The small is weird. No – I do not mean supposed "quantum weirdness", which is not* about small stuff. The non-quantum behavior of the small is counterintuitive enough. Many misconceptions could be avoided with some awareness about how the surfaces of objects, even smooth looking metal surfaces, look like at small scales (think mountainous battle fields).

New data shared today with Europe's epilepsy community at the 10th European Congress on Epileptology (ECE) in London, demonstrated the efficacy of Fycompa(R) (perampanel) in reducing partial-onset seizures, the most common form of epilepsy, and its effectiveness and flexibility of use as add-on therapy. 

The successful treatment of partial-onset seizures (the most common form of epilepsy) remains a significant challenge in some patients and the incidence of uncontrolled partial epilepsy remains high, despite many existing anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs); between 20 - 40% of patients with epilepsy have remained poorly controlled despite these treatments.[1] The new data supports the use of perampanel as a new therapeutic option for this hard-to-treat patient population.

For some appliances, newer is not always better.  If you have an old dryer, you are better off not replacing it with an EnergyStar, more efficient model.  Unless you want to wait forever to dry your clothes, whereas newer refrigerators work better but people hold on to old ones just the same.

 Around 1 in 4 Brits admit that they have at least one household appliance that is still in regular use in their home that is more than 25 years old. Many of the people surveyed said they had held on to the appliance to get as much value for their money as possible but some say it was handed down to them by a relative and therefore it has sentimental value. 

Women may own the social sciences and education but they are under-represented in more math-intensive fields, according to a paper which looks at the US, EU, Brazil, South Africa, India, Korea and Indonesia. It was conducted by advocates of international gender issues from Women in Global Science&Technology and the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World and it was funded by the Elsevier Foundation.

They make special note that the EU and US are low in female representation in hard science fields - but so is everyone else.
 

In particle physics searches (and elsewhere) the word "significance" is associated with the quantitative measure of how discrepant is one observation with a so-called "null hypothesis". That is, one searches for a new effect in some dataset, and defines what one expects to see in the absence of anything discrepant from theoretical predictions: that is the null hypothesis. A new particle in the data will usually manifest itself as an excess of events, and this will cause the data to deviate from expectations.

Search News Media has created an infographic which captures the evolution of publishing since the early 1400s. Starting from 1440 when Johannes Gutenberg invented the first printing press, on through the ages, highlighting greater innovation in publishing and the advent of newspapers, right up to today's digital age where online content is created and distributed globally in a matter of minutes, the unique infographic offers a fantastic snapshot of how publishing has changed over the centuries. 

The infographic also illustrates how publishing, thanks to the advent of digital publishing, has removed the traditional barriers to entry, making it possible for anyone to become a publisher in the modern day.

Seven species of vulnerable sharks and manta rays have now been submitted by 35 countries for consideration for protection next year under an international treaty concerned with regulating wildlife trade.

Governments met the deadline today and formally submitted their proposals for the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in March 2013. The recommendations include porbeagle and oceanic whitetip sharks, three species of hammerhead sharks, and two types of manta rays. For nearly 40 years, CITES has shielded thousands of plants and animals from overexploitation through international trade, and the treaty is widely considered one of the best-enforced international conservation agreements.

I must admit, before reading Massimo Pigliucci’s interesting article on Science 2.0, I was unaware of John Dupre’s so-called scholarship. My curiosity first led to Wikipedia which refers to him as a critic of evolutionary biology. With amazing tools such as Google and YouTube, I was able to watch Dupre debate Alex Rosenberg of Duke University, someone whom I had many exchanges with in his first philosophy of genomics class in 2004. After watching the video, in a matter of minutes it was apparent that Dupre is a philosopher, not an expert in evolution.  

Online fundraisers taking part in organized events use social media to reach close to 600 people and inspire others to take on challenges for charity, according to new data from JustGiving.com

 Speaking at Making every step count: How to maximize participation and fundraising at your event, Howard Bell, Director of Partnerships at JustGiving revealed new data showing that each individual fundraising campaign is seen by an average of 562 people on Facebook.

 What's more, the event fundraising 'network effect' means fundraisers encourage others to follow their lead. One in four fundraisers will choose either to take part in the same event for charity the next year or will inspire a friend or family member to take part instead. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Boston Scientific Corporation regulatory approval for its S-ICD(R) System, the world's first and only commercially available subcutaneous implantable defibrillator (S-ICD) for the treatment of patients at risk for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

Sudden cardiac arrest is an abrupt loss of heart function. Most episodes are caused by the rapid and/or chaotic activity of the heart known as ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. Recent estimates show that approximately 850,000 people in the United States are at risk of SCA and indicated for an ICD device, but remain unprotected