A University of Minnesota-led research team has proposed a mechanism for the control of whether embryonic stem cells continue to proliferate and stay stem cells, or differentiate into adult cells like brain, liver or skin.

Several periods of field work during 2008 have led to the discovery of a new species of bamboo-feeding plant lice in Costa Rica's high-altitude region "Cerro de la Muerte." The discovery was made thanks to molecular data analysis of mitochondrial DNA. The collected records have also increased the overall knowledge of plant lice (one of the most dangerous agricultural pests worldwide) from the region with more that 20%.

A Wayne State University researcher believes studying people's ability to find their way around may help explain why loss of mental capacity occurs with age.

Coinstar-owned DVD rental kiosk company Redbox was one of the biggest reasons Blockbuster video went bankrupt. Monday, Coinstar announced it has begun a joint venture with communications service provider Verizon to build a subscription streaming video service. It is a move nearly identical to the one Netflix took three-and-a-half years ago, when it branched out from being a DVD-by-mail service to also being a streaming video provider through a partnership with Starz. The streaming content...

At some point, the mad quest to create the thinnest phone on the market will end — but not this day. Samsung is reportedly aiming to make its upcoming Galaxy S III flagship device just 7 millimeters thick, a full 1.49mm thinner than the Galaxy S II and 2.3mm thinner than the iPhone 4S, according to the Korean site ETNews. The phone could debut as soon as this May, the site says, though as is always the case with early phone rumors, I suggest taking this report with a healthy helping of salt....

Cultural differences between the West and East are well documented, but a study shows that concrete differences also exist in how British and Chinese people recognise people and the world around them. Easterners really do look at the world differently to Westerners, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Coronary patients with low levels of an immune system antibody called anti-PC, which neutralises parts of the 'bad' cholesterol, run a greater risk of suffering complications following an acute cardiac episode and thus of premature death. This according to new research from Karolinska Institutet published in the scientific periodical The International Journal of Cardiology.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are an essential component of modern shopping, logistics, warehouse, and stock control for toll roads, casino chips and much more. They provide a simple way to track the item to which the tag is attached. Now, researchers in France have developed a way to deposit a thin aluminum RFID tag on to paper that not only reduces the amount of metal needed for the tag, and so the cost, but could open up RFID tagging to many more systems, even allowing a...

Programs that support parents during their child's early years hold promise for obesity prevention, according to a new study in the online February 6 issue of Pediatrics.

In one year alone, over 4,500 children in the United States were hospitalized due to child abuse, and 300 of them died of their injuries, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in a new study. The findings are published in the March 2012 issue of Pediatrics.

Online dating has not only shed its stigma, it has surpassed all forms of matchmaking in the United States other than meeting through friends, according to a new analysis of research on the burgeoning relationship industry.

A Stanford University research team has designed a high-efficiency charging system that uses magnetic fields to wirelessly transmit large electric currents between metal coils placed several feet...

Could the use of vitamin and mineral supplements in a regular diet help to reduce the risk of colon cancer and protect against carcinogens? A study published in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and...

When a friend tells you she had a rough day, do you feel sandpaper under your fingers? The brain may be replaying sensory experiences to help understand common metaphors, new research suggests.

A genetic variant that increases the risk of a common type of stroke has been identified by scientists in a study funded by the Wellcome Trust and published online in Nature Genetics. This is one of the few genetic variants to date to be associated with the risk of stroke, and the discovery opens up new possibilities for treatment.

University of British Columbia researchers have discovered the molecular pathway that enables receptors inside immune cells to find, and flag, fragments of pathogens trying to invade a host.

Micron Technology said yesterday it has appointed D. Mark Durcan to replace chief executive Steve Appleton, who died Friday when the small experimental plane he was piloting crashed at the Boise airport. Durcan was previously Micron’s president and chief operating officer. While the loss of Appleton, the long time CEO, is devastating, the largest American manufacturer of memory chips has had the advantage of having stable management for a long time. Part of the reason is that its Boise,...

The Hubble space telescope has captured an image of a "barred spiral" galaxy, NGC 1073 in the Cetus constellation, that could hrlp unlock clues to the Milky Way. Most of the known spiral galaxies fall into the"barred" category - defined...

Microsoft could unveil a stand-alone Skype application for Windows Phone as soon as this month's Mobile Phone Congress, and Skype is expected to be standard on the mobile operating system when the company launches Windows Phone 8. Skype was acquired by Microsoft in 2011 and a Skype client for Windows Phone had been promised by the end of last year. So far, Microsoft and its Skype unit have been quiet about the integration, but the Verge is reporting that company employees can now download...

Andreas Mershin, a researcher at MIT, believes he has found a way to generate solar energy by way of solar panels created from agricultural waste such as cut grass and dead tree leaves. If you paid attention in high school, you may recall that all plants are technically solar cells already–through the process of photosynthesis, plants convert sunlight into energy. Well, Mershin discovered a process to extract the photosynthesizing molecules, photosystem I, from plants. The goal of Mershin’s...