SciTech Daily Review - science, technology, future developments, innovations, implications

It's a planetary clump that may not be seen again for a century: the five "naked-eye planets" appearing together in the sky. Bring on the prophecies of doom ... [more]

A memory technique called mind mapping is causing waves throughout the computer world -- and is also helping people with dyslexia improve their writing and exam grades ... [more]

Scientists are building atomic clocks that keep time with mind-boggling precision. Such devices will help farmers, physicists, and interstellar travelers alike ... [more]

Waterways in the Amazon are exhaling far more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than previously thought, suggesting that tropical rainforests are not carbon "sinks" after all ... [more]

A bin full of bugs could make a cheap, green bioreactor to scrub pesticides from farm equipment and digest chemical-weapons stockpiles ... [more]

A treatment for Alzheimer's disease is a step closer after successful human trials of a drug to stop brain tissue “rusting” ... [more]

High sea temperatures are causing an epidemic of coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and it is spreading through the coral islands of the South Pacific ... [more]

Injectable fluids containing magnetized, nano-sized particles could revolutionize the repair of torn or detached retinas, possibly preventing blindness in thousands of cases ... [more]

The development of a new family of organic polymers is making it possible to print photonic circuits with an ordinary inkjet printer ... [more]

Many people find St John's wort an effective antidepressant -- but it can also interfere powerfully with other medicines, including ones used to treat cancer, heart disease and seizures ... [more]

The US military has developed an indestructible sandwich that stays fresh for three years in the sweaty pockets of a soldier’s combat fatigues ... [more]

Some US hospitals in search of paying patients and a competitive edge are making a niche for alternative medicine (registration required) ... [more]

What's one way to expand data storage space while making the storage devices smaller? Develop magnetic technology from the atom up ... [more]

Scientists have discovered something nearly invisible that straddles the vast Pacific Ocean: Hawaii's surprising island wake ... [more]

A new study has added artery disease to the long list of ills caused by arsenic in drinking water ... [more]

Using telescopes as time machines, astronomers are probing distant galaxies for clues about the history of the universe ... [more]

Small schools, big lessons: Break up big high schools! Why? Consider the results: higher test scores and graduation rates and fewer behavioral problems (registration required) ... [more]

A British mathematician thinks he has found a way to solve a 100-year-old mathematical mystery -- and if he is right, he will win a $1 million prize ... [more]

Who says that sewage can't be as pure as the driven snow? One Australian ski resort is counting on a new water purification process to prove that waste-water need not be wasted ... [more]

Governments and drug companies must do more to curb the "murderous trade" in fake drugs in poor countries, disease experts say ... [more]

Untangling the branches of evolution's past is a daunting enough task for researchers, but some scientists are now turning their eyes toward the future in a bid to predict evolution's course ... [more]

Thanks to genetic research, we have human proteins in sheep milk and spider silk in goat milk. Now chickens are being engineered to produce drug-bearing eggs ... [more]

A huge asteroid may crash into Earth ... in 878 years. How many others sail through the sky unseen? Asteroid prediction is a tricky -- and inexact -- science ... [more]

"How was school today?" It's a simple question, but when dads (or other father figures) ask it of their kids, it can have a powerful effect on learning ... [more]

Young women struggling with depression often seek emotional support from their boyfriends. But they'd do a lot better to bond with their girlfriends ... [more]

A woman taking part in a controversial human cloning programme is eight weeks pregnant, claims Severino Antinori, one of the two fertility specialists leading the effort ... [more]

There is too much monkey business in Hong Kong, and the government is determined to do something about it ... [more]

Growing consumption of highly refined starches such as bread and cereals could be the cause of increasingly widespread short-sightedness ... [more]

Laughter? It's a funny business. We laugh more frequently than we eat, sing or have sex. So why do we know so little about it? ... [more]

Explosive volcanic eruptions, fueled by the same stuff that makes your soda fizz, may have produced colossal floods that carved some of the gorges and gouges on Mars ... [more]

Pregnant women who swim regularly could be at risk because of the high level of toxic chemicals in public pools ... [more]

Untying the knot: According to tradition, the horsehair worm comes to life when a hair from a horse's mane falls into a puddle. The truth is an even more unlikely tale ... [more]

China's rising tide of pesticide pollution and appetite for wildlife may achieve one of Mao's early (and later rescinded) directives: the extinction of the sparrow in many parts of the country (registration required) ... [more]

Anxiety disorders may take root in infancy, due to the absence of a key signaling protein in the brain ... [more]

A mysterious patch of black water off the Florida coast appears to be disappointingly mundane in origin ... [more]

The seeds of life are everywhere, according to scientists who have mimicked the conditions of outer space, doused frozen interstellar cocktails with ultraviolet radiation and created critical components of life ... [more]

Forget about porn, plagiarism, and illegal music swapping. Tech-centric kids these days could have a bigger issue to deal with: myopia ... [more]

Making ice from liquid water is simple enough, but the molecular processes underlying the transformation have proven difficult to define. Now computer simulations have cracked the ice problem ... [more]

Test tubes of bacteria produce more antibiotics in space than they do on Earth. Researchers aren't sure why ... but they aim to find out ... [more]

What's it like driving the fastest production car on Earth? Not bad, not bad at all ... [more]

The tissues attacked during autoimmune disease such as arthritis may partly determine their own demise ... [more]

The folks who write spy software are fed up with countermeasure anti-spy software that blows their cover. So now it's covert war: cyberspy vs counter-cyberspy ... [more]

In a unique link-up of six optical telescopes, astronomers have developed a powerful tool to probe the cosmos ... [more]

Losing money hits you right between the eyes --which may account for gamblers' tendency to keep betting on a losing streak ... [more]

Sit. Speak. Good photon! Researchers have trapped a kilometers-long laser pulse inside a small glass chamber -- and released it again intact. Such extraordinary command of light could lead to mind-boggling new technologies ... [more]

US nuclear reactor operators have been ordered to check reactor vessels for corrosion after acid in cooling water ate a hole nearly all the way through the lid of one reactor (registration required) ... [more]

Organic food may have more of what it takes to keep you healthy ... [more]

Coffee drinkers can relax -- the world's most popular beverage does not increase blood pressure, after all. Of course, there are still all those other potential health problems to worry about ... [more]

Studied all day but just can't remember a thing? Maybe your study time needs a bit of sweetening ... [more]

An anti-smallpox pill could be on the way if a new compound that shows promise in animal tests proves safe and effective in humans ... [more]

A light tap on the side of your head could one day sharpen your eyesight, by activating bands of artificial muscle wrapped around your eyeballs ... [more]

What does a flower known as the sacred white lotus have to do with house paint? In the world of biomimicry, everything (registration required) ... [more]

Playing catch looks easy, but there's more to it than meets the eye. A ball-catching experiment in space has revealed that human brains have a built-in model of gravity ... [more]

The Atlantic coast of the US has been invaded by the spiny, poisonous lionfish, native of the western Pacific. But no-one is quite sure how it got there ... [more]

The Milky Way is back in vogue as a hot research subject, leading to a whole new picture of how the galaxy formed, how unimaginably huge it is, and what it looks like from afar ... [more]

Genetic sleuthing has revealed how a dose of oral polio vaccine can revert to the deadly poliovirus and cause an outbreak ... [more]

Could we grow meat on demand without slaughtering animals? Experiments with fish fillets suggest it might be possible ... [more]

For the first time, doctors have a way to clean out clogged blood vessels. But with heart trials still underway, scientists aren't entirely sure how it works ... [more]

A new kind of matter comes in waves, and bridges the gap between the everyday world of humans and the micro-domain of quantum physics ... [more]

Science fiction fans know that many seemingly impossible technologies materialize years later -- but faster-than-light propulsion just can't be done, says a researcher in Portugal ... [more]

The flightless dodo's ungainly shape hid an island-hopping past ... [more]

Today the Red Planet is dry and barren, but what about tomorrow? New data suggest that the long story of water on Mars isn't over yet ... [more]

Can’t remember where you put your keys, or how to retrieve your voicemail? Your brain’s cleaning crew may be asleep on the job ... [more]

From spider-silk jackets to corn-based plastic, the future of biotech is likely to be as useful as it is weird ... [more]

Always wanted to travel to space but never thought it would happen? Save up your pennies and prepare to hop aboard the sub-orbital tourist shuttle ... [more]

A vast ice shelf in Antarctica has collapsed, producing an iceberg bigger than Cyprus that is now floating freely in the Amundsen Sea south of the Pacific Ocean ... [more]

Next time your cell phone drops a call, don't rush to blame your service provider. The culprit may well be an angry Sun ... [more]

Propellant-free propulsion might sound like somebody is trying to string you along. But the "string" in question is a 9.3-mile-long space tether ... [more]

The US Food and Drug Administration is considering requiring more tests for the possible effects of drugs on the environment (registration required) ... [more]

Physicists have designed a one-way street for heat: a material that conducts one way and insulates the other ... [more]

How disappointing ... The colour of the universe isn't pale turquoise after all -- it's a rather dull beige ... [more]

Dam clean water: Storing water underground could be an effective way of cleansing the liquid, according to Australian scientists ... [more]

Blue jets, captured: US researchers claim they have the first conclusive evidence for a direct electrical path between a thundercloud top and the ionosphere ... [more]

The days of fast-fading cell phone batteries may soon be over. A portable fuel cell could power a cellular phone 300 percent longer than existing rechargeable batteries ... [more]

Do you often find yourself driving too fast? Maybe it's your choice of music that's to blame ... [more]

