Philippe Matthews Show Guru Advice, Author Reviews, Tech Reviews, Entertainment News

Ever stay up so late you feel like parts of your brain are falling asleep? They might be.

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to Bruce Beutler at the Scripps Research Institute in California, Jules Hoffmann at the French National Center for Scientific Research and Ralph Steinman at Rockefeller University in New York City. Beutler and Hoffman helped to elucidate innate immunity. That’s the non-specific array of initial responses by the body’s immune system that can recognize invading microorganisms as being foreign and try to destroy them

At work in a biosafety level-4 lab. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectius Disease A workplace accident might mean a paper cut or spilled coffee for many--or even loss of life or limb for others. For a select few scientists, however, a little slipup on the job could release a deadly virus or toxin into the environment

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A huge hole that appeared in the Earth's protective ozone layer above the Arctic in 2011 was the largest recorded in the Northern Hemisphere, triggering worries the event could occur again and be even worse, scientists said in a report on Monday. The ozone layer high in the stratosphere acts like a giant shield against the Sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which can cause skin cancers and cataracts

In the first week of the trial of Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson 's physician, Los Angeles jurors heard audio recordings of the late pop star's slurred speech, in addition to the litany of prescription drugs he had taken in the hours and weeks prior to his June 25, 2009, death. [More]

MANILA (Reuters) - Rescue helicopters and boats distributed food, water and medicine to thousands of Filipinos marooned in flooded towns north of the capital on Monday and authorities said water levels were starting to recede. Wide areas of rice-producing Bulacan and Pampanga provinces have been submerged since late last week after the Philippines was hit by two typhoons.

The heat is on, too Neutrinos that go beyond light speed? Not so fast, say two theoretical physicists. [More]

[More]

This year’s IgNobel prize in Medicine goes to TWO studies, one of which I knew I would enjoy based entirely on the running title. The running title is, when you read a scientific paper, the few words at the top or bottom to remind you of which paper it is exactly that you’re reading (useful mostly when you’re flipping through a journal, but also with surprising uses in remembering what exactly you’re supposed to be learning about when you’re ten pages into a huge review). The running title of this one is “inhibitory spillover”.

Ninety-eight years ago, engineers tamed Washington State's Elwha River. Dams provided electricity , at the expense of runs of five types of Pacific salmon.

Charles Darwin had more in common with chimpanzees than even he realized.

By David Fogarty SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A new plan to curb global warming risks becoming a battleground between rich and poor nations and could struggle to get off the ground as negotiators battle over the fate of the ailing Kyoto climate pact.

Now we come to the IgNobel prize in physiology, though this study isn’t really what you’d associate with physiology. It’s more what you associate with behavior.

You are what you wear.

You are what you wear. Most of us know appearances matter in first impressions, but recent research shows that clothing can tap into pretty stark racial stereotypes. Thirty-four subjects--almost all white or Asian--looked at digital faces.