Fire is a very different and mysterious creature when it burns in a microgravity environment, as an awesome experiment on the International Space Station is proving. Continue reading →

For the past the 1,000,000 years the global climate has cycled every 100,000 years, between long glacial periods (with great masses of ice covering the continents in the northern hemisphere) and shorter interglacial periods, lasting around 10,000 years. It has been 12,000 years since the last one so enjoy that while it lasts. However, within the long periods there have been abrupt climate changes, sometimes happening in the space of just a few decades, with variations of up to 10º C in […]

The Wood Ceiling A look at steam, science, and why men still tend to outnumber women in science faculty positions.

A new feature on U.S. News & World Report rates America’s teacher preparation programs. Surprise, they’re all pretty bad. Together with the National Council on Teacher Quality, the publication has revealed its new rankings. Read it and weep. While the 2013 teacher preparation rankings begins by informing interested parties that “with NCTQ's ratings of teacher prep programs, you can find the one that will get you classroom-ready from day one,” it actually does no such […]

While too much of anything can be bad at any time, a little drinking - 3 to 7 glasses of alcohol a week - does not seem to harm fetal neurodevelopment, according a large study published in the online only journal BMJ Open. Good thing too, or entire generations of children would be mentally stunted - not drinking at all during pregnancy became the cultural norm a generation ago and it used the same kinds of longitudinal study that now says moderate drinking is okay. And more affluent and better […]