In this year, 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of ‘On the Origin of Species’ a UK scientist has used Darwin’s seminal work on Natural Selection in helping to define the biological essentiality of the second (silicon) and third (aluminium) most abundant elements of the Earth’s crust.

During a single hospitalization, acute heart attack patients averaged a total ionizing radiation dose equal to 725 chest X-rays. Researchers need to better determine which and when ionizing radiation tests are best used in heart attack patients.

More than six percent of expectant mothers in Quebec, Canada, consume prescription drugs that are known to be harmful to their fetuses, according to a new study. Half these women will voluntarily terminate their pregnancy fearing congenital malformations, which means the abortion rate among these women is 11 percent higher than in the rest of the population.

The electrical measurements on the electrocardiogram can often mislead physicians in diagnosing the heart condition left ventricular hypertrophy, causing other screening tests to be ordered before a definitive conclusion can be made, according to a new study.

Increasing temperatures at high altitudes are fueling the post-1950 growth spurt seen in bristlecone pines, the world's oldest trees, according to new research. The pines near treeline have wider annual growth rings for the period from 1951 to 2000 than for the previous 3,700 years. Regional temperatures, particularly at high elevations, have increased during the same 50-year time period. The finding is another example of changes in high-elevation ecosystems that are linked to warming temperatures.

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug by adolescents, with almost 42 percent of high school seniors admitting to having experimented with it. Many studies have focused on parents as being the best avenue for preventing adolescent marijuana use; however, the strength of the relationship between monitoring and marijuana usage has been unclear. According to a meta-analysis, there is in a fact a strong, reliable link between parental monitoring and decreased marijuana usage in adolescents.

When the presidents of the two nations that are responsible for 40 percent of Earth's climate-changing greenhouse gases sit down to talk, big things can happen. In the case of Barack Obama and Hu Jintao on Monday and Tuesday, that meant flatly stating that emission reduction targets should be set at an international negotiation on climate change in Copenhagen this December, along with financial assistance figures to help poorer countries mitigate emissions and adapt to a changing climate. Oh, and the world should cut back on deforestation. [More]

Parents have long suspected that the brains of their teenagers function differently from those of adults. With the advent of magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, we have begun to appreciate how the brain continues to develop structurally through adolescence and on into adulthood.

It's the year 2060, and 75 percent of drivers in the Greater Los Angeles area have hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that emit only water vapor. Look into Shane Stephens-Romero's crystal ball -- a computer model called STREET -- and find that air quality has significantly improved. Greenhouse gas emissions are more than 60 percent lower than in 2009, and levels of microscopic soot and ozone are about 15 percent and 10 percent lower, respectively.

More than a year and a half following the first near-total face and upper jaw transplant, the donor tissue appears successfully integrated, according to a report. The recipient has experienced no long-term rejection, and has regained some functional abilities, including her senses of smell and taste.