It was long thought unlikely that researchers would find an effective pharmacological answer to intellectual disability (mental retardation).

But that was before molecules and cellular processes in the brain that function in learning and memory were generally understood.

In the last decade, as this research has progressed, new opportunities for drug development have emerged, and now multiple agents aimed at shoring up intellectual deficits are in clinical trials.

A new, radical in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure has done what nature cannot — create a viable embryo from the genetic and cellular components of three individuals.

IVF already has a history rife with contentious ethical and social issues, and now that scientists have turned procreation into a cellular threesome, the fire of debate has grown hotter.

In 1978, at the Mayo Clinic, Milton Friedman (who wrote Britannica’s entry on money, discussed the free-market solution to America’s health care problems, and the more “general problem America faces - whether we are going to continue down the road to a completely collectivist society in every area, as we have been going for the past 40 years, or whether we are going to stake thought and halt that trend.”

Anesthetists have probably seen this, but for those who haven’t … enjoy. (Hat tip: Elizabeth)

Each Saturday we highlight a humorous and sometimes poignant video, interview, comic, or skit concerning different “careers,” past and present. From W.C. Fields to Rowan Atkinson, from classic films and commercials to Monty Python—all and everything will be tapped for this look each week at various professions and pastimes (loosely defined).

Click here for all of the videos and careers highlighted to date and click below for a larger viewing screen.

Honestly, I’m getting tired of people making promises they don’t keep.

I can’t count the times we’ve been promised a Communist takeover, a Fascist revolution, nuclear warfare “toe to toe with the Russkies,” Armageddon, softening of our brains through fluoridation, gigantic storms, killer asteroids, decimation of the population by AIDS, more than decimation of the population by starvation, killer bees, a new Ice Age….

Genetic variation is the spice of life. It makes every species on Earth unique because it governs speciation, the process by which new species evolve through genetic adaptation and natural selection.

A variety of human disorders, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, have also been associated with variations in many different genes, which collectively may be part of a larger, though still unknown, gene network.

This is a rich area of research for Mark Johnston and others …

Many of the Earth’s glaciers, as we know, are melting with unprecedented speed—in fact, most are expected to vanish in the second half of this century.

As a consequence, scientists are wondering about the threat of viruses now trapped in ice but possibly soon re-released around the world.

Could these reawakened viruses cause a deadly pandemic?

Nanoparticle research is one of the most rapidly advancing areas of modern science.

New discoveries zip along almost daily in news headlines. But the messages are mixed—reports of progress in the development of nanoparticle-based applications run alongside stories about their potentially harmful impacts on our health and on the environment.

River Phoenix and John Belushi were fond of the speedball. So fond that both died from a lethal overdose of the heroin-cocaine concoction.

Papaver somniferum is the only species of poppy used to make opium or heroin. The drug is made from the white sap within the seedpod, seen oozing from the Turkish pod pictured here.

Computerworld reported recently on an extensive new Harvard Medical School study, appearing in the American Journal of Medicine, that paints a stark and troubling picture of the essential worthlessness of many of the computer systems that hospitals have invested in over the last few years.

If you thought improving health care was as simple as investing millions into computers and IT, think again.