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The College Major Is A Recent Invention, It May Be Time To Get Rid Of It

Colleges and universities are struggling to stay afloat.The reasons are numerous: declining numbers...

Ban Left Turns And Traffic Congestion Goes Down

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For July 4th Grilling, Are You Really Buying The US Grown Charcoal You Think You Are?

People dedicated to the art of grilling often choose lump charcoal – actual pieces of wood that...

Trump Ending Carbon Capture Mandates Attached To Grants Could Spark A New Industrial Revolution

The U.S. Department of Energy’s decision to claw back US$3.7 billion in grants from industrial...

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Twitching In Your Sleep Is More About Mapping The Brain Than Chasing Rabbits

Twitching In Your Sleep Is More About Mapping The Brain Than Chasing Rabbits

Oct 03 2014 | comment(s)


Coming to get you. Credit: D Simmonds, CC BY-SA

By Mark Blumberg, University of Iowa; Alexandre Tiriac, University of Iowa, and Carlos del Rio Bermudez, University of Iowa

Babies' Gut Bacteria Are Mostly Fixed By Time Spent In The Womb

Babies' Gut Bacteria Are Mostly Fixed By Time Spent In The Womb

Oct 03 2014 | comment(s)


Your gut bacteria won't change much. Credit: ponchicaBG

By Nicholas Ellaby, University of Liverpool

From eyes to the gap between the toes, we are covered in bacterial colonies.

Between 500 and 1000 unique species live in our gut alone. We provide an ideal environment for bacteria: warmth, moisture, nutrients and protection.

Children Need To Play Outdoors, But We're Not Letting Them

Children Need To Play Outdoors, But We're Not Letting Them

Oct 03 2014 | comment(s)


Evidence shows children are getting less unsupervised time outdoors. Credit: Brian Yap (葉)/Flickr, CC BY-NC

By Shelby Gull Laird and Laura McFarland-Piazza

Hippocrates Didn't Write The Oath, So Why Is He The Father Of Medicine?

Hippocrates Didn't Write The Oath, So Why Is He The Father Of Medicine?

Oct 03 2014 | comment(s)


Not the one we have fixed in our imaginations. Peter Paul Rubens, 1638

By Helen King, The Open University

Hippocrates is considered the father of medicine, enemy of superstition, pioneer of rationality and fount of eternal wisdom.

Statues and drawings show him with a furrowed brow, thinking hard about how to heal his patients.

What Do World University Rankings Actually Mean?

What Do World University Rankings Actually Mean?

Oct 03 2014 | comment(s)


In third place, Oxford University is the top UK institution in the World University Rankings 2014-15. Image:  Andrew Matthews/PA Archive

By Steven C. Ward, Western Connecticut State University

From the “best beaches” to the “best slice of pizza” to the best hospital to have cardiac surgery in, we are inundated with a seemingly never-ending series of reports ranking everything that can be ranked and even things that probably shouldn’t be.

Fossilized Bite Marks Show How Ancient Reptiles Battled Across Land And Water

Fossilized Bite Marks Show How Ancient Reptiles Battled Across Land And Water

Oct 03 2014 | comment(s)


Phytosaur: still got it. Credit: BFS Man, CC BY

By Stephanie Drumheller, University of Tennessee; Michelle Stocker, Virginia Tech, and Sterling Nesbitt, Virginia Tech