Many doctors have a hard time owning up to errors, in part due to fears of being sued over malpractice claims and the consequent increase in malpractice insurance premiums.   [More]

Biometric security systems that can identify individuals à la Minority Report based on the unique patterns in their irises have been touted as a fast, accurate and efficient way to control access to sensitive information and facilities. But until now, their reach has literally been limited. [More]

New research suggests that current regulations have failed to remove misleading information from cigarette packaging, revealing that a substantial majority of consumers believe cigarettes are less hazardous when the packs display words such as "silver" or "smooth," lower numbers incorporated into the brand name, lighter colors or pictures of filters.

New research from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia sheds light on the role of cell receptors in acting as gatekeepers for infectious viruses. By using mice genetically engineered to lack a particular receptor in heart and pancreas cells, the study team prevented infection by a common virus (Group B coxsackievirus) that causes potentially serious diseases in humans.

A new study has revealed the origins of tiger stripes and a subsurface ocean on Enceladus -- one of Saturn's many moons. These geological features are believed to be the result of the moon's unusual chemical composition and not a hot core, shedding light on the evolution of planets and guiding future space exploration.

Two new studies connect the immune system with obesity and type 2 diabetes. In the first study, researchers used two common over-the-counter allergy medications known to stabilize a group of inflammatory immune cells to reduce obesity and symptoms of type 2 diabetes in mice. In the second study, researchers found that a kind of regulatory white blood cell once thought to manage only immune cells also controls inflammation in non-obese fat tissue.

For the first time in nearly 50 years, a population of a nearly extinct frog has been rediscovered in the San Bernardino National Forest's San Jacinto Wilderness. Biologists retracing a 1908 natural history expedition rediscovered the rare mountain yellow-legged frog.

Scientists in Brazil report the controllable formation of quantum turbulence in an ultra-cold atom gas. The research makes it easier to characterize quantum turbulence -- and potentially even classical turbulence -- because it is possible to tune many characteristics of the cold-atom gas.

Dear EarthTalk: Is there any truth to the rumor about high levels of birth control chemicals being found in some cities’ drinking water? If so can these be filtered out? -- Elizabeth Yerkes, via email

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Since trade liberalization between Central and North America, imports and availability of processed, high-fat and high-sugar foods have increased dramatically. Researchers link this influx of American junk food to a "nutrition transition" in Central American countries, with a growing burden diet-related chronic disease.