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*DeathRiskRankings.com*, a website developed by a Carnegie Mellon professor, calculates the probability of death based on certain criteria. The variables include age, race, and whether or not the participant is from America or Europe. It also takes into account different types of afflictions such as cancer and obesity.

Fischbeck’s model predicts the probability of dying

A CMU professor's research of global death statistics allowed him to create a website that can predict the probability of someone dying over a certain time period, after specifying certain variables.

Laser revolutionizes mosquito repellants

At this month's TEDTalks conference, a laser was presented that can shoot up to 50-100 mosquitoes per second, as an effort to combat malaria and other diseases transmitted through mosquitoes.

Mast cells can release histamines into the bloodstream and nearby tissues, which cause symptoms of an allergic reaction.

Health Talk: Aquagenic pruritus

Learn the science behind an allergic reaction to life's essential molecule, water.

Ball lightning is a natural phenomena that appears as a spherical, luminous object moving erratically. Many eyewitness accounts claim the ball lightning entered rooms through doors or open windows, breaking objects in its path.

How Things Work: Natural Phenomena

Two unexplained natural phenomena, ball lightning and will-o'-the-wisps, may have basis in both science and folklore.

SciTech Briefs

New evidence reveals malaria may have been responsible for the death of King Tutankhamen, compounding other debilitating illnesses that afflicted the king.

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