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Science is the answer to everything.

Just before time ran out on their TOTN Science Friday radio segment, last Friday, Ira asked Michael Pollan an important question, Why should anyone listen to a guy who has never plowed a field in his life talk about farming? …

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A blog in the NY Times speculates about the possibility that Apple may be working on a small “notebook” computer. Gizmodo shows a photo of a what such a notebook might look like: It looks an awful lot like my beloved Radio Shack Model …

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NASA satellite data can improve forecasts of dust storms in the American Southwest in ways that can benefit public health managers. Scientists announced the finding as a five-year NASA-funded project nears its conclusion.

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Do “undecided” voters actually make their choices before they realize? That is a question University of Virginia psychology professor Brian Nosek is trying to answer. “Many people, especially early in the political process, declare themselves as undecided,” Nosek said. “But while they have consciously said that they are undecided, they unconsciously may have already made a choice.” Nosek and colleagues developed the Implicit Association Test to assess mental associations that may be different than what people know or say about themselves.

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New research shows that environmental gains derived from the use of nanomaterials may be offset in part by the processes used to manufacture them. Research published in a special issue of the Journal of Industrial Ecology, a peer-reviewed journal owned by Yale University and headquartered at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, highlights the need for improved efficiency in the manufacturing of nanoscale materials to reduce energy use, emissions, solid waste, and the use of toxic input materials.

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An innovative systems biology approach to understanding the carbohydrate structures in cells is leading to new ways to understand how inflammatory illnesses and cardiovascular disease develop in humans. The work was described in two recent publications by University at Buffalo chemical engineers.

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The thickness of sea ice in large parts of the Arctic declined by as much as 19 percent last winter compared to the previous five winters, according to data from ESA’s Envisat satellite.

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CancerCare today announced that despite an overall increase in news reporting on lung cancer, the overall tone of lung cancer media coverage has become significantly more negative. “How the U.S. Media Report on Cancer,” an analysis of lung, breast, colorectal and prostate cancer coverage, was an independent report conducted by CARMA International Inc. for CancerCare; previous analyses were issued in 2000 and 2004.

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Harvard School of Public Health and Harris Interactive conducted a new survey focused on whether voters believe the results of this presidential election will make “a great deal of difference” in the state of the nation’s health care and other key policy areas.

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An Iowa State University researcher is exploring a new method of getting medicine to the eyes of infected dogs that is more effective and reliable than using eye drops.

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