The Odyssey probe has sent back strong evidence for widespread water beneath Mars' surface ... [more]

Your chances of developing schizophrenia may depend on how sunny it was months before you were even born ... [more]

Jurassic Park eat your heart out: Ecological historian Tim Flannery describes the heady days of megafauna, when 13-ton elephants and shoulder-height armadillos clomped around among humans ... [more]

Ducking down to the post office or shop could soon be much less of an ordeal for hearing-impaired people, with a bit of help from a signing avatar ... [more]

Our ancestors migrated out of Africa in at least three major waves -- and they made love, not war, along the way ... [more]

Researchers on the Human Genome Project would rather use Apple Macintosh computers than anything else to process the massive amounts of data they've got on hand -- if only they weren't such an inconvenient shape ... [more]

A potential "magic bullet" cancer drug homes in on tumours ... [more]

US Army R&D has given us everything from Kevlar vests to Cheez Whiz. What's next? The space-age electric parka ... [more]

50 millionths of a second can seem like an eternity -- especially when you are conducting laser propulsion experiments, and they're not reacting as expected ... [more]

A few of us seem have a special gift for predicting the unpredictable ... [more]

Supernova explosions in a local cluster of stars could have caused a wave of extinction on Earth two million years ago, according to US astronomers ... [more]

What made Saturn's rings, and when? What are the waves that ripple through them? Four hundred years after they were discovered, endless questions about Saturn's mysterious and magnificent rings continue to vex astronomers ... [more]

Researchers are turning to the tabletop as the latest collaborative work environment, perfecting touch-screen technology that tracks multiple simultaneous touches in a quest to create a communal work area ... [more]

Who says farmers are conservative about adopting new technologies? On some dairy farms, happy heifers are milking themselves (with a little help from robots) ... [more]

Trials of a cholera vaccine manufactured in Viet Nam at a cost of about only 20 US cents a dose have produced encouraging results, especially for children ... [more]

The great dying: 250 million years ago something wiped out most of the life on our planet. Clues to the mystery have been hiding inside tiny capsules of cosmic gas ... [more]

It might seem that raising a 1,334-ton warship from the bottom of the ocean would be the most difficult part of preserving the relic. But in the case of one 17th century shipwreck, the greatest threat to its longevity comes from within ... [more]

Just like some of their human counterparts, female pigs love a swine ... [more]

According to a report in the journal Science, tabletop nuclear fusion -- which could pave the way to cheap, clean power -- may have been achieved, using collapsing bubbles to generate intense heat and compression. But critics are blasting the claims as cold fusion reincarnated ... [more] ... [more]

To deflect an asteroid, take careful aim ... [more]

A massive swell of warm water is buffeting South America. Is it the first sign of a new El Niño -- or just another "Kelvin wave?" ... [more]

It's not just failing memory that makes Alzheimers sufferers lose their way -- the real culprit is motion blindness ... [more]

An eerie link between two 17th-century clocks has finally been explained, say scientists who have retraced the work of Dutch genius Christiaan Huygens ... [more]

Stainless steel's glossy surface hides a fatal flaw: a few nanometres of weakness can spell disaster. Discovering how the corrosion begins takes researchers closer to preventing it ... [more]

The tools of agriculture are changing as growers experiment with new space-age techniques ... [more]

Fat is spreading: The obesity epidemic is sweeping into developing world on a tide of sedentary lifestyles and fast food ... [more]

A newly developed virtual showcase will allow visitors to see museum exhibits in all their glory, with missing limbs restored and drab clothing spruced up ... [more]

The cold snap that civilised the world: A sudden drop in temperatures 5,000 years ago ushered in the modern climate and may have encouraged the development of complex civilisations around the world ... [more]

Remember when your parents told you that a good night's sleep would help you learn at school the next day? If you don't remember, it's probably because you didn't heed their sage advice ... [more]

Persistent depression in older adults -- even if it's mild -- may lower immunity and impair the ability to fight off disease ... [more]

Astronomers have found a wild bunch of planets outside our solar system. What can these strange giants can tell us about how planets form? ... [more]

They know we're here: Evolved space civilisations will have spotted us by now, say astronomers. And soon we will know where to gaze back ... [more]

Thrown off the scent: Does the pill destroy a woman's ability to pick the right man? ... [more]

Europa, Jupiter's smallest moon, might not only sustain but foster life, says a US researcher ... [more]

Horrors! Every cardboard-packed item in a supermarket could soon be blaring out advertising jingles. But flat-pack cardboard loudspeakers could have more aesthetically pleasing uses, too ... [more]

Research into better rehabilitation methods for stroke patients is linking virtual-reality technology with Web-based physical therapy ... [more]

The discovery of a supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy raises more questions than it answers ... [more]

Attacking anthrax : Recent discoveries are suggesting much-needed strategies for improving prevention and treatment. High on the list: ways to neutralize the anthrax bacterium's fiendish toxin ... [more]

Kidnapping amorous males may be the key to saving some endangered species ... [more]

A chemical that can paralyse malaria parasites inside red blood cells could become a much-needed new weapon in the war against one of the world's biggest killers ... [more]

The James Bond movie Goldfinger spawned the urban myth that a person can suffocate if air can't reach their skin. But the myth contains a grain of truth ... [more]

Women who delay childbearing until their thirties are at increased risk of developing breast cancer ... [more]

Patches for a broken heart: Using a space-age device called a bioreactor, researchers have grown patches of tissue that beat and respond much like a human heart ... [more]

A lobster-pot bears an uncanny resemblance to a Wild West saloon. The crustaceans show up looking for food and a fight, and only the unlucky few get reeled in ... [more]

Break out the chocolate! Antioxidant-laden cocoa is good for your heart (and soul!) ... [more]

A single quick application of GM bacteria could spell the end of tooth decay -- provided you feed them right ... [more]

Scientists have known for years that the heart is one of the first organs to show the ravages of time. Now, two researchers say they know why: cell suicide ... [more]

Grumpy people seldom need reasons to be in a bad mood, but scientists have come up with the perfect excuse: they're just born that way ... [more]

If you think tanning beds are a safe alternative to sunbathing, think again ... [more]

No road journey is complete without a wrestle with the map. Computational origami has shown why the map usually wins ... [more]

Overloaded, exhausted, distracted or confused by a change in routine, working parents can completely forget that they've left their children unattended in a car. A new device can alert parents to the forgotten tot ... [more]

Stage hypnotists and their ilk notwithstanding, a brain-scan study indicates that hypnotism is real -- and may have real potential to help control pain ... [more]

That mean ol' kitty next door may not be vicious after all -- just suffering from high anxiety levels ... [more]

There may be a payoff to all the sniffling and coughing by toddlers who attend day care: they will probably get fewer colds when they start school ... [more]

Organizers of an effort to save the war-ravaged Kabul zoo had hoped to raise enough money for temporary relief. They didn't count on an avalanche of generosity that has them planning to rebuild ... [more]

Contracting human papillomavirus may be an inevitable consequence of sexual activity, UK researchers say ... [more]

Pet cloning may be just a whisker away, with US researchers having sucessfully cloned a cat ... [more] But do we really want an endless parade of Frankencats and Dracudogs? (registration required) ... [more]

Two mathematicians are working on a method to map the convoluted surface of the brain ... [more]

It seems simple enough to crumple paper, and it certainly doesn't require much effort, but explaining why the resulting crinkled ball behaves the way it does is another matter entirely ... [more]

Toddlers are canny -- they may learn by mimicking adults, but only when the grown-ups' actions seem to make sense ... [more]

For farmers, the future of insect control may look a lot like cotton candy ... [more]

Can we beat the Reaper? Science has been winning battles against old age, but can it win the war? ... [more]

The first direct study of the lifespan of clones shows they die young -- whether this applies to animals other than mice remains to be seen ... [more]

A new molecule can wrap up excess anaesthetic at the end of an operation ... [more]

''The atmosphere has a short attention span, but the ocean is more thoughtful ..." The oceans' memories are helping meteorologists predict the world's wild weather ... [more]

Going to sleep may seem pretty boring compared with all the fun stuff there is to do while you're awake. But it may well be the most important thing you do today ... [more]

It's life, Jim, but not as we know it, in a robotic game of cat and mouse ... [more]

Tired of shouting to your passenger as you drive, striving to make your voice heard over the rumble of the car? Help is on the way ... [more]

Research aimed at building better greenhouses in space has led to a device that attacks and destroys airborne pathogens -- such as anthrax ... [more]

Enigmatic pulses of radiation known as gamma-ray bursts have long captivated astronomers. One mystery could soon be cleared up: a new technique can help estimate how far away the explosions occur ... [more]

Stress relief caused the Giant's Causeway. Ireland's huge hexagonal columns are a natural consequence of lava cooling ... [more]

Smoking is always a risky habit -- but a recent study may help explain why some ethnic groups have lower rates of lung cancer than others ... [more]

Astronomers calibrating a telescope in Chile have captured snapshots of Saturn which are so clear that they rival those taken from space observatories ... [more]

The comforting sound of a mother's voice is sweeter than music to the ears of very sick youngsters ... [more]

Aircraft weighing as little as a chocolate bar could one day be darting over the surface of Mars with the agility of dragonflies and the eyes of bees ... [more]

Exercise not only loosens your muscles and clears your mind -- it also keeps your arteries stretchy and less prone to hardening ... [more]

