Science and technology issues are just too complex, according to results a new survey from North Carolina State University - when it comes to public issues pertaining to science and technology, "talking it out" doesn't seem to work.  

The more people discuss the risks and benefits associated with scientific endeavors, the more entrenched they become in their viewpoint and the less likely they are to see the merit of other viewpoints, says Dr. Andrew Binder, an assistant professor of communication at NC State 

Depending on whether or not an invisibility cloak conjures up images of 'Harry Potter' or "Star Trek", we can tell a lot about you your age but as far back as H.G. Wells' turn-of-the-19th-century classic "The Invisible Man" people have been fascinated by the notion of invisibility.

In our many accolades of citizen science, nothing stands taller among discoveries than the strange object Hanny van Arkel found in archived images of the night sky in 2008.

After catching sight of it, courtesy of Hanny and Galaxy Zoo, astronomers were determined to learn more about Hanny's Voorwerp (Hanny's "object" in Dutch).    Now they say they have discovered that  Hanny's Voorwerp represents a 'snapshot in time' that reveals surprising clues about the life cycle of black holes.

Like our own world history, the Universe had its own cycle of events.    After the initial Big Bang (though 'Bang' is a confusing word, it may have been rather dull), there were no light sources in the Universe.

Haemoglobin S (HbS) is known to cause sickle cell disease and it is usually fatal if untreated so shouldn't natural selection have eliminated it?    

Instead, the sickle cell gene is common in people of African, Mediterranean and Indian origin, areas with historically high levels of malaria.    A new study says such geographical adds to the hypothesis that the gene, though deadly, avoids disappearing through natural selection by providing protection against malaria.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in both men and women in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute.   But since cancer is a mutation, risk factors for it can never be eliminated.   However, risk factors can be made less risky so a group of researchers built on previous research that found black raspberries have antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-neurodegenerative and anti-inflammatory properties to see if they might also help to prevent colon cancer.

Their study found that black raspberries were highly effective in preventing colorectal tumors in two mouse models of the disease.