How to run a successful research lab without having a lab
At the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Atul Butte gave a talk entitled, "Translational Medical Discoveries Through Data Transparency and Reuse." It could just as easily been called "ho......
WHO calls for publication of the full details of the new avian flu virus
When it infects humans, the avian flu is unusually lethal, killing over half the people who come down with symptoms. But, so far at least, the virus has only spread from birds to humans,...
Nanopore tech brings rackmounted genome machines, USB-based DNA sensors
The DNA sequencing systems on the market produce their output by synthesizing new DNA in a way that allows them to read the identity of the base that's added. There have been a few...
Leaked docs: Heartland Institute think tank pays climate contrarians very well (updated)
Update: The Heartland Institute has acknowledged that some of the documents were theirs, but claims that a strategy document is fraudulent. This document is the sole source of information that suggests that an educational ......
Not wasteful, but unethical: why we hate crippled products
In the world of consumer electronics, it's common for companies to create a range of products that are all variations on a theme, containing slightly faster processors or a bit more memory. These products...
Week in science features the power of fusion, cockroaches
Unusual sources of energy were on top of this past week's science news, from a new method that might get us closer to break-even fusion to an approach that lets us treat a cockroach like a living battery. ...
Malaria deaths drop, but disease may be more lethal than we thought
The success of efforts that target polio have raised hopes that it could be the next human disease to be eradicated within the decade. But that's not the only disease that public health officials...
Russians finally hit Antarctic Lake Vostok after 20-year drilling project
After several days of uncertainty, the head of Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute has confirmed that a drilling project that started over 20 years ago has finally made it through nearly four kilometers of ice to re...
Week in science, with unusual amounts of insanity
It was a crazy week for science. Normally, when we say that, we mean there was a lot of important news going on; this week, some of the actual stories involved a fair degree...
Indiana backing away from bill allowing creation "science" into classrooms
Earlier this week, we reported on efforts by an Indiana state legislator who was interested in getting creationism inserted into the state's science classrooms. He managed to get a modified bill, one that was less sectarian but ......
Study of deadly flu sparks debate amidst fears of new pandemic
The 2009 flu pandemic, although not especially deadly, revealed just how quickly a new influenza virus could elude surveillance and spread internationally. It also left health experts eying the disease that many fear could......
Ars and nature.com at the American Museum of Natural History: good stuff
For nearly a year now, Ars has worked with nature.com to organize a monthly panel discussion called Science Online NYC. We're pleased to announce that, in February, we'll also be working with the American Museum of Natural Histo......