Physicists have observed the quantum effects of gravity, and it turns out that they were right all along: elementary particles under the influence of gravity move from one energy state to another by making, well, quantum leaps ... [more]

A new study shows that babies born to women taking a common epilepsy drug during pregnancy are almost twice as likely to have birth defects than those on other epilepsy medications ... [more]

What's the story with the oracles at Delphi? Did they really channel for Apollo, or were they just high on something? Geologists think they finally have the answer ... [more]

African scientists are exploring new ways of rapidly detecting strains of drug-resistant malaria ... [more]

Bugs turn gunk to juice: Research on geobacters has raised the possibility that microbes could be used to produce electrical power from underwater sludge ... [more]

Scientists and environmentalists are calling for a ban on a chemical flame retardant that has been shown to accumulate in breast milk ... [more]

Knitters around the world have purled together to save oil-soaked little penguins on Phillip Island, southern Australia, by knitting thousands of tiny, pure-wool pullovers ... [more]

Fission advisory?: Native Americans who fished in the Columbia River may have been exposed to much more radiation from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation than previously thought ... [more]

Clean forests use nitrogen differently to polluted ones -- a finding that calls the current nitrogen-cycle theory into question ... [more]

How do dolphins and whales keep cool where it counts? (registration required) ... [more]

Researchers are tapping water as a safe new industrial solvent ... [more]

Vaccines stage a comeback: They defeated some of the deadliest diseases known to man. Now they're preparing to join the fight against AIDs, Ebola, heart disease and even cancer ... [more]

Physicists are explaining how wealth spawns corruption ... [more]

Contaminated aquifers could be cleaned quickly and economically with a common sugar made from corn starch ... [more]

Herod the Great, the cruel king of ancient Judea, was felled by chronic kidney disease, says a medical sleuth ... [more]

Weightlessness sure looks like a lot of fun, but prolonged exposure to zero-G in space can have some negative side effects -- like weakening human bones! ... [more]

Russian scientists say they may have created the next big thing in computer memory: flexible, transparent sheets of carbon, the first pure nonmetallic magnets to work at room temperature ... [more]

Scientists are seeing insect damage to plants in a new light -- one which shows that a bug's bite does more than just leave holes in leaves ... [more]

Canadian researchers have successfully transplanted frozen ovaries from one female rat to another, becoming the first to demonstrate that entire organs can be safely stored and thawed ... [more]

A new study indicates that a little daily tipple -- of whatever form of alcohol you prefer -- may help ward off dementia, as well as heart disease and strokes ... [more]

Protecting the ozone layer has spawned a chilling new menace to the English countryside -- abandoned refrigerators ... [more]

Let it out: Women who hold back anger may end up more irate in the long run ... [more]

Archaeologists across Europe are teaming up in a three-year project to safeguard shipwrecks, and to share their secrets with the public ... [more]

Earth’s anonymous inhabitants: For years, bacteria living in the ocean and in the soil have played hide and seek with scientists. Now a few persistent researchers seem close to winning the game ... [more]

An event horizon is dawning in laboratories. Using frozen light, physicists hope to mimic this peculiar cosmic phenomenon and glimpse something like the belches of a black hole ... [more]

A recent finding shows that Neanderthal tools were built to last, held together with a relatively high-tech superglue ... [more]

An unusual space traveller named Fred is orbiting Earth. His job? To keep astronauts safe from space radiation ... [more]

They live in complete darkness, eat hydrogen, breathe carbon dioxide, and belch methane. And their discovery is good news for those who hope to find life on Mars ... [more]

An outburst of star formation ended a half billion years of utter darkness following the Big Bang, the theoretical start of the universe, according to a study that challenges old ideas about the birth of the first stars ... [more]

Eat, drink and be healthy!: Scientists are rapidly identifying the natural chemicals that give preventive punch to a rainbow of ordinary edibles ... [more]

Immune cells vs invaders: it's a war going on in every healthy human body. But when the combatants travel to space, curious things happen ... [more]

The chimpanzee version of AIDS appears to be extremely rare in wild chimps, suggesting that the apes evolved a way to deal with the killer virus generations ago ... [more]

Understanding how closely compulsive TV viewing resembles other forms of addiction may help couch potatoes control their habit ... [more]

People who combine different types of serotonin-enhancing medications, such as certain antidepressants and migraine medications, may be increasing their risk of stroke ... [more]

New measurements show the West Antarctic ice sheet is thickening, reversing earlier estimates that the ice was melting ... [more]

What does a woman really want in a man? Someone who smells like dad ... [more]

Preventive parenting: Paying attention to a baby's unique personality may head off problems before they happen ... [more]

Easing off the (greenhouse) gas: Greenhouse gases are still accumulating in Earth's atmosphere, but more slowly than before ... [more]

A new tool developed in Britain is providing Vivid insight into the workings of the living, human brain ... [more]

Fluorescent colours come and go on the fashion runways, but parrots always consider that elusive glow a must-have accessory ... [more]

Stopping the swings: For children at high risk of bipolar disorder, research is beginning to offer some hope of better diagnosis, treatment, and even prevention ... [more]

Bacterial batteries clean up: US scientists have identified microbes that produce power by munching pollution ... [more]

Walk don't run: It's simple, it's cheap, and studies show that walking may be the best exercise for reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes ... [more]

The inferno below: Coal seams across the world are burning, releasing toxic gases and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and baking the earth until vegetation shrivels and the land sinks (registration required) ... [more]

Voyage of the nano-surgeons: US scientists are crafting microscopic vessels that can venture into the human body and repair problems, one cell at a time ... [more]

The human brain is a master of the connect-the-dots game. Indeed, our brains are such talented and overzealous extrapolators that we regularly see patterns where none exist ... [more]

The big question is: was Mars once warm and wet? With a host of spacecraft at Mars or being readied to go there, scientists are poised to uncover the planet's liquid secrets ... [more]

A quick and cheap genetic test will soon be able to identify people with lactose intolerance ... [more]

Solar energy is an abundant source of power for spacecraft navigating the inner solar system. But how far away from our star can photovoltaics work? ... [more]

There may be some wisdom in the traditional British maxim: 'feed a cold, starve a fever' ... [more]

What colour is the universe? Somewhere between pale turquoise and aquamarine, astronomers say ... [more]

Treating cocaine abusers with ear acupuncture, a technique growing in popularity, is no more effective in conquering addiction than relaxation therapy, says a new study ... [more]

A new method to reduce rust and corrosion in the ballast tanks of ocean vessels, by purging the water of oxygen, may also be key in preventing the spread of invasive "stowaway" species ... [more]

Advanced telescopes studying extra-solar planets might soon reveal the telltale signs of ET's breath ... [more]

Australian researchers say fatherhood harms men's sex life more than they expect, and makes them fat into the bargain ... [more]

Physicists have created a new state of matter: a patterned liquid ... [more]

Researchers have found compelling evidence that succeptibility to some forms of mental illness may lie in the genes ... [more]

A rocket-propelled dragnet that slows drug smugglers' boats and subdues the crew with tear gas may sound like something out of a James Bond movie, but it is actually the latest idea from the US Navy ... [more]

Astronomers are taking the search for somewhere quiet to work to new extremes, with a plan to put a radio telescope on the far side of the Moon ... [more]

Baby-talk isn't just cute (or sickening, depending on your point of view) -- it may be much easier for babies to understand, helping youngsters to master language ... [more]

Massive icebergs and an unprecedented amount of sea ice have nearly isolated one of Antarctica's largest populations of Adélie penguins, jeopardizing attempts by the birds to breed ... [more]

Harmful bacteria may lurk within those healthy salad greens ... [more]

New research from the Hubble telescope suggests that stars in the early universe began with a bang, not a whimper ... [more]

A recent review of research has concluded that despite all the hype about brain boosters, better memory doesn't come in a pill (registration required) ... [more]

The Universe could be slipping away from us forever, leaving far-future astronomers to face an unchanging, slowly fading starscape ... [more]

Forest fires are devastating to flora and fauna (including humans) in the short term. But forests need fires to thrive ... [more]

Using space technology, scientists have developed extraordinary ceramic photocells that could repair malfunctioning human eyes ... [more]

The lioness and the oryx: Wildlife experts in Kenya are baffled by a lioness that adopted a baby oryx, a kind of small antelope typically devoured by big cats ... [more]

With Earth's power consumption forecast to rocket to new highs in coming decades, maybe we need a suitably far-out solution to the likely energy crunch: power plants on the moon ... [more]

Need to figure out how to make a robotic arm that is able to flex in an infinite number of ways without tying itself in knots? First, study an octopus ... [more]

Bad news for humans can sometimes be good news for wildlife. The years of civil war in Central Africa have been kind to mountain gorillas ... [more] And an outbreak of Ebola in northern Gabon has brought enforcement of a ban on the bushmeat trade ... [more]

New research has revealed that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are often still vulnerable to a natural enemy from within -- viral enzymes ... [more]

Wall-to-wall power: Plastic solar cells might one day be screen-printed by the roll, as cheaply and easily as wallpaper ... [more]

Blushing burglars reveal their guilt -- and thermal imaging that can detect deceit could improve airport security ... [more]

Elusive ball lightning has baffled observers and scientists for centuries, but a rare photograph of the phenomenon has recently been published ... [more]

Jogging may make you smarter -- but only if you keep at it ... [more]

Bubbleheads take care: the 'pop' of the champagne cork will leave you tipsy, quickly ... [more]

The regeneration gap: Newts grow new legs, Hydra new heads. These remarkable creatures may hold clues for researchers developing human cellular therapies ... [more]

