10 Stubborn Exercise Myths that Won’t Die, Debunked by Science

“No pain, no gain!” “You’ll never bulk up without supplements.” “Crunches are the key to six-pack abs!” It seems there are more questions and half-truths in the market about healthy exercise than there are clear, definitive facts.

Full story at Lifehacker

Why Do So Many Have Trouble Believing In Evolution?

Only 39 percent of Americans say they “believe in the theory of evolution,” while a quarter say they do not believe in the theory, and another 36 percent don’t have an opinion either way. Does evolution really need to be such a stumbling block for so many?

Full story at NPR

Science Education Report From Fordham Institute Shows Best, Worst States

“Don’t know much about science” may be a good description of many students in U.S. public schools, at least if you’re swayed by a new report issued by The Fordham Institute. The report, The State of State Science Standards 2012, indicates that K-12 science standards of most U.S. states are mediocre at best – with only 13 states getting an A or B and 38 receiving a grade of C or lower.

Via The Huffington Post

10 Stubborn Body Myths That Just Won’t Die, Debunked by Science

The way our bodies work is a bit of a mystery, and our desire to unlock its secrets has led to a vast amount of misinformation. Many of these false notions are more widely believed than the truth.

Via Lifehacker

6 Things Everyone Knows About Women (That Aren’t True)

Some crude, absurd gender stereotypes are in fact proven true by science. But, in the interest of not letting 60s sitcoms have the last word on the differences between men and women, we should point out how many things “everyone knows” about women just plain aren’t true, according to science.

Via Cracked

How could Twitter influence Science (and why Scientists are on board)

The bottom line is simple: articles that many people tweeted about were 11 times more likely to be highly cited than those who few people tweeted about. Its implications are even more interesting. It generally takes months and years for papers to be cited by other scientific publications. Thus, on the day an article comes out, it would seem to be difficult to tell whether it will have a real impact on a given field. However, because the majority of tweets about journal articles occur within the first two days of publication, we now have an early signal about which research is likely to be significant.

Via Forbes

Armageddon virus: call to keep killer recipe secret

Two top scientific journals say they are deciding whether to publish details of a man-made mutant flu virus that could kill billions, after a US government’s science advisory committee advised them to withhold key details.

The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) urged the US journal Science and the British journal Nature to withhold key details so people seeking to harm the public would not be able to manufacture the virus that could cause mass deaths.

Via The Sydney Morning Herald