Modern feminists pooh-pooh their ancestors and assume because they didn't dress in bulky pantsuits, women were somehow meek and timid.

Not at all. A three-year study of the manuscripts compiled and written by one of Britain’s earliest known feminist figures, Lady Anne Clifford, shows that women challenged male authority plenty in the 17th century.  Basically, women of the Renaissance were not one-dimensional stereotypes, and neither were men - for allowing it. Clifford’s 600,000-word "Great Books of Record" documents the family dynasty over six centuries and her bitter battle to inherit castles and villages across northern England.

Snake Pliskin, the anti-hero of "Escape From New York", didn't get that name because of his armor, but one day there could be a lot of snake-like soldiers running around.

Soldiers, and certainly civilians that can be be helped in the medical engineering sector, may one day get artificial implants with minimal abrasion, inspired by biology, or armor with all kinds of neat mechanical properties.

Everyone talks about punches to the brain but not as much research goes into the neuroscience of sports punishment delivery systems.'

Researchers from Imperial College London and University College London are taking their shot at it.  They took brain scans which revealed distinctive features in the brain structure of martial arts experts, which they say could be linked to their ability to punch powerfully from close range.

Those differences in the structure of white matter – the connections between brain regions – were correlated with how black belts and novices performed in a test of punching ability.

A joint study conducted by researchers from the University of L'Aquila in Italy and Mars, Incorporated says that the regular consumption of dietary cocoa flavanols may improve cognitive function in elderly subjects with early memory decline. The study shows the impact of regular cocoa flavanol consumption on cognitive function in a population with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).

Next generation toilets showcased at the Gates Foundation offer innovative sanitation solutions that can save and improve lives around the world.

Bill Gates today has announced the winners of the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge, an effort to develop "next-generation" toilets that will deliver safe and sustainable sanitation for 2.5 billion people worldwide who don't have it. The awards recognize researchers (sorry, inventors, academics only) who have developed new ways to manage human waste and help improve the health and lives of people around the world.

Want to feel good about your body image?  Go to Mississippi. They may be a lot less anti-science than people in Washington state, but they are also a lot more pro-pizza, it seems.

The 2011 obesity map from the Centers for Disease Control, detailing adult obesity prevalence for all U.S. states based on Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data,  is out and it doesn't look good. Rates of adult obesity remain high, ranging from 20.7 percent in Colorado to 34.9 percent in Mississippi.