America has been a global powerhouse more due to individual and small group initiative than the large, government projects currently popular.     But the U.S. seems to have a widening 'inventor' gap - people who regard themselves as creative and interested in science math and desiring to help society.   While the U.S. relies on big funding, Indians make $4 microscopes so everyone can have fun with science and generate interest.

The 2011 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index announced today indicates  there is a generational basis for the looming shortfall.    Americans aged 16–25 possess creativity, interest in science and math and preference for working in groups or with mentors yet do not regard themselves as inventive. 
Wanna go to Mars?  It's a one-way trip, and over 500 people have volunteered already.

The Journal of Cosomology-- yes, them again-- became the accidental sign-up agency for us ordinary folk who are willing to take that one-way trip to our neighboring planet.
If you are reading this article, there is a pretty good chance you do not believe the alignment of the stars when you were born determined your personality.   Especially if, like me, your sign recently changed but your personality did not.  Or you were born in the east rather than the west, in which case it didn't change but is still different.
At isn't just people that have gotten fatter as society has converged on the Utopian ideal of enough food for everyone at low cost.   Over 20 percent of horses are overweight or obese too.   
A pilot study carried out by The University of Nottingham's School of Veterinary Medicine and Science and published in Veterinary Record showed that rates of obesity among horses are likely to be just as high as they are among people, a condition that can lead to laminitis and equine metabolic syndrome.

Yes, horses can have metabolic syndrome also.
In every study done over the last 70 years, since weight loss research began, the one solution guaranteed to work was ingesting fewer calories than you burn.   Nevertheless, any number of gimmicks have come into fashion.

One claim is that eating a big breakfast will lead to weight loss.   It can be confusing for laypeople because almost anything can begin with 'clinical tests show' and sound authoritative.
A U.K. study showed that wetter, cooler summers have a detrimental effect on the milk we drink.

Newcastle researchers found that milk collected during a cooler summer and the following winter had significantly higher saturated fat content and far less beneficial fatty acids than in a warmer year.
While listening to highly interesting talks on cutting-edge statistical issues at PHYSTAT 2011, I have casually been reading this morning a paper recently posted on the arxiv, which was pointed out to me by a Cypriot friend, Alex (thanks, Alex!).

The authors (J. Baglio, A. Djouadi, S. Ferrag,
Why I believe in marriage equality or no marriage at all.

Remember the neat little experiment whose result may be counter intuitive to some of those who embrace the “all bodies fall the same way inside earth’s gravity” ‘doctrine’ without quite understanding it? Here it is again - if the video should not come up fast enough, here it is on the MIT website.