Final results from the University of Utah's High Resolution Fly's Eye cosmic ray observatory show that the most energetic particles in the universe rarely reach Earth at full strength because they come from great distances, so most of them collide with radiation left over from the birth of the universe. The findings confirm a 42-year-old prediction -- known as the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin "cutoff," "limit" or "suppression" -- about ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays.

  Male infants in developed nations are more likely to die than female infants, a fact that is partially responsible for men's shorter lifespans, reveals a new study. The paper analyzes 15 countries spanning three continents and hundreds of years. It finds that the gender gap in infant mortality was as high as 30 percent at its peak around 1970.

  Is it luck of the draw in poker? The answer is 'no', according to new findings from two psychology studies. In the first study, DeDonno had 41 college students play eight games, totaling 200 hands, of Turbo Texas Hold'em, a computerized simulation of 10-player Hold'em poker.

  Patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease have suboptimal levels of cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, body composition and physical fitness, according to a new study.

  Ten Short-tailed Albatross chicks have been moved by helicopter, from their current stronghold on Torishima Island to the site of a former colony 350 km to the South-east. The potential for future volcanic events on Torishima is among the most serious threats to this vulnerable species. Currently, 80-85% of the world population breeds on a highly erodible slope on the outwash plain from the caldera of an active volcano.

  Contrary to conventional wisdom, Americans average as much sleep as they did 40 years ago, and possibly more, according to sociologists. The researchers report that adult sleep averages have increased about three hours per week over the last decade, up from 56 to 59 hours.

  Chemists have discovered that a chemical reaction in the atmosphere above major cities long assumed to be unimportant in urban air pollution is in fact a significant contributor to urban ozone -- the main component of smog.

  A team of scientists has succeeded in creating a new type of enzyme for a reaction for which no naturally occurring enzyme has evolved, by using a combination of novel computational methodologies and molecular in vitro evolution. This achievement opens the door to the development of a variety of potential applications in medicine and industry.

  It turns out ants, like humans, are true farmers. The difference is that ants are farming fungus. Entomologists are providing new insight into the agricultural abilities of ants and how these abilities have evolved throughout time.

  A new mathematical model gives scientists a smarter way to learn which cellular processes are key in many diseases and thus find the most effective drug targets. Scientists say the model, now freely available to researchers, should speed the search for effective treatments for cancer, inflammation and other conditions that affect millions of people.

  Researchers are reporting an advance toward a new generation of ultra-powerful computers built from DNA and enzymes, rather than transistors, silicon chips, and plastic. They describe development of a chemical "keypad lock," one of the first chemical-based security systems of its kind.

  Real-life crime scene analysis of bloodstains, fingerprints, and other evidence does not match the speed and certainty on television shows such as CSI. But thanks to advances in chemistry, fact is catching up with fiction as researchers develop faster, more sensitive forensics tools.

  Physicists have shown that in graphene the intrinsic limit to the mobility, a measure of how well a material conducts electricity, is higher than any other known material at room temperature. Graphene, a single-atom-thick sheet of graphite, is a new material which combines aspects of semiconductors and metals.

  Heart damage due to blocked arteries remains the leading cause of disease and death in the Western world, but a Florida State University College of Medicine researcher is helping to open new pathways toward treating the problem.