Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health claim that children regularly exposed to tobacco smoke at home are more likely to develop early emphysema in adulthood. The findings, published in the December 2009 American Journal of Epidemiology, suggest that the lungs may not recover completely from the effects of early-life exposures to tobacco smoke (ETS), the research team says.

According to a new study published in Political Research Quarterly, genetics play a pivotal role in shaping how we identify with political parties. 

 the researchers examined the sources of party identification and the intensity of that identification using quantitative genetic models. Together with recent social science research analyzing political attitudes and vote choice, they say their findings help provide a more complete picture of the source of partisanship and the complex nature of the political phenotype.

Cancer is commonly thought to progress by the growth of a primary tumor followed by metastasis, in which cancer cells leave the primary tumor and spread to distant organs. New research conducted by scientists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center shows, however, that circulating tumor cells can also return to and grow in their tumor of origin, a newly discovered process called 'self-seeding.'

The findings of the study, published in the December 25 issue of the journal Cell, suggest that self-seeding can enhance tumor growth through the release of signals that promote angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis.

Engineers from Oregon State University are attempting to develop a robot capable of running effortlessly over rough terrain and they're doing it with assistance from the unlikeliest of creatures--cockroaches. While they maybe unsightly, the insects are also biological and engineering marvels, and are providing the researchers  with what they call "bioinspiration" in their efforts to build a running robot.

Their latest findings – just published in the professional journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics – outline how animals use their legs to manage energy storage and expenditure, and why this is so important for running stability.

From the smallest South American monkeys to the largest African apes, the timing of molar development and eruption is closely attuned to many fundamental aspects of a primate's biology, according to Gary Schwartz, a researcher at the Institute of Human Origins and an associate professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

With the first decade of the millennium coming to a close, it is time to take stock. What have 'The Noughties' brought us in terms of scientific advances?

Scared by the void of Christmas vacations ? Unable to put just a few more feet between your mouth and the candy tray ? Suffocating in the trivialities of the chit-chat with relatives ? I have a solution for you. How about trying to solve a few simple high-energy physics quizzes ?

I offer three questions below, and you are welcome to think any or all of them over today and tomorrow. In two days I will give my answer, explain the underlying physics a bit, and comment your own answers, if you have been capable of typing them despite your skyrocketing glycemic index.

Here's a pleasant Christmas thought-- why are rocket launches like holidays-- infrequent, big productions that tend to always be the same?  A New York Times op-ed, Faster, NASA, Faster, puts forth an idea that, really, resurfaces at least once every few years.  It's a good idea.  It says, hey, let's do more launches with higher risk.