In 1985 Michael Hovey, an organic chemist at duPont in Wilmington, Delaware cooked up in his lab a batch of 3-methylfentanyl—a narcotic that is more than 6,000-times stronger than morphine—thus ushering in the era of designer drugs. 
Hovey's drug, which belongs to a class of drugs called "synthetic heroins," had a street value of $112 million. 

Much attention is being given to what people ate in the distant past as a guide to what we should eat today. Advocates of the claimed paleo diet recommend that we should avoid carbohydrates and load our plates with red meat and fat. Its critics, on the other hand, argue that these are the same ingredients that would set us up for heart attacks. Moreover, these animal-derived foods require more space to produce on our crowded planet filled with starving humans.

A scientist named Kevin Folta at the University of Florida has been one of a broader group of public researchers who have come under hostile, Freedom Of Information Act scrutiny with the goal of demonstrating “ties to industry.” 

Why do unmarried women tend to be more liberal and Democratic than their married counterparts? A key reason is because unmarried women -- those who have never been married and those who are divorced -- are more concerned about the status of women as a collective group according to survey results presented at the 110th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association. 

More than a quarter of a million people die each year that are linked to using smokeless tobacco, say scholars who believe that governments need to consider incorporating the regulation of smokeless tobacco into policy frameworks.

A paper funded by Leeds City Council and the Medical Research Council links smokeless tobacco to more than 62,000 deaths due to cancers of the mouth, pharynx and oesophagus and accounted for more than 200,00 deaths from heart disease in 2010.

New research could potentially yield a new platform for cancer vaccines. Leveraging a biologically inspired sponge-like gel called "cryogel" as an injectable biomaterial, the vaccine delivers patient-specific tumor cells together with immune-stimulating biomolecules to enhance the body's attack againstcancer. The approach, a so-called "injectable cryogel whole-cell cancer vaccine."

David Mooney, Ph.D., leads a Wyss Institute team developing a broad suite of novel cancer vaccines and immunotherapies. 

Licensed tobacco retailers throughout New York City are selling a substantial number of cigarette packs carrying either counterfeit or out-of-state tax stamps, finds an investigation by NYU public health researchers.

These illegal cigarette sales are more pervasive in independent stores, as opposed to chain stores. 

Lecithin is an ingredient that you've probably never heard of, but one that plays a vital role in the production of chocolate and many other foods. It's never been clear how this ingredient works on a molecular level, and confectioners have relied on observational methods - essentially trial and error - to perfect their recipes.

Now, scientists have shown how the field of molecular dynamics (simulation on a molecular level) could be a valuable tool in understanding chocolate conching - the part of the chocolate-making process where aromatic sensation, texture and 'mouthfeel' are developed.

New research predicts that Earth has more than 1,500 undiscovered minerals and that the exact mineral diversity of our planet is unique and could not be duplicated anywhere in the cosmos. Minerals form from novel combinations of elements. These combinations can be facilitated by both geological activity, including volcanoes, plate tectonics, and water-rock interactions, and biological activity, such as chemical reactions with oxygen and organic material.

Science – or strange permutations of it at least – is everywhere in the cinema. At any one time on movie screens around the world, humans are being threatened by lethal viruses, cured from terminal illness by miracle elixirs, rendered superhuman with bionic limbs or made obsolete by robots possessing artificial intelligence.

But what are the facts behind these entertaining fictions? And how best to dispel the myths and misconceptions perpetuated by blockbuster films while also enlightening audiences on the real marvels of biotechnology?