Science News

The Oxford University Press has launched an online version of the Oxford Textbook of Medicine, complete with all the text, figures and illustrations that make up the three-volume, 6,000-page, 25-pound print behemoth. The book is a classic among generations of doctors and medical students, and it is considered the ultimate medical reference book by other professionals including lawyers and journalists. [More]

When surveyed, most people say they get tattoos or unconventional piercings to express individuality. But could something more psychologically primal be afoot? Researchers at the University of Wroclaw in Poland measured about 200 men and women--half of them inked or pierced in places other than their earlobes--for body symmetry, or how similar their right and left sides are. (More similarity indicates genetic health and is associated with sexual attractiveness.)

Among the research subjects, men with bodily decorations exhibited greater symmetry than those without, whereas no differences emerged in women. Because people who are less symmetric did not opt more often for tattoos and piercings, researchers rejected one widely held hypothesis that suggested people use physical graffiti to hide or distract from imperfections in their appearance.

Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink. Riverhead Books, 2009

Life, the Multiverse and Everything In “ Looking for Life in the Multiverse ,” Alejandro Jenkins and Gilad Perez say that life would be possible in a universe without the weak nuclear force. But they fail to note that the weak force is unique in treating matter and antimatter asymmetrically. Only because of this asymmetry did matter slightly outweigh antimatter before nearly all antimatter annihilated with an equal amount of matter, within the first seconds after the big bang. Everything we see--including stars, which are essential to life--is composed of that slight excess of matter. A universe without the asymmetric weak force would have virtually no normal matter and hence no life in any form we might recognize. [More]