Eggs and rabbits were common fertility symbols of the ancient world. Today come the spring equinox, we continue to worship the pagan, egg-laying bunny (with a massive display of consumerism).


Saint Nicolas of Myra presented three impoverished girls with dowries so they would not have to become prostitutes. His modern incarnation was created and popularized by the 18th century cartoonist Thomas Nast. Come winter solstice, it’s time to worship the jolly old elf (with a massive display of consumerism).

Earthstock, Stony Brook University’s 8th annual week long awareness-raising celebration of Earth Day, kicks off at 10 am on Friday, April 17 with a full day of entertainment, food, refreshments, environmentally-oriented activities and visual displays situated all around the Academic Mall. 

If words were people, then "eloquent," "love" and "symphony" would get dates most Friday nights but "vomit," "moist" and "puke" would stay home alone, wondering what went wrong. 

How are words pretty or ugly? That's the question Robert E. Wolverton Sr., a Mississippi State University classics professor, recently asked in a survey of some 75 students in his classes. The poll is part of the foreign language faculty member's "semi-frequent" examination of how students at the land-grant university view widely used terms. 

Of the 148 different "beautiful" words submitted by students this year are several listed multiple times: eloquent (six), love (four) and symphony (four). Beautiful, lavender and tranquility each received three mentions. 

A magnitude 8.0. earthquake destroyed 90 percent of the city of Pisco, Peru on August 16, 2007. The event killed 595 people, while another 318 were missing. Tsunami waves were observed locally, off the shore of Chile, and as far away as New Zealand. 

In a study published in the Geophysical Journal International, scientists from the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, in collaboration with scientists from the University of Oxford (U.K.) have analyzed data on this earthquake and its impact on regional topography. Using InSAR-based geodetic data and teleseismic data, the scientists were able to use satellite images to identify details of this major plate boundary event. 

A protein that the heart produces during its early development reactivates the embryonic coronary developmental program and initiates migration of heart cells and blood vessel growth after a heart attack, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

The molecule, Thymosin beta-4 (TB4), is expressed by embryos during the heart's development and encourages migration of heart cells. The new findings in mice suggest that introducing TB4 systemically after a heart attack encourages new growth and repair of heart cells. The research findings indicate that the molecule affects developmental gene expression as early as 24 hours after systemic injection. The study will appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology.

New research from Vanderbilt University has found students benefit more from being taught the concepts behind math problems rather than the exact procedures to solve the problems. The findings offer teachers new insights on how best to shape math instruction to have the greatest impact on student learning.

The research by Bethany Rittle-Johnson, assistant professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College and Percival Mathews, a Peabody doctoral candidate, is in press at the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.

If I were a sneaky disease, working my pathological magic through mimicry, I think I'd be vocal cord dysfunction.

What's VCD? I didn't even know it existed until last week, so don't feel embarrassed. Also known as laryngeal dysfunction, paradoxical vocal cord motion, laryngeal dyskinesia, vocal cord malfunction and a number of medicalese terms, this tricky little guy masquerades most commonly as the everyman of respiratory conditions, asthma. (And from the dawn of the 20th century to today, occasionally it's diagnosed as hysteria. It's all in your head, person who can't  breathe, it's all in your head.)

Today I was forwarded by several people a really bad and confused op-ed piece by New York Times columnist David Brooks. It is entitled “The End of Philosophy,” which naturally raised my baloney detector level to yellow alert.

What's the key to everlasting youth? For years now, evidence has steadily accumulated, from studies on mice, flies, worms, and even yeast, that cutting calories is the secret to a long lifespan - at least in a wide range of non-human organisms. But does this work in humans?