Beware the number four -- or rather, beware the power of the ancient Chinese superstition that links the number to death ... [more]

A bizarre "mystery squid" with spidery, 20-foot-long limbs has been spotted in the dark, frigid waters of the deepest part of the world's oceans ... [more]

Midwifery may be as old as humanity: Human mothers have needed to seek help during childbirth for at least 100,000 years ... [more]

Have malaria-carrying mosquitoes finally met their match? ... [more]

No-one is sure of the ultimate purpose of the brain's cannabinoid receptors (apart from keeping pot dealers and drug-warlords in business), but researchers are beginning to understand how the cannabinoid system works ... [more]

US researchers have succeeded in factoring the number 15 with a quantum computer. That may not seem much of a milestone, but it's a breakthrough in computing that may one day enable the cracking of seemingly impenetrable codes (registration required) ... [more]

Drinking more than two cups of coffee daily may boost estrogen levels in women and could exacerbate conditions such as endometriosis and breast pain ... [more]

Between uncooperative tinsel, floating cookie crumbs, and a space-sick reindeer, Christmas Eve deliveries to the International Space Station are enough to make a jolly old elf long for the good old days ... [more]

Red wine blocks a cellular compound thought to be a key factor in heart disease, so indulging in a little fine Cabernet Sauvignon this Christmas could well do you good ... [more]

Trauma survivors may be losing less sleep than they think ... [more]

A state-of-the-art space probe has shed new light on what may be the darkest object in the Solar System: the enigmatic comet Borrelly ... [more]

Clay pots containing easily available filtration materials are a cheap and effective way to produce safe drinking water in areas with high arsenic levels, such as northern Bangladesh ... [more]

Sweet meteorites: A US scientist has discovered sugar and several related organic compounds in two meteorites -- providing new evidence that the chemical building blocks of life on Earth might have come from outer space ... [more]

Frosty Finland will soon become a wine-producing nation, thanks to warm water from a nuclear reactor cooling system ... [more]

Here's good news for older adults who find themselves camping out by the coffeepot: That afternoon caffeine hit is not just a nice break -- it's a memory booster as well ... [more]

Bug battles: Scientists are using genomics to understand how pathogens infect people -- and how to stop them ... [more]

It's hard to imagine anyone agreeing to wear a helmet for car journeys: life would be one long bad hair day. But innovative headware could save your life -- and your 'do ... [more]

Another nanobrick in the wall: US chemists have created the world's smallest building blocks ... [more]

Beyond chicken soup: The antiviral era is upon us, with an array of virus-fighting drugs on the market and in development. Research into viral genomes is fueling much of this progress ... [more]

Does the wind chill report leave you cold? A new index promises to be more in line with subjective reality (registration required) ... [more]

A mechanical leech that does the work of the real thing, without the mess and the "ick" factor, could help patients heal better after tricky surgery ... [more]

Whales are showing the way to a cleaner, greener boat ... [more]

Scientists who worry about the spread of nasty germs from animals to people have found that infection can go in the other direction, too ... [more]

Vessels of death or life : Angiogenesis -- the formation of new blood vessels -- might one day be manipulated to treat disorders ranging from cancer to heart disease ... [more]

Conjuring crystals: Discovered in space, an amazing method for growing well-ordered crystals is working here on Earth, too. NASA scientists are figuring out the physics behind the procedure ... [more]

Why be a Good Samaritan? A fondness for people who are a bit like us may be the reason that good Samaritans exist only in human society, and not in any other, according to a computer simulation ... [more]

As part of their continuing effort to skip over the ethical and political hurdles surrounding embryonic stem cells, researchers have unlocked even more potential from the adult kind ... [more]

Want to know if your new romance is likely to survive? Listen to your friends ... [more]

A chemical involved in immune-system signalling may be able to reverse skin damage caused by sunlight ... [more]

It might seem like the weather's getting warmer here on Earth, but Mars appears to be heating up dramatically, with its ice caps melting fast ... [more]

In news that will surely fan the flames of the heated debate over genetically modified crops, scientists have found evidence that genes from GM plants can spread far and wide to native ones ... [more]

If you often find yourself having to take a call in strange places, keep an eye out for the underwater phonebooth ... [more]

Tiny black holes may be exploding in our cosmic backyard ... [more]

Pain and pleasure are not as different as one might think, at least from the brain's point of view ... [more]

Deep below the frozen surface of the Arctic Ocean lurks a searing cauldron of activity, including numerous underwater volcanoes and deep-sea hot springs that may harbor previously unknown marine organisms ... [more]

New genetic evidence confirms the ethnic unity across Europe of the Roma, better known as Gypsies, showing that they descend from a small group of Asian ancestors ... [more]

Babble on, Babycakes! There's more to babies' babbling than meets the ear: it originates in the brain’s language centres ... [more]

New maps from space-based sensors that can detect flashes of lightning even during the daytime reveal where on Earth the powerful bolts will most likely strike ... [more]

A stress-related hormone may hold the key to the most dangerous type of obesity -- the so-called apple-shaped syndrome ... [more]

Neutrinos feel the force: The orthodox worldview of fundamental physics has been challenged by new experiments ... [more]

You may be an accomplished liar, but your brain just can't help telling the truth ... [more]

It is still hard for doctors to spot a bad appendix, despite several new diagnostic techniques (registration required) ... [more]

The sweet music of a songbird is actually the product of powerful vocal cords and a sophisticated brain -- and it could point the way forward for important neurological research ... [more]

Elderly hospital patients who are given a common type of sedative to help them sleep may be at increased risk of symptoms of delirium ... [more]

Specially adapted wearable computers could help rescue lost spacewalkers ... [more]

During the 2001 Leonid meteor storm, astronomers observed a curious flash on the Moon -- a telltale sign of meteoroids hitting the lunar surface and exploding ... [more]

Carbon may be the key to room-temperature superconductors ... [more]

Your teachers always said goemetry would come in handy, and they were right. It's an essential for planning geek body art ... [more]

A flurry of sensational fireballs recently startled sky watchers. Traffic stopped. Airline pilots gaped from cockpit windows. Emergency telephone lines were jammed. So what was it? ... [more]

Brain scans indicate that deaf people use the region of the brain associated with hearing to 'hear' vibrations ... [more]

BSE's epidemic proportions: While prion diseases seem to be waning in humans, they could be waxing in sheep ... [more]

Injecting flesh-eating bugs into people with cancer may sound crazy -- but the only danger seems to be that they destroy tumours too fast ... [more]

Innovation is back, with attitude. Here are some new technologies that could become regular fixtures in our homes and garages (registration required) ... [more]

Information is a weapon. What will happen when every soldier is armed with it? ... [more]

South Africa has turned to the controversial insecticide DDT to combat malaria, despite fears about environmental damage. Neighbouring Mozambique is under pressure to join in the spray ... [more]

Chameleons can reel in their reluctant prey anywhere within two-and-a-half body lengths of their jaws. How? A uniquely muscled tongue ... [more]

What is the best way to get kids to eat their spinach? Make the rest of the meal a bit smaller (registration required) ... [more]

NASA's Mars Odyssey has encountered a strange, unexpected phenomenon as it slips over the red planet's north polar region: an intense polar vortex ... [more]

A fire-damaged painting by Claude Monet could be restored to its former glory, thanks to an atomic "airbrush" ... [more]

Parental behaviour can affect teenagers' chances of joining a gang, says a new study, but there are no hard-and-fast rules on what works best ... [more]

Nothing is simple. Eco-friendly selective logging in rainforests leaves the normally fire-resistant forest floor littered with tinder-dry detritus ... [more]

Listening to Leonids: On Nov. 18, 2001, millions of sky watchers saw a dazzling storm of Leonid meteors. Some observers heard them too! ... [more]

Camels evolved humps, the Romans built aqueducts ... but a Norwegian company believes the future of transporting water lies in mammoth ocean-going bags ... [more]

Fat is not a hedonist issue: Thinness is more than a matter of taste ... [more]

Alien atmospheres: Astronomers have detected the atmosphere of a planet 150 light years away. Their discovery paves the way for a search for chemical markers of life far beyond Earth ... [more]

Forget the fancy chemicals: vacuum-packed cells stay alive for days, making it easier and cheaper to store and ship cells for implantation ... [more]

It's official (again): Net-heads aren't geeks. It seems that Netizens are actually a pretty socialised lot ... [more]

US researchers have created the first human cloned embryo, a feat that puts therapeutic cloning within reach ... [more]

Researchers in Israel have built a biomolecular computer that uses DNA as software and enzymes as hardware. And it's so tiny that a trillion of the machines can fit into a drop of water ... [more]

Some hospitals in Japan are bringing pet therapy into the 21st century, with the help of a robotic dog (registration required) ... [more]

Garlic may not ward off vampires, but it seems to be effective against an astonishing array of other foes, including cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and even malaria ... [more]

Things are different in space. Humans sleep upside down. Hot air doesn't rise. Boiling water doesn't froth. And even sperm behaves strangely ... [more]

If your parents' house seems a bit cool this winter, you might want to turn up the heat to help keep them healthy ... [more]

Astronomers in Mexico have for the first time caught an old star in the act of collapsing into a white dwarf ... [more]

Well-intentioned parents who put their children on low-fat diets may also be cutting back on essential nutrients such as Vitamin E and zinc ... [more]

A new catalyst means greener paper is not just pulp fiction ... [more]

For women at high risk of breast cancer, a new procedure could provide much earlier detection of cancerous cells ... [more]

