A new study published in this week’s Christmas issue of the BMJ says that humor appears to develop from aggression caused by male hormones.

Does it mean men are funnier? Or that more aggressive people are funnier? It means men, especially aggressive men, think they are funnier, according to Professor Sam Shuster.

Planetary scientists have puzzled for years over an apparent contradiction on Mars. Abundant evidence points to an early warm, wet climate on the red planet, but there’s no sign of the widespread carbonate rocks, such as limestone, that should have formed in such a climate.

Now, a detailed analysis in the Dec. 21 issue of Science by MIT’s Maria T. Zuber and Itay Halevy and Daniel P. Schrag of Harvard University provides a possible answer to the mystery. In addition to being warmed by a greenhouse effect caused by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as on Earth, the early Mars may have had the greenhouse gas sulfur dioxide in its atmosphere. That would have interfered with the formation of carbonates, explaining their absence today.

Is the State of Texas about to offer Master of Science degrees in creationism? The Institute for Creation Research (ICR), an organization that officially believes the earth sprang into existence less than 10,000 years ago, has applied to offer a state-approved Master's program in science education. Last week, an official advisory committee recommended that the State of Texas approve the ICR's request to offer Master's degrees (read about it here and here). If this request is granted, the ICR has two years in which it can offer state-approved Master's degrees while seeking accreditation for its program from a recognized, outside accreditation organization. Coming on the heels of news that one of the state's science education officials was forced out of her job because she was not "neutral" about standing up for evolution education, this latest event suggests that creationism is about to again become a big issue in the Texas educational system.

With powerful instruments scouring the heavens, astronomers have found more than 240 planets in the past two decades, none likely to support Earth-like life, but as astronomers become more adept at finding planets orbiting other stars it’s natural to wonder if anybody is looking back. A team of astronomers has speculated at just what those alien eyes might see using technologies similar to those available to Earth’s astronomers.

“They would only be able to see Earth as a single pixel, rather than resolving it to take a picture,” said Eric Ford, a UF assistant professor of astronomy and one of five authors of the paper.

In normal plants, when sugars (made from water and carbon dioxide during photosynthesis) accumulate in the leaves, photosynthesis slows down, and the plant does not take in as much carbon dioxide from the air. Likewise, when the sugars move out of the leaves, the rate of photosynthesis and carbon intake increases.

How do many plants ship sugars from their leaves to flowers, roots, fruits and other parts of their structure? Using genetic engineering techniques, Cornell researchers have finally proven a long-standing theory of how this occurs.

The findings not only deepen understanding of basic plant biology but could one day allow researchers to genetically engineer plants with increased photosynthetic rates, yields and carbon dioxide intake.

HOUSTON, December 22 /PRNewswire/ --

Hercules Offshore, Inc. (Nasdaq: HERO) today announced that it has closed the previously announced sale of its fleet of nine land drilling rigs and related assets to Petrex Sudamerica Sucursal de Venezuela S.A. and Saipem Perfuracoes e Construcoes Petroliferas Lda. for approximately US$107 million. Simmons & Company International served as financial advisor to Hercules Offshore on this transaction.

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Record-breaking amounts of ice-free water have deprived the Arctic of more of its natural "sunscreen" than ever in recent summers. The effect is so pronounced that sea surface temperatures rose to 5 C above average in one place this year, a high never before observed, says the oceanographer who has compiled the first-ever look at average sea surface temperatures for the region.

Such superwarming of surface waters can affect how thick ice grows back in the winter, as well as its ability to withstand melting the next summer, according to Michael Steele, an oceanographer with the University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory. Indeed, since September, the end of summer in the Arctic, winter freeze-up in some areas is two months later than usual.

HORSHAM, Pennsylvania and KENILWORTH, New Jersey, December 21 /PRNewswire/ --

LONDON, December 21 /PRNewswire/ --

- It's Official, Festive Hangovers are Actually a Thing of the Past - Literally.

Scenes such as this one, from the caricature collection at the Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, prove that the Christmas hangover is in no way a new phenomenon.

First published on 12 December 1825, this image was created by Alfred Crowquill and etched by George Cruikshank. It is one of over 200 historical prints in the Museum's collection.

The caricature depicts a pale, unshaven man who is worse for wear after too many Christmas celebrations. There are dinner invitations strewn under the table and small figures and demons arresting a drunk depicted in the caricature.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, North Carolina, December 21 /PRNewswire/ --

- New Investor Partnership Co-led by Founder and CEO Dennis Gillings, Bain Capital and TPG

Quintiles Transnational Corp. today announced the formation of a new investor partnership to support the company's continued growth under the leadership of current Chairman and CEO Dennis Gillings, CBE, and the management team. Gillings and global private investment firms Bain Capital and TPG Capital are the lead investors in the partnership, with 3i also becoming a significant investor. Temasek Holdings remains an investor in Quintiles.