A new study shows that a sleep disorder may be a sign of dementia or Parkinson’s disease up to 50 years before the disorders are diagnosed.

Michelangelo, the 16th century master painter and accomplished anatomist, appears to have hidden an image of the brainstem and spinal cord in a depiction of God in the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling, a new study reports. These findings by a neurosurgeon and a medical illustrator may explain long controversial and unusual features of one of the frescoes’ figures.

Astronomers have found two extrasolar planetary systems with gas giant planets locked in an orbital embrace. In one system — a planetary pair orbiting the massive, dying star HD 200964, located roughly 223 light-years from Earth — the intimate dance is closer and tighter than any previously seen.

Vaccine manufacturers in India and other developing countries may be able to produce a lower-cost HPV vaccine in spite of the complicated array of patent protections on the technology, say researchers.

Editor’s Note: Scientific American’s George Musser will be chronicling his experiences installing solar panels in Solar at Home (formerly 60-Second Solar). Read his introduction here and see all posts here . A few posts ago, I talked about the tragic conflict between preserving historic homes and reducing their carbon footprint. I thought our solar array had managed to evade the controversy. Our …

Vodafone unveiled a solar-powered mobile handset in India to better serve the nation’s energy-starved rural masses.