The return of the traditional holiday turkey raises the essential question: white meat or dark? Why do we prefer one or the other, and what makes them different, anyway? ... [more]

Scientists have found the answer to a question pondered over many a kitchen sink: why do little droplets skim across the surface of washing-up water rather than mix with it? ... [more]

Are you being bugged by an earworm? Just can't get that annoying, repetitive tune out of your head? Go ahead -- scratch your cognitive itch ... [more]

Astronomers in Mexico have for the first time caught an old star in the act of collapsing into a white dwarf ... [more]

Though we do our best to counteract it with antiperspirant and air-conditioning, sweat is healthy, containing an antimicrobial protein that may help stave off infection ... [more]

Even if trigonometry wasn't your strong suit in school, you're an expert at using it in real life ... [more]

When it comes to finding landmines and other explosives, it's a dog's life, literally, but researchers hope to build a bionic nose to take on the task ... [more]

Dinner parties, barbeques and other social functions are the most common cause of domestic food poisoning, according to a UK study ... [more]

Genetic engineering, often slammed by environmental and consumer groups for its role in altering staple foods, could save millions of lives by producing cheap, stable edible vaccines ... [more]

The solar system is a treasure trove of metals and materials that can fortify humankind's outward reach into the cosmos. If we can just figure out how to make space mining a reality ... [more]

Painkillers show Alzheimer's promise: Anti-inflammatory drugs stop protein clumps forming in degenerative brain disease -- but the doses required are beyond the safe limit for humans ... [more]

British researchers have developed a way of spotting dangerous antibiotic-resistant TB bacteria ... [more]

Sheep are far from wooly-brained when it comes to remembering faces ... [more]

A little logic goes a long way: Ultra-minaturized electrical components could shrink supercomputers ... [more] ... [more]

Orcas are being driven away from Canada's west coast by acoustic harassment intended to keep seals out of salmon pens ... [more]

Koala lovers fear Australia's national icon may have to be put on the pill, to stop it from eating itself out of house and home ... [more]

Superfecundation should be impossible -- but an Italian woman who is currently due to give birth to a baby girl will return three months later to have triplets ... [more]

Geologists in the US have found the largest complete fossil cockroach on record -- it's 300 million years old and measures nearly 3.5 inches long ... [more]

The Milky Way galaxy is now thought to contain the ingredients necessary to produce one of the most powerful energies in the universe, cosmic radiation ... [more]

A five-minute vision test using a laptop computer with a touch-sensitive screen can help diagnose the onset of eye diseases and even certain types of brain tumors ... [more]

Cholesterol is key to the cell connections needed for memory and learning. Don't expect a fatty steak to boost your brainpower, though ... [more]

Money, drugs and beautiful women appear to have much the same effect on young men's brains ... [more]

Race is a poor prescription for drug success, geneticists warn ... [more]

On the question of men's health, the answer is a lemon. Fruit not only keeps you fit but could prolong your life ... [more]

Even top soccer players prefer to play the ball with their "stronger" foot. But they could be wasting their time ... [more]

Awesome plasma hurricanes were one of the surprises revealed when scientists recently peered beneath the stormy surface of our star ... [more]

Trees protect the salmon that feed the trees that protect the salmon ... [more]

A gene villain thought to play a role in deep vein thrombosis, miscarriage and premature birth may have a good side, too ... [more]

Rx for a better life? Get a pet, and do it now ... [more]

In astronomy, what you get is what you see, or more specifically what you look for ... [more]

The seat of temperance has been located by experiments on men watching X-rated films, revealing a region in the front of the brain that can control our most primitive sexual urges ... [more]

There is growing evidence that seasonal weather changes can make us ill. Now the UK Met Office plans to issue health forecasts ... [more]

Boys' and girls' reading disabilities may not be created equal, US researchers say ... [more]

Fans of the Loch Ness monster who hope to catch a glimpse of the legendary creature could be in luck, thanks to a moving Webcam now filming the murky depths of the Scottish lake ... [more]

The fading Milky Way: Light pollution is a growing environmental problem that threatens to erase the night sky before its time ... [more]

Legend says that lust for gold was the cause of King Midas' downfall. But his appetite for meat may have hastened his decay ... [more]

Birds may use Earth's magnetic field to plan where to stop for dinner along their migration route ... [more]

A new and unorthodox treatment under study by NASA-funded doctors could reverse bone loss experienced by astronauts in space -- and relieve osteoporosis sufferers here on Earth ... [more]

As fears over bioterrorism attacks spiral, researchers are making progress towards better anthrax drugs -- but these are unlikely to reach the drugstore soon ... [more]

Got cloned milk? First there was Dolly, the cloned sheep. Now Old Bessie, the cloned cow, could be bringing you what one company is calling nature's most perfect food ... [more]

If you're a lefty or related to someone who is, then you stand a better chance of remembering where and when you read this article ... [more]

An Alaskan sweepstake has become an unlikely record of global warming ... [more]

First, there were the four food groups. Then the food pyramid. Now it's time to take a spin on the colour wheel of health ... [more]

Okay, Mum, I admit it, you were right: cracking your knuckles really is bad for them ... [more]

Lie back and think of ... nasal spray. Sniffing could become the most effective form of foreplay if trials of a new sex drug prove successful ... [more]

The coral reef paradox may finally have been laid to rest ... [more]

"A hassle a day keeps the doctor away," says a US researcher. But watching violence on TV could make you sick ... [more]

A group of British explorers claim to have found irrefutable proof of a Yeti on an Indonesian island ... [more]

The mystery behind heavy breathing has been solved -- and it's not falling blood-oxygen or rising carbon dioxide after all ... [more]

The results of a preliminary study suggest that people with fibromyalgia may benefit from being tested for food sensitivities ... [more]

Doctors are concerned that widespread, possibly unnecessary, use of the antibiotic Cipro could mean more incidents of the drug's potentially devastating side effects ... [more]

There are plenty of black holes that gobble energy. Now astronomers have spotted one in a distant galaxy that's giving energy back ... [more]

The first long-term follow-up of a high-fat/low-carbohydrate diet to treat severe drug-resistant epilepsy has revealed spectacular results, US researchers say ... [more]

The dinosaurs are disappearing -- again -- as brazen fossil hunters poach priceless, and sometimes pricey, fragments of the Americas' prehistoric heritage ... [more]

If you want successful offspring, have sex with a stranger -- and the stranger the better ... [more]

How does the brain catch up after sleep deprivation? As activity wanes in prefrontal and temporal lobe areas, other brain areas pick up the slack ... [more]

The personal ad might read: "SWC (single whooping crane) ISO same for complex mating dances and possible LTR paramount to species survival" ... [more]

The good news: the Antarctic ozone hole didn't get any bigger this year ... [more] The bad news: it's still a serious problem for inhabitants of the Southern Hemisphere ... [more]

Recent research suggests that it may be possible to halt and even reverse the progress of multiple sclerosis by targeting key chemicals of the immune system ... [more]

The Mars Odyssey spacecraft has succeeded in one of the trickiest and most critical parts of its mission by slipping into orbit around the Red Planet. ... [more]

Toxic tastes: Name a food or drink, and chances are someone somewhere gets nauseous just at the sound of it ... [more]

Some art provokes strong reactions across the centuries -- especially if it was made with eggs (registration required) ... [more]

And now, December's weather: Meteorologists say things are looking up -- way, way up -- for long-range forecasts ... [more]

Vast fields of maize could soon be churning out antibodies for preventing sexually transmitted diseases ... [more]

Life in the hot seat: The genetic code of a microbe that thrives in boiling water could provide many useful heat-resistant chemicals ... [more]

New England's fabled fall colours may be the silent wail of trees under stress ... [more] Or perhaps the red pigment is sunscreen. Or antifreeze ... [more] Whatever the truth of the matter, autumn leaves sure are pretty ... [more]

Black holes: they're out there, all right, and a lot of them are younger and meaner than we ever imagined ... [more]

Most of the world's ozone-destroying pollutants have come from the northern half of our planet. So why does Earth's yawning ozone hole straddle the south pole? ... [more]

Sleep deprivation may be undermining teen health, putting adolescents at risk for cognitive and emotional difficulties, poor school performance, accidents and psychopathology ... [more]

Little wings, big flap: A tank of oil, some plexiglass and lots of bubbles are helping solve the mystery of insect flight ... [more]

The annual Orionid meteor shower, which peaks on October 21st, heralds the return of Halley's Comet -- in bits and pieces ... [more]

Fast food joints and sedentary lifestyles are often considered the main targets in the battle against childhood obesity. But in the US, a third target has recently emerged: school lunches ... [more]

"If music be the food of love ..." And so it is, say to the authors of a brain-scan study. Play on! ... [more]

A Dutch study has some bad news for eco-friendly farmers ... [more]

In the latest revival of a medieval remedy, German doctors are reporting that leeches can give severely arthritic knees some much-needed relief (registration required) ... [more]

A six-year study indicates that a combination of three vitamins and zinc can slow the loss of vision due to age-related macular degeneration ... [more]

Thousands of students around the world are preparing to monitor "Starshine 3", a strange NASA satellite that looks like a disco-ball, and whose mission is to fall from the sky ... [more]

Bacteria are teaching chemists their tips for creating lean, green fuel ... [more]

New research suggests that we underestimate our abilities to weather emotional storms -- undermining our satisfaction in the process ... [more]

Scientists believe they may have found a way to beat drug-resistant malaria in Africa -- at least for the time being ... [more]

