The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory smashes large nuclei together at close to the speed of light to recreate the primordial soup of fundamental particles that existed in the very early universe. Experiments at RHIC have shown that this primordial soup, known as quark-gluon plasma (QGP), flows like a nearly friction free "perfect" liquid. 

New RHIC data just accepted for publication in the journal Physical Review Letters now confirm earlier suspicions that collisions of much smaller particles can also create droplets of this free-flowing primordial soup, albeit on a much smaller scale, when they collide with the large nuclei.

What can be really said about the physical origin and the ultimate nature of the properties of matter described by Quantum Mechanics?

A recent study found that the herbicide atrazine, common for weed control in corn and sorghum crops in large-scale farming operations, does not have any measurable impact on aquatic plant life over the long term.

Atrazine has been used for decades and some studies have contended that it might have an impact in laboratory experiments. It has a “level of concern” as identified by United States Environmental Protection Agency, The study authors say this research is the first to address atrazine levels as they would “naturally occur in agricultural areas during rainfall runoff events.”

It’s about time. The FDA is cracking down on the sale of a natural substance that most of us consume every day. It is the chemical caffeine, and it’s the “energy” in energy drinks. (This is a misnomer. They should be called “drinks that do nothing until a chemical stimulant is added.”)

When we talk about artificial intelligence (AI) – which we have done lot recently, including my outline on The Conversation of liability and regulation issues – what do we actually mean?

AI experts and philosophers are beavering away on the issue. But having a usable definition of AI – and soon – is vital for regulation and governance because laws and policies simply will not operate without one.

We’ve been saying for years that the anti-GMO folks haven’t a scientific leg to st

Behind the success of the new wave of location based mobile apps taking hold around the world is digital mapping.

Location data is core to popular ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft, but also to companies such as Amazon or Domino’s Pizza, which are testing drones for faster deliveries.

By Joel Shurkin, Inside Science - Once upon a time, there lived a people we call the Natufians. They were among the first to quit their nomadic ways and settle on land where they grew crops, lived in complex settlements, put up stone buildings, domesticated dogs, and might have invented cemeteries before their society disappeared into the mists of history.

Israeli researchers now think they also may have developed a unique telegraph system to let everyone know when a catered funeral was underway and were among the first people to put up grave markers.

Both daily and less frequent use of marijuana among college students has risen sharply, to the highest prevalence since the Monitoring The Future study began.

In a silver lining aspect, cigarette smoking continues to decline - marijuana use surpassed daily cigarette smoking in 2014.  Smoking tobacco using a hookah (a type of water pipe) in the prior 12 months rose substantially among college students, from 26 percent in 2013 to 33 percent in 2014. 

The most recent Australian suicide statistics from 2013 show that, out of the whole population, men aged 85 years and over have the highest suicide rates. While the attention these figures have garnered is a positive sign, this is hardly a new phenomenon.

Over 38 men in every 100,000 of that age group die by suicide, which is more than double the rate among men under 35. The rate is around seven times higher than in women of all ages.