Dietary guidelines used to be a relatively easy process. They were considered authoritative, mainstream media dutifully portrayed them as such because they had government backing, and people obeyed.

But since 1980, when people began to obey them, obesity has skyrocketed. With public education being freed from the shackles of corporate journalists, the public had access to information outside hand-picked nutrition scholars chosen for their beliefs.  And skepticism reigns.

Insects exhibit breathing patterns called discontinuous gas-exchange cycles that include periods of little to no release of carbon dioxide to the environment. Researchers who studied the respiratory patterns of 15 species of ground beetles found that these cycles may minimize the risk of infestation of an insect's tracheal system by mites and other pathogens.

The findings may help provide a more comprehensive understanding of why insects have an evolutionary advantage over other animals.

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) reconstructed the 3D structure of one of the proteins of Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria and the antibodies that act as the first line of defense against the parasite. This research, published in Cell Reports, was conducted at the Structural Cellular Biology Unit, led by Prof. Ulf Skoglund. This study provides valuable knowledge for the design of anti-malaria drugs.

Thanks to the Internet, amateur volunteers known as "citizen scientists" can readily donate their time and effort to science--in fields ranging from medicine to zoology to astrophysics. The astrophysics project Space Warps offers a compelling example of why citizen science has become such a popular tool and how valuable it can be.

Late last year, in a pair of research papers, Space Warps announced the discovery of 29 new gravitational lenses. These arced or blobby features, seen in images of deep space, are actually distant galaxies whose light has been bent by the mass of foreground galaxies. Scientists prize these rare, cosmic phenomena because they offer tantalizing glimpses of objects too distant and dim to be otherwise seen.

A study of risk communication as it relates to altruistic behavior has found that portraying an event as a distant risk, despite highlighting its importance and potential progression, fails to prompt altruistic behavior intention among the U.S. public.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa gained substantial media momentum during the final three months of 2014. In October, a Liberian man visiting family in Texas became the first diagnosed Ebola patient in the U.S. to die from the disease. But though mainstream media hyped it beyond belief, the Obama administration offered minimal assistance to the affected region, at least compared to American responses to other recent crises or disasters, such as the Haitian earthquake in 2010.

The Supreme Court is set to consider Whole Woman's Health v. Cole, which addresses two Texas laws related to abortion clinics.