The truth is cruel: T-rex was probably T-wrecks -- a wretched, limping, angst-ridden specimen of dinosaurhood ... [more]

You have a little fever, some achy muscles, a cough. Is this simple influenza or could it be something worse -- like anthrax? Don't panic! ... [more]

In June 2001 the Leaning Tower of Pisa was officially reopened, having been closed for over a decade while a team of engineers worked to save the famously precarious landmark ... [more]

The Galileo spacecraft has captured samples of the hot breath of Io, following the eruption of a previously-unknown volcano on Jupiter's moon ... [more]

You see a pretty face across a crowded room. Your eyes meet and love blossoms, as your brain's reward centre goes haywire ... [more] Moments later, a glimpse of a torso triggers a crackle of activity in a region of the cortex behind your ears. Ah, romance! ... [more]

A group of British archaeologists in Egypt are searching for the royal tomb of Nefertiti and evidence of ancient skulduggery ... [more]

Want to brew a better cuppa? It's size that counts ... [more]

The mere sight of a snake or spider strikes terror in the hearts of millions of people. But there is some comfort for the phobic in a study suggesting that their reaction is just evolution in action ... [more]

Astronomers have peered deep into space and time and spotted a baby galaxy ... [more]

New radiocarbon dating of ancient cave paintings may force art historians to rethink their theories about the evolution of art ... [more]

A day in the life of a space walker: Astronaut and explorer Jim Reilly tells what it's like to do construction work in a far-out environment ... [more]

Israeli archeologists have found what could be the world's oldest village on the dried-out bed of the Sea of Galilee ... [more]

Going dotty: To most of us the inner workings of a computer are a complete mystery, but imagine if they were smaller than a grain of sand ... [more]

A regimen for resistance: Despite widespread attempts to limit their use, antibiotics are still being routinely overprescribed (registration required) ... [more]

US researchers are working toward the next step in the evolution of robotics: a sociable robot that can greet you with a friendly smile ... [more]

A soothing poison: The nerve toxin that causes the fatal food poisoning botulism can be engineered to fight chronic pain ... [more]

Critters on a chip: Cheap, flexible living biosensors could help out in medical and environmental emergencies ... [more]

Gaseous pollutants spilled into water can evaporate into the air and travel long distances from where they were produced or used. A team of US geoscientists has found out how it happens ... [more]

What's the best way to get rid of squirmy, slimy, unsightly slugs? With squirmy, slimy, unsightly worms ... [more]

Scientists have long known that exercise cheers you up -- but now they think they have figured out why ... [more]

After decades of absorbing toxic chemicals, the Great Lakes are beginning to purify themselves by "exhaling" PCBs and other toxins ... [more]

While most people are struggling to make themselves look and feel younger, some car designers are trying out a suit that adds thirty years to their age ... [more]

A new study of the health effects of electromagnetic fields has concluded that even high levels of exposure do not increase the risk of developing brain cancer ... [more]

Palaeontologists are celebrating a unique find: the remains of dinosaur embryo skin inside fossilized eggs discovered in the south of Argentina ... [more]

Space pyjamas will help prevent cot deaths and understand how they occur, a Belgian company says ... [more]

The stowaways: Over the coming decade, exploration of Mars may reveal whether or not life ever existed on the red planet -- but only if the missions can avoid detecting any microbes they bring with them ... [more]

The American Lung Association has the slogan: When you can't breathe, nothing else matters. With this in mind, researchers at a US lab are on track to design a virtual lung ... [more]

New study findings confirm what many would believe to be common sense -- that overweight parents are more likely to have overweight children ... [more]

You really do have to admire the achievements of the American cockroach. Disgusting, scuttling little monsters that they are (Archy excepted, of course) ... [more]

A new genetic testing service for pregnant women in the UK, which cuts the reporting time from two weeks to just over a day, has proved a resounding success ... [more]

Traveling light -- between planets: Mining natural resources on other planets may accelerate space exploration ... [more]

It's teleportation -- but not as we know it. Scientists have made the hard part of teleportation happen -- not on next week's episode of the new Star Trek series, but in a real-life lab in Denmark ... [more]

Basic health care and low-cost measures such as keeping babies warm and breast-feeding could save millions of babies each year ... [more]

Friendly fire: When launching an offensive against your enemy, usually the last thing on your mind would be the environmental consequences of your actions -- that is unless you're German ... [more]

We take for granted the thousands of tons of concrete around us -- until disasters strike. But Dr Neven Krstulovic-Opara has come up with a technique that may save lives, buildings and bridges by changing the way concrete structures are built and how they fail ... [more]

Suds in space: Bubbly, frothing and ticklish -- soft drinks and beer promise a welcome taste of home to faraway space travelers ... [more]

Creepy-crawlies keep secrets: Centipede genealogy has scientists and supercomputers foxed ... [more]

The giving trees: Dead trees are crucial to the overall health of forest ecosystems. But their influence extends beyond the edge of the forest to rivers, estuaries, and even the ocean ... [more]

British doctors want routine blood screening of problem kids to check for high lead levels ... [more]

The Antarctic ozone hole is opening once again as Spring approaches in the southern hemisphere -- and scientists say it's a big one ... [more]

A pair of "magic trousers" is taking big steps toward the recovery of heart patients (with shades of Wallace and Gromit) ... [more]

Almost like a whale: New fossil finds are bridging gap between land mammals and whales ... [more]

Cringe-making crooners may not just be tone-deaf, but tune-deaf as well ... [more]

The WHO warns that humans are building up dangerous levels of resistance to modern antibiotics that could leave us vulnerable to killer diseases ... [more]

The astronaut's new clothes: The biggest challenge for the engineers who design space suits lies ahead, in constructing a suit for the first manned mission to Mars ... [more]

Worldwide biodiversity is shrinking as farm breeds die out, threatening long-term food security and depriving the world of their ability to resist disease and harsh climates ... [more]

From 5,000 feet up, laser-based technology is helping firefighters and rescue workers navigate ground zero (registration required) ... [more]

Researchers who study the psychological impact of war, torture, violent crime, terrorism and natural disasters say that what stuns them is not their debilitating effects but rather the resilience of the human spirit (registration required) ... [more]

A low-fat, high-fiber diet and regular exercise can slow prostate cancer cell growth by up to 30 percent ... [more]

In the beginning was the vowel: Pre-Neanderthals who lived in northern Spain 300,000 years ago could utter basic vowel sounds, researchers say ... [more]

Two new studies report that Hepatitis G, an apparently harmless -- and widely carried -- virus discovered only six years ago, inhibits the progression of HIV infection to full-blown AIDS ... [more]

Kenya is hoping a new birth control plan will be enough to limit its booming elephant population ... [more]

Magic bullets fly again: Molecular guided missiles called monoclonal antibodies were poised to shoot down cancer and a host of other diseases -- until they crashed and burned. Now a new generation is soaring to market ... [more]

Sleep, the final frontier: Shave off just an hour of sleep a night, and in a couple weeks' time you'll have accumulated a "sleep debt" guaranteed to sap your creativity, stunt your productivity, and make you grumpy to boot ... [more]

In recent years Earth-orbiting satellites have seen plants growing more vigorously than usual over northern parts of our planet -- possibly an indicator of climate change ... [more]

A small US company is developing a self-directing drill that could independently inchworm along dozens of kilometers below the surface of Mars of Europa ... [more]

Sun, sea and snow bring mercury down to Earth, and into the food chain ... [more]

Udderly happy self-milking cows are letting dairy farmers sleep late -- and increasing production into the bargain ... [more]

It appears early humans were willing to lend a helping hand to assist elderly and incapacitated members of their clans, tens of thousand of years earlier than previously believed ... [more]

Whooping cough is one of those diseases most people think is history -- but the dangerous germ that can leave sufferers gasping for air is making a comeback ... [more]

Child starvation will climb unless the decline in food research is reversed, researchers say. And the outlook is bleakest in sub-Saharan Africa, where one child in three still goes to bed hungry ... [more]

The New York medical examiner's office is preparing to perform DNA testing on an unparalleled scale on as many as 20,000 tissue samples reclaimed from the wreckage of the World Trade Center ... [more]

Canadian and US researchers have found that babies can babble in sign language -- a finding that is set to fuel the debate over how language is acquired ... [more]

Researchers are sounding out viruses, hoping to hear HIV, hepatitis and 'flu ... [more]

Clearing away the remains of the World Trade Center's two fallen giants is a task no less daunting than their original construction (registration required) ... [more]

Blasted by dynamite, contaminated with poisons, and smothered by pollution, coral reefs are dying faster than previously thought, according to a UN study ... [more]

The recently discovered "mimic octopus" is an incredibly skilled copycat, posing variously as a sea snake, lionfish or flatfish ... [more]

The terrorists who piloted two planes into the World Trade Center managed, either by careful calculation or evil luck, to have hit the building at its weakest spot, causing the catastrophic collapse of the twin towers, engineers say ... [more] ... [more]

The conjurors' trick of tying a knot in a rope by shaking one end takes more than magic -- it requires a mastery of chaotic dynamics ... [more]

Seeing is not always believing, but it can go a long way towards making informed decisions. Now some computers can see for themselves ... [more]

Watching liquids boil in low gravity is an out-of-this-world experience. The strangely turbulent liquids have plenty of entertainment value, and they're teaching scientists some important physics lessons, too ... [more]

Invading pathogens can co-opt even the cells of the immune system. New anti-infective drugs may arise from an understanding of this chemical warfare ... [more]

