What looked at first like a sort of upside-down planet in
the binary star system KOI-3278
has instead revealed a new method for studying binary star systems, according to a University of Washington team who writes of the first "self-lensing" binary star system — one in which the mass of the closer star can be measured by how powerfully it magnifies light from its more distant companion star.

Our sun stands alone but about 40 percent of similar stars are in binary (two-star) or multi-star systems, orbiting their companions in a gravitational dance.

The latest fad in implied health benefits that can slip under the regulatory radar are edible flowers from China. 

Why implied? Because they are rich in phenolics and have good antioxidant capacity.  What will that do? No one knows. Antioxidants haven't been shown to help anyone at all and phenolics claims were how the rationalization that organic food was healthier arose - and then debunked. To maintain a level of credibility the key phrase "may be partly responsible" is liberally applied.

Some edible flowers, which have been used as ingredients, seasoning and garnish in Chinese food for centuries, contain phenolics that 

The confirmation of the Higgs boson and what it can tell us about the origins of mass is getting all of the attention but there are scientific mysteries about less-understood forces that may also be keys to figuring out natural laws.

Among these is quantum turbulence, the chaotic motion - at very high rates - of fluids that exist at temperatures close to zero. Observers as far back as Leonardo da Vinci have studied turbulence, a complex state of fluid motion. He observed that water falling into a pond creates eddies of motion, thus realizing that the motion of water shaped the landscape.

Why is Edward Snowden a villain to some people while the same people regard Bradley Manning as a hero? Why do so many people say they never thought it could happen if someone they know commits a crime? When is an atrocity not remembered that way at all? An in-group portrayal may make the difference.

Preliminary results of a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial on osteoarthritis of the knee using ActiPatch Therapy have been announced.

BioElectronics Corporation says the initial interim analysis showed statistically significant results for the primary and secondary outcomes measures. The study is being led by Doctor Gianluca Bagnato, Division of Rheumatology, University Hospital Gaetano Martino, Messina, Italy. The final analysis of the full study data set will be carried out soon and the results have been accepted in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases and presented at the European League against Rheumatism 2014 conference.

In high school and college, your coach told you to avoid alcohol. And for good reason; alcohol saps muscle strength and it's lingering lethargic effects aren't welcome either.

The lack of muscle strength really becomes evident when studying long-time alcoholics but it is also evidence in patients with mitochondrial disease.  A new study on mitochondria that are unable to self-repair may mean a new way to diagnose mitochondrial disease, and a new drug target.