Mine shafts on the point of being closed down could be used to provide geothermal energy to local towns. The method engineers have developed makes it possible to estimate the amount of heat that a tunnel could potentially provide.

Striking differences in the risk factors for developing heart failure (HF) and patient prognosis exist between men and women. Men and women may also respond differently to treatment, raising concerns about whether current practices provide the best care and reinforcing the urgency for sex-specific clinical trials for HF, according to a new review article.

Assisted reproductive techniques alter the expression of genes that are important for metabolism and the transport of nutrients in the placenta of mice. The results underscore the need for greater understanding of the long-term effects of new assisted reproductive techniques in humans.

Everyone knows that vitamins "from A to zinc" are important for good health. Now, a new research study suggests that zinc may be pointing the way to new therapeutic targets for fighting infections. Specifically, scientists found that zinc not only supports healthy immune function, but increases activation of the cells (T cells) responsible for destroying viruses and bacteria.

A recent likely comet collision on Jupiter caused a minor sensation, but new research shows that similar impacts on Earth are most likely not responsible for any of the planet's mass extinctions, nor have they been responsible for more than one minor extinction event.

When the legendary science fiction writer Isaac Asimov penned the "Three Laws of Responsible Robotics," he forever changed the way humans think about artificial intelligence, and inspired generations of engineers to take up robotics. Two engineers now propose alternative laws to rewrite our future with robots. The future they foresee is at once safer, and more realistic.

Scientists have discovered the first gene associated with the formation of age-related cataracts, a leading causes of blindness.

Temperature explains much of why cold-blooded organisms such as fish, amphibians, crustaceans, and lizards live longer at higher latitudes than at lower latitudes, according to new research.

In a new study, researchers have found that students who feel invulnerable, or invincible, to physical harm are unlikely to get an HIV vaccine. Alternately, students who feel invulnerable to psychological harm are more likely to get the vaccine.

The tubes that power X-ray machines are shrinking, improving the clarity and detail of their Superman-like vision. A team of nanomaterial scientists, medical physicists, and cancer biologists has developed new lower-cost X-ray tubes packed with sharp-tipped carbon nanotubes for cancer research and treatment.