The effects of pheromones among lower mammals are well known. New research has provided the first clear evidence that humans respond to them, too ... [more]

Monarch butterflies have much more to fear from spiders, beetles and a shortage of milkweed than from GM corn, according to a new study ... [more]

Trailblazing scientists are combining satellite data with sophisticated computer programs to learn more about wildfires' capricious behaviour ... [more]

Children learning to read and write in English are slower to master it than youngsters learning other European languages ... [more]

Chips keep the change: New circuits can rewire themselves and don't go blank when switched off ... [more]

A "morning after" sun cream, which has the potential to prevent skin cancers by reversing damage to DNA, may one day be as widely available as sunscreen lotion (registration required) ... [more]

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has spotted a curious outburst from our galaxy's core -- a sign that the Milky Way's central black hole may be snacking on its neighbors ... [more]

DNA fingerprinting regularly helps forensic scientists solve crimes. Now DNA 'featherprinting' is enabling conservationists to thwart the unlawful breeding and trade of a threatened species of Caribbean bird ... [more]

Results from Britain's first clinical trial of cannabis as a medicine show that it 'dramatically improves pain relief' ... [more]

Cold comfort for superconductivity: It turns out that high-temperature superconductors are like low-temperature ones after all ... [more]

Documenting the ecological perils of introducing nonnative species to control pests, researchers say that parasitic wasps brought to Hawaii as part of sugar cane farming have become the dominant players in a native ecosystem ... [more]

A new study suggests that hypnosis doesn't help people recall events more accurately -- but it does tend to make people more confident of their inaccurate memories ... [more]

Wearable computers are no longer just a Dick Tracy fantasy. The US military can't do without them, and NASA has great plans ... [more]

Scientists are watching the dark side of the moon for clues about climate change on Earth ... [more]

New miniature sensors designed to detect chemical dangers might one day be worn as early-warning badges on space suits ... [more]

Eyes in their stars: Engineers envy brittlestar bones' built-in lenses ... [more] And echinoderm specialist Gordon Hendler has always thought they seemed a little alien ... [more]

Storm experts in the US have developed a water-absorbent powder that could potentially guarantee a sunny day -- or dry up deadly hurricanes and tropical storms ... [more]

An amusing accident in the Mojave desert has inspired a new kind of Mars rover -- a two-story high beach ball that can descend to the Martian surface, land safely, and explore vast expanses of the Red Planet ... [more]

The next phage: Tiny viruses living off bacteria could show the way to a new class of antibiotics ... [more]

The queen of the fire ants can be a real tyrant when it comes to the sex of her offspring ... [more]

Space travel enthusiasts promise adventure, out-of-this-world views and bouncy antigravity rooms, but scientists have now found another selling point for interstellar R&R: humans sleep better in space ... [more]

Copper pots bug bugs and may lower the risk of food poisoning ... [more]

Organ transplants may never be the same again. A US research team has successfully kept a human kidney alive for 24 hours in a machine that simulates a warm human body ... [more]

Billions of identical chickens could soon be rolling off production lines, as factory farming prepares to enter a new era of mass production ... [more]

Little Big Science: Nanotechnology is all the rage. But will it meet its ambitious goals? And what the heck is it? ... [more]

Groundwater being pumped by city authorities is making Los Angeles bounce, causing deformations up to five times as large as the seismic movements monitored by geologists ... [more]

'Hub caps' could squash STDs: Identifying high-risk carriers of infectious diseases is worth the effort ... [more]

Temporary tattoos can spell trouble. Doctors are warning that a trendy henna "tattoo" could cause you months of pain and discomfort, and even a lifelong allergy ... [more]

Shields up! Super-tanks of the future may be protected against incoming fire by Star Trek-style electromagnetic shields ... [more]

In the heart of Cambodia's jungles, trees lock Angkor temples in a life-and-death embrace (registration required) ... [more]

Muck, glorious muck: Souped-up pigs containing genes from bacteria make cleaner, greener manure ... [more]

Race to the death: Sportsmen and women are putting their lives at risk to win medals ... [more]

Astronomers have detected a second planet, almost the size of Jupiter, orbiting a certain star in the Big Dipper ... [more]

Burning incense may soothe your soul, but it could be playing havoc with your chest ... [more]

Liquorice-lovers beware: Even a few chews a day of granny's favourite gums may raise your blood pressure ... [more]

Math fears subtract from memory and inhibit learning, say the authors of a new study ... [more]

Paleontologists working in northwestern Madagascar have unearthed two extraordinary new fossils, showing creatures great and small ... [more]

Physicians are concerned about the long-terms effects of sports supplements ... [more]

Perennially in the hot zone, Dr CJ Peters follows the viral trail around the world (registration required) ... [more]

Chances are you've heard of postpartum depression. But new research reveals that antenatal depression is more common -- and potentially damaging to both the mother and the developing foetus ... [more]

Battling skin cancer, Maureen Reagan wrote, “we can stop this epidemic dead. It’s really very simple.” Doctors could not agree more ... [more]

Musical traits may be the result of childhood training, rather than genetic predisposition ... [more]

Cosmic constants may not be quite so constant after all. Even the speed of light seems to be speeding up (registration required) ... [more]

A real eye-opener: Using eye scans for identification is faster and more accurate than any other computerised system ... [more]

Here's a comforting thought for the estranged partners of actors who fall in love on the movie set -- it's not their fault. No, really ... [more]

Jump in, the water’s fine: Natural swimming pools can offer a healthy alternative to chlorine-laden water, and they're prettier too ... [more]

Cloud forests are nature's diverse "water towers", but they may soon be gone ... [more]

A hemp-powered car rolls its own fuel. Or perhaps you'd prefer mustard with that biodiesel? ... [more]

New York City plans to create a submerged subway reef by sinking 1,300 aging subway cars into the ocean ... [more]

A genetically modified tomato plant that flourishes in salty water offers the first seeds of hope for new salt-tolerant crops ... [more]

Take two ortho-O-acetylsalicylic acids and call me in the morning ... It's no trivial matter coming up with names for chemical compound ... [more]

Our health depends on a healthy planet. That’s the message from a new movement of doctors, scientists, and activists ... [more]

Women who smoke may be reducing their chances of having a baby -- and hastening the onset of menopause (registration required) ... [more]

In human medical experimentation, deciding who goes second can be as difficult as choosing who goes first (registration required) ... [more]

Mixed up in space: Humans can become confused and disoriented -- and even a little queasy -- in an alien world where up and down have no meaning ... [more]

Easy come, easy go. US researchers have retracted their claim to have discovered element 118. (Unobtainium?) ... [more]

British scientists are pushing for a mission to the planet from hell, arguing that a visit to Venus could help explain the greenhouse effect ... [more]

Not many gardeners stop to think about the sexual politics of pollen. And that's one reason allergies are at an all-time high ... [more]

A whiff of pheromones might fix premenstrual syndrome ... [more]

Life at 15,000 pounds per square inch is easy: Just collapse your lungs, store oxygen in your muscles, and soften up your cell membranes a little ... [more]

The trouble with turtles: Despite heroic efforts to protect the nesting beaches of green turtles, fewer and fewer of these endangered creatures reappear every year ... [more]

A CDC report on StarLink corn isn't the first time science trumped complaints about genetically modified crops (registration required) ... [more]

Anti-drugs campaigners in Tokyo are attempting to combat Japan's macho drinking culture with a sticky arm patch ... [more]

Jupiter's moon blows hot and cold: A new map of night time surface temperatures on Io has presented scientists with a puzzle ... [more]

Dennis McGillicuddy loves mysteries -- like what drives the ocean's rich abundance of life? The answer will shed light on global warming climate change ... [more]

Mosquito-busters are using human chemistry to throw the nasty pests off the scent ... [more]

Applying new technologies to the job of diagnosing bioterrorism will help determine whether symptoms are flu-like, or deadly (registration required) ... [more]

Pain-free lasers can not only replace the dreaded drill, they can also save infected nerves, says a US dentist ... [more]

The science of biomonitoring, which uses living organisms as 'sensors' to track environmental pollution, seems to be coming of age ... [more]

We're used to computers engaging just two of our senses. Now a new touchy-feely mouse is coming to show our fingers what they've been missing ... [more]

An ancient crustacean has raised new questions about the evolution of life on Earth ... [more]

Astronomers love curved space. It lets them spy on stars, locate black holes, and see to the very edge of the universe ... [more]

Is the Pacific Decadal Oscillation an El Niño repellant? ... [more]

Meet the ancestor: The face of what has sometimes been described as Europe's oldest human being has been modelled in 3D ... [more]

The US Navy is looking to nanoscience, biology, and chemistry to counter a problem almost as old as sailing itself: barnacles ... [more]

Scientists are taking the first steps toward creating alternative life forms -- bacteria that use a different genetic code (registration required) ... [more]

After only a year in the trenches, the latest antibiotic superweapon has lost a battle to drug-resistant staph ... [more]

Next year, UK passengers will get their first taste of high-speed, swinging train travel ... [more]

BMW officials recently traveled to one of the US's smoggiest cities to show off a fleet of luxury cars that run on rocket fuel, but belch only water and steam from their tailpipes ... [more]

How do flies smell? "Terrible!" would be the joke answer, but a team of Dutch researchers has been taking this question very seriously ... [more]

Anyone with a history of bee sting allergies shouldn't put too much faith in a skin test that shows the danger has gone away (registration required) ... [more]

