Vampires, Mummies, Ghosts, Zombies - we have it all today.   We even have costumes.   Why?  Halloween, like everything else great in life, has a science aspect to it.

In 2006, Al Gore alleged that Hurricane Katrina had been caused, or at least made worse, by global warming.    Bill Gray, one of the foremost hurricane experts in the world, disagreed.    Who was right?   Weather, and especially hurricanes, are not among things that are easy to predict but global warming is certain to have an impact.   What impact is all depending on what you want to believe.

Don't start feeling too secure about the so-called McEliece encryption system - a candidate for the security of Internet traffic in the age of the quantum computer, the predicted superpowerful computer of the future.

Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in The Netherlands have managed to crack it.

Scientists know how to have a good time. Just ask Yahoo Serious about when he played Young Einstein. That guy really knew how to par-tay! To see for yourself this Halloween, host your very own Mad Scientist Halloween Party. Check out these ideas to really get your party started. You'll be amazed at how easily you can transform your digs into a Spooky Laboratory!

Every year at about this time, I start to wonder what I am going to be for Halloween. Despite my best efforts, it usually takes up a large amount of my brainpower until a few days before Halloween, and then I am so excited about my impending costume debut, I parade it around the house, and end up feeling like an idiot. It’s okay, you can laugh.

Halloween is just one of those holidays. It allows people to express themselves in ways that are simply unacceptable the other 364 days of the year. For one day (or weekend for the adults) you may dress as anything or anyone you can imagine, from the most classic of Halloween costumes, to the latest in vogue celebrity. So if either you want to dress as a devil or Sarah Palin (or both), here are some ideas to get those creative juices flowing so you can fulfill your heart's desire on Halloween.

Halloween is a holiday with lots of creepy wildlife associated with it, but are they really so creepy? From toads to bats to owls, the National Wildlife Federation shares the facts about these animals and what they are up to at this time of year, which might dispel a few myths.

Bats - are they out for my blood?

It may begin as a feeling of unease that overtakes you as you cautiously make your way inside a long-abandoned house.  The air is thick; musty and stale.  Yet somehow it is laced with the underlying scent  of a burning fire… even though the cold crumbling fireplace hosted its last fire long ago.
 
As your eyes adjust, you begin to notice the stillness. There is absolutely no noise.  In fact, the silence is so oppressive, it presses in on your eardrums like the weight of an ocean… seeking to snuff out the sound of anything that should trespass upon it.  You get the distinct feeling it would like to quiet even the uneven sound of your shallow breaths… and then move on to silence the thump of your increasingly racing heartbeat.

The 2008 presidential campaign, as reflected in candidates' television spots, has been one of the most negative campaigns in history. A University of Missouri professor analyzed this year's candidates' television spots, including last night's 30-minute ad by Sen. Barack Obama and found that only one other campaign matched this level of negativity.

William Benoit, professor of communication in the College of Arts and Science, found that in television spots from 1952-2004, candidates averaged 40 percent attacks in their ad statements. In this year's race, the statements in Obama's ads were 68 percent negative compared to 62 percent for Sen. John McCain.

According to new research from the Monell Center, the degree of change in blood triglyceride levels following a fatty meal may indicate susceptibility to diet-induced obesity. The findings open doors to new methods of identifying people, including children, who are at risk for becoming obese. 

Triglycerides are a form of fat that is transported in the blood and stored in the body's fat tissues. They are found in foods and also are manufactured by the body. 

The largest such study ever published finds that while about 40 percent of women surveyed report having sexual problems only 12 percent indicate that those issues are a source of significant personal distress. The report led by a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) physician appears in the November issue of Obstetrics&Gynecology.