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Buying a single ticket, the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million. You are never going to win this fortune. Before you launch into an argument with our author, read this.

In seeking to nail down an exact day when chemophobia – an irrational fear of harmless trace chemicals – came into existence, one must consider a singular government act that occurred on Sept. 6, 1958.

Plastic waste is a worldwide environmental problem. So is the generation of clean energy. Two British groups have come up with a method that, at least in the lab, can degrade plastic and simultaneously generate hydrogen. Light is used as an inexpensive catalyst. That's some very interesting chemistry.

In a recent study, criminals, to no surprise, acted the opposite of law-abiding citizens. However, their reasoning was found to be more rational.

According to pharmacologist Ray Dingledine, good science is hard to do because of (1) "our drive to create a coherent narrative from new data, regardless of its quality or relevance"; (2) "our inclination to seek patterns in data whether they exist or not"; and (3) our negligence to "always consider how likely a result is regardless of its P-value." The good news is that this can be fixed.

By and large high schools and colleges, and the organizations that govern them, haven't mandated that cooling tubs be readily available for athletes whose body temperatures climb dangerously high. Recent incidents have shown that teens who could have been saved by having access to ice baths instead die without them.

A male physician disparages female doctors. Things don't go well for him. However, we now can have an honest discussion about the issue.

Did team sports for kids evolve from hunter-gatherers who needed to practice for war? A new paper suggests that is so.

Sleep is governed by the circadian rhythm, which is typically entrained to the 24-hour solar day. As the sun rises and sets the human body's metabolism responds accordingly. But in this case study, the circadian rhythm of a patient with bipolar disorder was also linked to the 24.8-hour lunar cycle, which contributed to his manic-depressive episodes.

A paper says up to 8,000 new antibiotic combinations could be ready for testing, but there is a big catch: It's called reality.

It's normal for a baby to be difficult to get to sleep, which is clearly exhausting for new parents. Bu, expensive "sleep consultants" aren't the answer.

Scientific journals discriminate against industry scientists, unless, that is, they happen to work for the environmental or organic industries. Those scientists don't have to follow the same rules governing the disclosure of conflicts of interest that everybody else does.

Contrary to popular belief, Diet Coke does not contain zero calories. It doesn't have much; it's the same as about 0.9% of an M&M. But the chemical structure of aspartame, the cola's artificial sweetener, shows us why there are any calories at all.

You're athletic. You run regularly. You swim, cycle or lift weights to keep your muscles strong. And you watch what you eat for the purposes of remaining lean – and so that you can remain athletic. So you have all the bases covered, right? Well, almost, because a new study says "you still can’t outrun your risk factors” for cardiovascular disease, making doctor's visits essential.

A recently-released study touting how preoperative oral treatment can lower the risk of suffering postoperative pneumonia appears to have bitten off more than it can chew.

Like a broken clock that accidentally gets the time right, California has finally stumbled upon the correct approach to coffee. Sort of. After widespread mockery and condemnation, the Golden State has had an epiphany: Maybe coffee doesn't cause cancer. The FDA agrees.

A man was hospitalized for a heart attack. Insurance paid $55,000 and he was left with a bill of nearly $110,000. Could you, too, have gotten it dropped to less than $800?

Men given a testosterone gel were more honest than men given a placebo gel. Though the results of this experiment were not statistically significant, they were when combined with a similar study.

For those looking for another way to sculpt their bodies, there's a new, high-tech device that has great promise. But to use it, you'll need to get naked in front of a full-length mirror-scanner-computer that sends all your measurement data to the Cloud. Is this amazing – or is the idea so intrusive that, in the name of getting in better shape, this has really gone too far?

Just when you think it's reached its peak, WebDumB comes through once again. The folks there have taken a look at places where germs lurk. Unfortunately, their "wisdom" is nowhere to be seen.

Formaldehyde is one of the most demonized chemicals. Know-nothings try to terrify us about the 10 milligrams of the chemical you get from a packet of aspartame. But did you know that your body produces, uses, and eliminates 50,000 mg of the stuff every day? That's because every living cell in our body requires formaldehyde.

Municipalities may feel justified in trying to up the ante in the vaccine wars. Drunk drivers who kill somebody can be charged with manslaughter. Perhaps they have a point in saying this law should be extended to those who, through negligence, sicken or kill another person with a vaccine-preventable illness. That is certainly a far more palatable option than filling up tiny coffins.

Self-injury mortality, albeit by suicide or lethal intoxication, spans a continuum that represents two sides of the same coin.

Causing trouble keeps Russia relevant. It's as if nihilism and cynicism are the two guiding principles of Russia's foreign policy. And if that's not enough, as part of its global mischief-making Russia is assaulting American science and technology.

In a trend described as shocking, people desperate to obtain narcotics are intentionally injuring their pets to divert and abuse the veterinarian’s painkiller prescriptions. While terribly sad this is no surprise: After all, this is addiction.