Even though the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has given final approval for use of a new pesticide, regulators in California and other states are taking a closer look at the substance's potential adverse health effects before allowing the chemical to be used, according to an article in Chemical&Engineering News. 

Have you grown up without the ability to recognize voices?    If so, University College London wants to hear from you (no pun intended).   

In November, America will vote for a new President.   The next President, whomever it is, has said he will overturn the restrictions President Bush placed on use of federal money for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research that does not meet criteria established in 2001.   

The controversy surrounding hESC research is too much to go into here but here are 5 things you should know about the science of stem cell research, including the hESC kind.

Ray Bradbury, author of The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451 and too many great novels to list here, as Hollywood screenwriter?   Indeed he was.   And John Huston, architect of legendary John Wayne westerns (and father of Angelica, who you should be watching in "The Addams Family" movies this week) directed the movie.

Who knows what Moby Dick would have looked like with these two legends collaborating?  Huston died in 1987, and was listed as a co-author of the screenplay, a decision Bradbury protested, but Bradbury, now 88 years old, was determined to have it published under his own name in his lifetime.

Skin provides the first level of defense to infection, serving not only as a physical barrier, but also as a site for white blood cells to attack invading bacteria and viruses. The immune cells in skin can over-react, however, resulting in inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. 

Stress can trigger an outbreak in patients suffering from inflammatory skin conditions. This cross talk between stress perception, which involves the brain, and the skin is mediated the through the "brain-skin connection". Yet, little is know about the means by which stress aggravates skin diseases. 

Researchers in Indiana have completed development of the world's smallest complete mass spectrometer (MS), the Mini 11, a miniature version of a standard lab device (some of which would dominate a living room)  to identify tiny amounts of chemicals in the environment. The hand-held MS, about the size of a shoebox, could speed the detection of bioterrorism agents, hidden explosives, and other threats, the researchers say. Their study is scheduled for the current issue of ACS' Analytical Chemistry, a semi-monthly journal.