Eyewitnesses remember the faces of black suspects less accurately in drive-by shootings than they do in serial killings.

Their memories are further skewed when the victims are women or white males, psychology researchers at UBC's Okanagan campus have found.

"What this study shows is that the memory of an eyewitness is heavily influenced by the type of crime that was committed," says Prof. Paul Davies. "In crimes such as drive-by shootings, typically associated with black males, eyewitnesses overwhelmingly remembered the black suspect's face incorrectly.

"In crimes that were are more typically 'white', witnesses remembered the black suspect's faces with a high degree of accuracy."

Wide variations can be seen in how far citizens from different countries evade tax. While this can be attributed to how well institutions deter tax avoidance through audits and fines, cultural differences may also play a part.

Using the oldest fossil micrometeorites - space dust - ever found, Monash University-led research has made a surprising discovery about the chemistry of Earth's atmosphere 2.7 billion years ago.

The findings of a new study published today in the journal Nature - led by Dr Andrew Tomkins and a team from the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment at Monash, along with scientists from the Australian Synchrotron and Imperial College, London - challenge the accepted view that Earth's ancient atmosphere was oxygen-poor. The findings indicate instead that the ancient Earth's upper atmosphere contained about the same amount of oxygen as today, and that a methane haze layer separated this oxygen-rich upper layer from the oxygen-starved lower atmosphere.

A Japanese research group has identified the enzymes that change the grassy odor of plants into a sweeter "green" fragrance. This discovery can potentially be used to grow sweet tomatoes with less of a grassy odor. These findings were published on April 29 in The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

This research was carried out by a team from the Kobe University Graduate School of Agricultural Science: Kunishima Mikiko (PhD student), Assistant Professor Yamauchi Yasuo, Associate Professor Mizutani Masaharu, Professor Sugimoto Yukihiro, Associate Professor Kuse Masaki, and Professor Takikawa Hirosato.

The Obama administration released new limits on methane emissions from oil and gas wells that are even tougher than the industry expected - $530 million more per year than the already high costs. 25 percent more. The government, meanwhile, claims their new regulations will make money because this will stop storms, floods and other consequences of climate change. Yes, a government regulation on methane will change the weather.

Recent years have seen claims that a “national sex revolution” is well underway in China and that it has “has reached a point of no return”. But according to my new research looking at the views of people across China on sex, this is going too far.

In 1989, only 15% of people in China had sex before marriage.

Longer, hotter, more regular heat waves could impact crop production in Africa, warn climate scientists in a study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

Located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, Africa experiences high levels of solar radiation all year round and heat waves can occur in any season, not just during summer months. Running climate models through to 2075, the scientists found that heat waves could occur as frequently as four times per year towards the end of the century. In other words, one dangerously hot spell for every season of the year. 

From minor acts of rebellion such as bunking off school, to the more serious experimentation with illicit substances, the teenage years can be a stressful time for parents. But what if your child goes beyond the odd cigarette behind the bike shed or sneaking sherry from the drinks cabinet? Some teenagers develop riskier behavior, such as binge drinking or drug taking, which can follow them into adulthood with all the health concerns that go with them.

New research conducted at the University of Sussex has identified a specific gene that links impulsive behavior to binge-drinking in teens.

As the world grows more social and connects more online, privacy management is becoming more collaborative, according to Penn State researchers.

"This is a paradigm shift, in a lot of ways, because most people think of privacy as being individualistic, but privacy is no longer just about the individual, it's also a collaborative and coordinated process," said Haiyan Jia, a postdoctoral scholar in information sciences and technology.

As I am new here, it might be a good idea to briefly introduce myself. I am a physician, trained in Germany, whose very first post as a freshly-backed doctor happened to be in Germany’s only homeopathic hospital. At the time (mid 1970s), I had no idea that this experience would determine so much of my professional life.

Subsequently, I became a conventional doctor until I risked a complete career change: I went to London and worked in a research laboratory. This is when I began to think as a scientist. Later, I returned to Germany, did a PhD and, for many years, worked simultaneously as a scientist as well as a clinician.