 - 01:00
A little light at the end of the global-warming tunnelThe potential of a new technology to slow down global warming does not excuse continuing paralysisThu Sept 05 2013 - 01:00
An imperfect scienceScience is the best tool available to allow us to pursue objective truths, but scientists are human like the rest of usThu Aug 15 2013 - 01:00
An essential step in growing human liversScientists have shown ‘proof of concept’ that a working human liver can be built in the lab from stem cellsThu Aug 01 2013 - 01:00
Incidence of monkeypox and cowpox on the riseA side effect of smallpox eradication is a lack of immunity to other strains that can be just as lethalThu Jul 18 2013 - 01:00
Blood-brain barrier vital to regulation of systemLearning how to open and close this intriguing gateway could lead to cures for many perplexing diseasesThu Jul 11 2013 - 00:00
When too much empathy is dangerousWhen empathy causes us to ignore logic or science, its consequences can be harmful to allThu Jun 27 2013 - 01:00
Is Europe on the verge of demographic collapse?Birth rates need to be 2.1 to ensure the species does not peter out. But modern life poses a threat to posterityThu Jun 06 2013 - 01:00
Amino acids and the beginning of lifeAmino acids have been detected in space and in meteorites that landed on EarthThu May 16 2013 - 02:00
A functional and essential debateIdentifying where personhood begins is vitalto the ethical debateThu May 02 2013 - 07:00
The biology behind your social attitudesBiology doesn’t just affect you physically; it can shape your ideas and politicsThu Apr 18 2013 - 07:00
Gender is not a social constructThere is a strong biological basis to gender and it cannot be healthy to frustrate such tendenciesThu Apr 04 2013 - 06:00
The emergence of deadly drug-resistant tuberculosisCatastrophic global outbreak of TB fearedThu Mar 21 2013 - 06:00
The truth about antioxidantsOPINION: I’ve taught many students that one of the most dangerous things they do is breatheThu Feb 21 2013 - 00:00
Resurrecting mammoth evolutionary dead endsOpinion: The film Jurassic Park featured dinosaurs cloned from DNA recovered from insects preserved in prehistoric amberThu Jan 03 2013 - 00:00
Why there's a little of the psychopath in us allConsider how you would act in the following situations.Thu Dec 20 2012 - 00:00
Time to tackle the fat and refuse to be passiveOpinion: Ireland is suffering from an epidemic of obesityThu Dec 06 2012 - 00:00
Engineers, scientists may carry autism geneOPINION: Question: “How would you recognise an extrovert mathematician?” Answer: “He’s the mathematician who looks at your shoes…Thu Nov 15 2012 - 00:00
How did we all get to be so clever?Thanks to our improved ability in abstract reasoning, we are all getting better at IQ testsThu Nov 01 2012 - 00:00
Quality not quantity to tackle fraudThe pressure to secure grants can force scientists to publish work that offers little value – and can lead to misconductThu Oct 18 2012 - 01:00
In through the tap, out through the plugholeMAINSTREAM SCIENCE has shown that the world is warming, almost certainly because of human-induced emissions of warming gases …Thu Sept 20 2012 - 01:00
Forget free will and exercise free won'tMany scientists believe free will is an illusion. If so, do we have no control over our actions?Thu Sept 06 2012 - 01:00
Why does the return journey feel quicker?Researchers have come up with convincing models for how time is measured by memoryThu Aug 16 2012 - 01:00
Why poor will pay for fatter worldTHE RAPID expandsion of the world’s population raises the problem of how to feed all of these extra mouthsThu Jul 05 2012 - 01:00
The best advice is to follow your gut instinctThe bacteria in your digestive system is so vital to health and well-being that it is sometimes called the ‘forgotten organ…Thu Jun 21 2012 - 01:00
Fusion energy still a pipe dreamNUCLEAR FUSION is the holy grail of power generation, promising the safe, clean generation of boundless energy from essentially…Thu Jun 07 2012 - 01:00
The simple secret to a healthy lifeWE ARE constantly bombarded with advice on a healthy lifestyleThu May 31 2012 - 01:00
New study shows gene link to IQTHE RELATIVE extent to which human intelligence is determined by our genes and by our environment is an old debate – the “nature…Thu May 03 2012 - 01:00
Strategies for dealing with deathDEATH IS ONE of the few things we can be sure of. In the bad-news stakes, death must be the leading contender for top spot.Thu Apr 19 2012 - 01:00
Overweight? Reduce risks by staying fitWE ARE BOMBARDED nowadays with warnings about the dangers to our health of growing fat but, despite these warnings, obesity statistics…Thu Apr 05 2012 - 01:00
Much ado about nothingTODAY I will bounce off perhaps the most fundamental question ever asked, “Why is there something rather than nothing?”, which…Thu Mar 15 2012 - 00:00
Philosophers divide on moral groundWE PICTURE philosophers as people who read and think deeply about the nature of things and publish a distillation of these thoughts…Thu Mar 01 2012 - 00:00