microRNAs form an abundant class of 21–22 nucleotide, non-coding RNA that is common to diverse species of multicellular life. Although they are currently the subject of intense, directed study, the path toward their discovery has been dominated by chance and serendipity. In this review, I examine how these tiny molecules have risen from genetic obscurity to scientific stardom, and discuss the e...

Optimizing compilers tend to be much larger and much slower than their straightforward counterparts. Their designers usually do not follow Oberon's maxim of making things "as simple as possible", but are inclined to completely disregard cost (in terms of compiler size, compilation speed, and maintainability) in favor of code_quality benefits that often turn out to be relatively marginal. Trying...

During the last several decades, the incidence of prostate cancer has increased dramatically, largely because of the widespread use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) for diagnostic screening. Serum PSA is undoubtedly one of the most clinically useful cancer markers. Early detection of clinically relevant cancers is possible with PSA-based screening, but the overall benefit of screening is deba...

Suicide statistics for Britain (England and Wales) from 1950 to 1990 are analysed. A rising suicide rate among males, particularly the young, is associated with an increased use of hanging as a suicide method. The same trend is not seen among females. Death by hanging can seldom be concealed or regarded as other than suicide, so statistics for suicidal hanging are likely accurate. Increased sui...

“Systems that Explain Themselves” appears a provocative wording, in particular in the context of mathematics education — it is as provocative as the idea of building educational software upon technology from computer theorem proving. In spite of recent success stories like the proofs of the Four Colour Theorem or the Kepler Conjecture, mechanised proof is still considered somewhat esoteric by m...

Gatica et al. (2013) report the development of a new device, the sperm selection assay (SSA), for enriching the content of high-quality, functionally competent cells in a human sperm sample. The device is technically simple, but exploits a sophisticated characteristic of many motile cells and organisms—their ability to direct their movement in response to the concentration gradient of a chemica...

On a recent program night, third-grader Tyrell came to speak with Ms. Dee, our COO. He had received a mattress at Christmas and was now very happy to have his own place to sleep. Tyrell’s mom is out of the house, and he and his siblings live with Granny. He proceeded to tell Ms. Dee his dream of having his mattress “put up” (which meant with a frame and box spring) but wasn’t sure how this was ...