The NOAA outlook for this hurricane season is out. Theses forecasts have some skill but it is well to remember that SOME is the operative word here. That said there are growing indications that this will be an active year. Perhaps very active… Here is the public release from NOAA: NOAA predicts active 2013 Atlantic hurricane season Era of high activity for Atlantic hurricanes continues May 23, 2013 Hurricane Sandy as seen …

In 2008, one of my favorite writers, Atul Gawande, wrote about neurophysiology of itching in the New Yorker. If you haven’t read the article, you should. It got me fascinated by the phenomenon so I was excited to see this paper, just fresh out in Science, which describes a peptide that appears to be the […]

The discovery in mice of a protein central to itchy sensations could lead to new treatments for eczema, psoriasis and other persistent skin complaints    

China is planning to shut live poultry markets in some cities for good, and studies show the H7N9 bird flu virus can spread through the air in ferrets    

Scientists find gene behind striking coloration