A new poll by The Boston Globe and Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) finds, eight years into the state's universal health insurance legislation enacted in 2006, 63% of Massachusetts residents support the law and 18% oppose it, while 7% are not sure, and 12% have not heard or read about the law. The percentage of residents supporting the law remains unchanged since a 2011 Boston Globe/HSPH poll. Support for the law varies by party affiliation, with 77% of Democrats, 60% of Independents, and 49% of Republicans saying they support the legislation. The poll was conducted May 27-June 2, 2014.

Marketing academics, the group who brought us the notion that hurricanes with female names are more dangerous because the patriarchy just assumes the little ladies are being hysterical and won't knock down houses, are back with the conjecture that your gambling style is genetic.

It's not as crazy as the stuff years ago that claimed liberals and conservatives were born that way, or that your grandfather's diet changed your genes enough to make you fat, but it isn't good science either. Thus, look for it on the Dr. Oz show by next week.

Investors and gamblers take note: your betting decisions and strategy are determined, in part, by your genes.

The kidney, unlike its neighbor the liver, was once understood to be a static organ once it had fully developed, but doctors have observed patients with kidney disease experiencing renal regeneration.  

A new study conducted by researchers at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv University and Stanford University have pinpointed the precise cellular signaling responsible for renal regeneration and exposing the multi-layered nature of kidney growth. The research was conducted by principal investigators Dr. Benjamin Dekel of TAU's Sackler School of Medicine and Sheba Medical Center and Dr. Irving L. Weissman of Stanford University's School of Medicine, working with teams of researchers from both universities.

What do you get when you mix theorists in computer science with evolutionary biologists? You get an algorithm to explain sex.

A fascinating mystery of evolution is how sexual recombination and natural selection produced the teeming diversity of life that exists today. The answer could lie in the game that genes play during sexual recombination, so computer scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, created an algorithm to describe the strategy used by these genes in this game.  

Obesity has become a worldwide epidemic and with it comes the potential for complications like Type 2 Diabetes. Researchers at the University of Montreal and CHUM Research Centre (CRCHUM) recently demonstrated the potential of retinoic acid (RA), a derivative of Vitamin A, in treating obesity and type 2 diabetes and preventing their cardiovascular complications. 

The smoothness of a ball’s surface is a critical factor in how a ball swerves, according to a new study. And if you know soccer (football) you know every year the ball in the World Cup is different - and invariably the source of complaints.

The World Cup 2014 is off to a roaring start - not a single 0-0 tie game - which is great for fans but terrifying for goalies. Yes, it's the ball. The “Jabulani” used at the 2010 World Cup was reviled while the new ball used at this year’s tournament in Brazil, the “Brazuca,” has a slightly rougher surface, and may be more predictable. The results so far still can't be making goalies happy.