Neil A Conway

A team of researchers from the UK and Finland has discovered why people who stay in education longer have a lower risk of developing dementia — a question that has puzzled scientists for the past decade.

Forests — and other natural, green settings — can reduce stress, improve moods, reduce anger and aggressiveness and increase overall happiness. Forest visits may also strengthen our immune system by increasing the activity and number of natural killer cells that destroy cancer cells.

A new study has found that even light or moderate intensity physical activity, such as walking or cycling, can substantially reduced the risk of early death.

Scientists are reporting an in-depth validation of the discovery of the world’s first mass producible, low-cost, organoclays for <a href="http://www.everydayplastics.com/”>plastics. The powdered material, made from natural clay, would be a safer, more environmentally friendly replacement for the compound widely used to make <a href="http://www.everydayplastics.com/”>plastics nanocomposites.

Touch screens such as those found on the iPhone or iPad are the latest form of technology allowing interaction with smart phones, computers and other devices. However, scientists in Germany have developed the next generation non-contact gesture and finger recognition system. The novel system detects hand and finger positions in real-time and translates these into appropriate interaction commands. Furthermore, the system does not require special gloves or markers and is capable of supporting multiple users.

Eighty years ago, the medical establishment believed cancer was caused by a dysfunction of metabolism, but the idea went out of vogue. Now, scientists are again looking at metabolism and its role in cancer and other common diseases.

The loneliness of the long-distance robot: A robot named Ranger walked 14.3 miles in about 11 hours, setting an unofficial world record. A human — armed with nothing more than a standard remote control for toys — steered the untethered robot.

Scientists have employed NASA’s Pleiades supercomputer and atmospheric data to simulate tropical cyclone Nargis — with the first model to replicate the formation of the tropical cyclone five days in advance.

As many as 1 out of 3 cancer deaths in both humans and dogs could be prevented by reducing Omega-6 fatty acids and cutting calories, according to new research.

A hundred million years ago, a triple-star system was traveling through the bustling center of our Milky Way galaxy when it made a life-changing misstep. The trio wandered too close to the galaxy’s giant black hole, which captured one of the stars and hurled the other two out of the Milky Way. Adding to the stellar game of musical chairs, the two outbound stars merged to form a super-hot, blue star.