NGC 3590 is a small open cluster of stars around 7500 light-years from Earth, in the constellation of Carina (The Keel). It is a gathering of dozens of stars loosely bound together by gravity and is roughly 35 million years old.

This cluster is not just pretty; it is very useful to astronomers. By studying this particular cluster — and others nearby — astronomers can explore the properties of the spiral disc of our galaxy, the Milky Way. NGC 3590 is located in the largest single segment of a spiral arm that can be seen from our position in the galaxy: the Carina spiral feature.

NEW YORK, May 20, 2014 — New data from a study led by Memorial Sloan Kettering physicians that used targeted therapy for patients with the most common type of lung cancer has helped transform treatment for the disease.

After reaching a high-water mark in 2006, when media talking points were portrayed by journalists as settled science prior to the actual IPCC reports in 2007, people have steadily lost interest in climate change since then.

There is an upside to that. Scandals like ClimateGate didn't damage public support. The bad thing remains that all of the new evidence for climate change isn't helping either. The public in the middle is simply numb and then people on the sides are entrenched.

Antibiotics for acute bronchitis don't work. 

Yet despite clear evidence of ineffectiveness, guidelines and more than 15 years of educational efforts stating that the antibiotic prescribing rate for acute bronchitis should be zero, the rate was about 70 percent from 1996-2010 and increased during this time period, according to a study in the May 21 issue of JAMA.

In Lewis Carroll's 1871 classic novel Through the Looking Glass, the Red Queen tells Alice: "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place."

Over the years, evolutionary biologists have used the Red Queen's statement to refer to the "Red Queen" hypothesis, which describes how living organisms, including humans, manage to survive in a changing environment by adapting through sexual reproduction. According to a University of Iowa researcher, the hypothesis is supported.

In a new paper, lead author Deanna Soper, assistant professor at Beloit College and colleagues write about testing a version of the Red Queen hypothesis.

A large study may upend our understanding of vitamin E, a vital antioxidant, and ties the increasing consumption of supposedly healthy vitamin E-rich oils such as canola, soybean and corn  to the rising incidence of lung inflammation and, possibly, asthma. 

The different health effects of vitamin E depend on its form. The form of Vitamin E called gamma-tocopherol in the ubiquitous soybean, corn and canola oils is associated with decreased lung function in humans, the study reports. The other form of Vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol, which is found in olive and sunflower oils, does the opposite. It's associated with better lung function.