Large parts of our lives are now being monitored and analysed by computers. Log on to Amazon and intelligent data analysis software can recommend a selection of books you might like to read. Far from being a sinister intrusion into people's privacy, the purpose of these systems is to improve our lives, experts say.

Energy is getting more and more expensive, and experts are predicting record electricity and heating prices. A software platform promises to lighten the load for households and businesses by making it easier for consumers to put renewables to good effect.

Earth is the only known planet that holds water in massive quantities and in all three of the main phase states. But the earthly, omnipresent compound water has very unusual properties that become particularly evident when subjected to high pressure and high temperatures.

Biodegradable nonwovens can be manufactured cost-effectively using a new method. Scientists have developed a process that enables recycled paper and cardboard to be used as a raw material for nonwovens. Hygiene and home care products, such as diapers, sanitary napkins and cleaning cloths, are among the many items that can be manufactured from the biodegradable nonwovens.

Many discoveries in physics came as a big surprise -- for example the phenomenon, that some materials loose almost all their electrical resistance at low temperatures, or that others become superconductors at unexpectedly high temperatures. In the past it was mainly due to theoreticians to develop models explaining these unusual properties. Unfortunately it is not possible to have a direct look into a solid state crystal and follow up the motion of charge carriers as this process happens at extremely short time and length scales. Scientists have now observed the coherent propagation of single spin excitations in an ultracold quantum gas of strongly correlated atoms.

The widespread introduction of a chicken pox vaccine in Australia in 2006 has prevented thousands of children from being hospitalized with severe chicken pox and saved lives, according to new research.

Overweight and obese children in low-income households can meet or exceed the Expert Committee Recommendations Regarding the Prevention, Assessment, and Treatment of Childhood and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity when given access to a structured weight management program, according to a new study.

The first randomized trial to compare treatments for ectopic pregnancies has found no significant differences in subsequent fertility between medical treatment and conservative surgery on one hand, and conservative or radical surgery on the other.

Cancer researchers have discovered a new type of retinoblastoma, a rapidly developing eye cancer that affects very young babies -– a finding that can immediately change clinical practice and optimize care for these children.

Young men with low cognitive function and low socioeconomic status are significantly more likely to suffer from mild traumatic brain injury than those without, a new study suggests. Current literature suggests that mild traumatic brain injuries cause changes in brain tissues and have important long-term consequences on cognitive function, but new findings suggest that low cognitive function may come first.

Citizen science surveys compare well with traditional scientific methods when it comes to monitoring species biodiversity, according to researchers. A new study shows that methods to record marine diversity used by amateurs returned results consistent with techniques favored by peer-reviewed science.

Thanks to a new high-tech gadget, astronomers have observed four planets orbiting a star relatively close to the sun in unprecedented detail, revealing the roughly ten-Jupiter-mass planets to be among the most exotic ones known.

When Gulf of Mexico algae don't get enough nutrients, they focus their remaining energy on becoming more and more poisonous to ensure their survival, according to a new study.

In laboratory studies, researchers say they have found that stem cells from a patient's own fat may have the potential to deliver new treatments directly into the brain after the surgical removal of a glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain tumor.

An HIV prevention strategy in which people at risk of becoming exposed to HIV take antiretroviral drugs to reduce their chance of becoming infected (often referred to as pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP), may be a cost-effective method of preventing HIV in some settings, according to a new study.

A new study finds that the health effects of weight gained after quitting smoking do not counteract the known cardiovascular benefits of smoking cessation.

In research that included nearly 14,000 healthy infants in Belarus, an intervention that succeeded in improving the duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding during infancy did not result in a lower risk of overweight or obesity among the children at age 11.5 years, according to a new study.

Among adults without diabetes, quitting smoking, compared with continuing smoking, was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease despite subsequent weight gain, according to a new study.

Brain imaging soon after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or mild concussion can detect tiny lesions that may eventually provide a target for treating people with mTBI.

Vincetoxicum rossicum, commonly known as dog-strangling vine, is an alien invasive plant from the Ukraine and southwestern Russia that has now established itself in the northeastern United States and southern Ontario, Canada. This species successfully displaces local native plants, demonstrating high tolerance for environmental variables such as light and soil moisture.