Evolutionary theorist Alastair Clarke says eight patterns are the basis of all the humor that has ever been imagined or expressed, regardless of civilization, culture or personal taste. 

That's right, if you thought you heard that Seinfeld joke before, it's because  it is part of your collective unconscious.

Clarke has stated before that humor is based on the 'surprise' recognition of patterns but now he has gone further and identified the precise nature of the patterns involved, addressing the deceptively simple unit and context relationships at their foundation. His research goes on to demonstrate the universality of the theory by showing how these few basic patterns are recognized in more than a hundred different types of humor. 

Researchers at the University of Florida have introduced 'Delicious', a new muscadine grape cultivar. 'Delicious' ripens early, produces high yields, and is disease-resistant. The black fruit features exceptional taste and texture with an edible skin, making it well-suited for fresh fruit consumption and the potential for wine production. The name 'Delicious' was selected based on the comments of vineyard visitors who sampled the fruit. 

A new study published today in the journal Addiction shows that drinking alcohol is the greatest risk factor for acetaldehyde-related cancer. Heavy drinkers may be at increased risk due to exposure from multiple sources.

In the days of Columbus, dead men could tell no tales.  Today, dead men can tell us a lot and science has just taken that forensic interrogation to new heights.

A team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison is extracting the details of the lives of crew members who remained on the island of Hispaniola after the second voyage of Christopher Columbus to America in 1493-94.

Scientists say they have detected giant twisting waves in the lower atmosphere of the Sun, shedding light on the mystery of the Sun's corona, the region around the Sun, extending more than one million kilometres from its surface, which has a vastly higher temperature than its surface. The findings of this investigation could help us understand more about the turbulent solar weather and its affect on our planet.

The massive solar twists, known as Alfvén waves, were discovered in the lower atmosphere with the Swedish Solar Telescope in the Canary Islands by scientists from Queen's University Belfast, the University of Sheffield and California State University Northridge.

New research on the reporting of medical treatments in the Australian media showed slight improvements in accuracy but the overall quality of health reporting remained poor, says a study of more than 1,200 health news stories published by Australian media outlets.   It found that over the past four years there was only small improvement in quality of coverage of the availability of new treatments, the potential harm of interventions and accurate analysis of any benefits.