The scientists behind the All-Species Inventory have an audacious dream: to catalogue all life on Earth within just 25 years (registration required) ... [more]

The unknown epidemic: Drugmakers are gearing up to fight a malady that may afflict 25% of the US population -- or may not exist at all (registration required) ... [more]

A compromise has saved the climate treaty, clearing the way for the world to act on global warming ... [more]

Physicists are dancing to a bosenova beat, after creating a microscopic supernova in the lab ... [more]

Are non-stick frying pans polluting our towns and cities? ... [more]

The view from the rim of Mt St Helens may be thrilling, but one of the best and safest ways to study volcanoes is from high, high above ... [more]

Before you attempt to insult someone by calling him a Neandertal, consider this: those extinct hominids were a pretty savvy lot ... [more]

Eat up your broccoli -- there's fresh evidence that it could help ward off cancer ... [more]

Despite many attempts to ease parents' fears about fever, many are still overly concerned about it, often to the potential detriment of their children (registration required) ... [more]

Environment officials from some 180 countries will press on with seeking agreement on slowing global warming, despite differences among the industrial powers that could wreck the UN's Kyoto accord ... [more]

The unidentified man who became the first recipient of a self-contained artificial heart on July 2nd has a positive mental outlook and has shown some signs of improvement, his surgeons report (registration required) ... [more]

Tiny minds: Computer memories could be over a thousand times smaller if they were made from molecules ... [more]

Doctors hoping to clear the air for the children of smokers have found that putting nicotine monitors in the home seems to help persuade parents to smoke less around their children (registration required) ... [more]

Hitting the optic brick wall: Researchers have established the theoretical limit to the information-carrying capacity of optic fibres ... [more]

A team of scientists trying to discover if it's really true that blondes have more fun are appealing for more volunteers to help their research ... [more]

If you think the human genome project was a big deal, just know that what scientists really want to produce is a map that could reveal why humans are so different ... [more]

Tampa, Florida police are using security cameras equipped with face-recognition software to scan downtown crowds for suspected criminals (registration required) ... [more]

Bacterial scourges that plagued humanity are coming back, and the use of growth-promoting antibiotics in animals is partly to blame ... [more]

For the first time, researchers have created human embryos in the lab for the sole purpose of harvesting stem cells ... [more]

For those wondering when artificial intelligence will truly take root, here's a bulletin: it already has (registration required) ... [more]

Could a bug cause your bad back? Hidden infection by common bacteria could be to blame for up to half of all cases of sciatica ... [more]

Think it takes too long to get from London to New York? Catch the next supersonic undersea train. Mind you, it's not due for about 30 years ... [more]

Coming soon to a pet store near you: hypoallergenic cats. Well, maybe not soon (registration required) ... [more]

The ingenuity of a nomadic people in northwest Africa could lead to the worldwide eradication of the millennia-old guinea worm disease (registration required) ... [more]

There are more than 3 billion pickled critters sitting in jars of alcohol in storerooms around the world. Soon there will be an online database to account for them all ... [more]

Israeli scientists have developed a urine test for CJD and BSE, which can detect the infection even in asymptomatic humans and animals (registration required) ... [more]

Bondage is a molecular turn-on: Researchers have made a breakthrough in the quest to develop miniscule computers -- specially designed single molecules have been made to behave like switches ... [more]

Remains believed to be those of a 13th-century Italian count accused of cannibalism in Dante's Inferno have been exhumed to determine the truth of the tale ... [more]

Reducing the risk of diabetes-induced blindness may be as simple as taking an aspirin every day (registration required) ... [more]

Getting the honest answer to the question "How long have I got doc?" may be harder than you would expect ... [more]

Brainy 'bots: Researchers are applying artificial intelligence to teach robots how to behave a little more like human explorers ... [more]

The recipient of a mechanical heart is still weak, but doctors say he may live longer than expected, and possibly even leave the hospital ... [more]

Computer programs that can sort out digital jigsaw puzzles could help restore medieval frescoes ruined in an earthquake ... [more]

Artificial wetlands could dirty water rather than clean it ... [more]

A new pain-free method of treating tooth decay could see an end to the drilling and filling procedures endured by countless children every year ... [more]

Don't frighten the fish: Dolphin deterrents could also be scaring fish away from nets ... [more]

In what could be a blow to the self-esteem of younger but perhaps less attractive women, men prefer "ageing beauties" ... [more]

The spectacular fireworks that mark public events leave a nasty afterglow of ground-level ozone ... [more]

Nosy parenting has gone high-tech -- but even kids need some privacy now and then ... [more]

The root of today's air travel problem is a combination of airline deregulation and airplane design. NASA has an idea that can help (registration required) ... [more]

Gene machines: As biology evolves into an information science, the race is on to build the world's fastest bio-supercomputer ... [more]

The latest NASA launch aims to take a cosmic baby picture ... [more]

Glucosamine for osteoarthritis: magic, hype, or confusion? It's probably safe, but there's no good evidence that it works (registration required) ... [more]

Coral bleaching -- in which colorful reefs turn ghostly white -- may not necessarily signal environmental catastrophe after all ... [more]

Lean times add pounds: Women struggling to put food on the table are more likely to be overweight than those with a reliably full refrigerator, according to new research ... [more]

A French-made tanning doll looks set to be the de rigueur beach accessory for little girls this summer. Sunscreen is just so passé ... [more]

Step into the zero-privacy world of IBM's Big Brother lab ... [more]

A solar windsurfer could speed humans to the Jovian moons in less than two years, and push a probe beyond the edge of our Solar System ... [more]

Many terminally ill cancer patients receive ineffective and unnecessary chemotherapy, according to a recent US study (registration required) ... [more]

A brain in doubt leaves it out: Sometimes your brain ignores what's right before your eyes ... [more]

Canadian scientists have finally revealed the fate of the Universe -- and there's no dramatic "Big Crunch" in sight ... [more]

The world of physics is being shaken by the discovery that the most common building block of the universe can be transformed as it travels ... [more]

Killer gas: Why pilots need to watch out for the dry ice in the hold ... [more]

By the time you finish reading this sentence, you'll be over 30 miles closer to Mars -- here's what to look out for in the night sky, and when ... [more]

Want to talk to a dolphin? Just whistle ... [more]

If you want your child to do well at school, better have two ... [more]

Hydropower is clean, renewable and it could relieve energy woes. But the push to maximize power endangers fish and water quality ... [more]

A tool to measure twisted X-rays may reveal dark secrets of the Universe ... [more]

Clouds of dust crossing the Atlantic Ocean from drought-stricken areas of Africa carry particles that could pose a health risk ... [more]

It breathes, it bleeds, it bruises. You can bring it to death's door and revive it with a miracle cure. Everyone wants to play with the ultimate living doll ... [more]

Even everyday groceries such as shower gel and mustard can trip the triclosan switch, boosting antibiotic resistance in bacteria ... [more]

Sigma Chi Chimpy: Forget the ladies -- for chimps, hunting is about fraternity ... [more]

Rare giant, hairy, fanged spiders have invaded Windsor Castle! Entomologists are ecstatic at the find ... [more]

Estrogen -- it's a woman's brain's best friend ... [more]

The weary battalion of giant radar dishes that tune in to distant spacecraft should soon have reinforcements, just in time for a long anticipated communications traffic jam in deep space ... [more]

The processes that produce El Niño events may also cause abrupt shifts in global climate, according to new research ... [more]

It is hard to be sure about something you cannot see. But there is one certainty about the monsters of the universe: A black hole will never turn down a meal ... [more]

Men at risk of prostate cancer might want to include more tofu and tomatoes in their diets following the results of a US study ... [more]

Gently does it: The most detailed study yet challenges the view that only extreme violence causes shaken baby syndrome ... [more]

Japanese scientists have developed a robot mole that could swim along blood vessels and burrow into tissue to deliver drugs or lance tumours ... [more]

On the ground, the International Space Station would be an odd looking building -- but space is an odd place to live ... [more]

Biologists always thought life required the Sun's energy, until they found an ecosystem that thrives in complete darkness ... [more]

Concern over the levels of drug residues in chicken and eggs has been raised by the UK Soil Association ... [more]

In the course of Saturn's trip around the Sun, it lifts its skirt of rings once every 29 years -- and now astronomers are seeing them in a new light ... [more]

We have outsourced our brains. But there is hope. With a little discipline, everyone can polish basic intellectual skills and reclaim their brains (registration required) ... [more]

Scientists say meat sold for human consumption could be infected with BSE because of accidental cross-contamination at slaughterhouses ... [more]

Arrays of cones poking out from the surface of Mars could be evidence for recent water ice on the red planet -- below some of the most parched regions of its rocky terrain ... [more]

Everybody knows it was Neil Armstrong who took that historic one small step. But now several parachutists are aiming to take giant leaps that could lead to a new form of extreme sport -- spacediving ... [more]

Scientists are warning that peanuts and peanut oils may cause allergies in children with eczema ... [more]

Chicago skyscrapers dim their lights on spring nights these days, not because of an energy shortage but to save migratory birds from slamming into the clusters of glassy towers ... [more]

When Earth is on the receiving end of a comet or an asteroid, things get messy. But the good news is that we already have the hardware to thwart impending impacts ... [more]

Scientists have come up with proof that too much thinking drains your brain ... [more]

In the future, you might literally get a charge out of hiking, walking or cycling. -- courtesy of special plastic inserts in your shoes ... [more]

Weaving a suit of microscopic chain-mail is a matter of splitting hairs ... [more]

Go vest, young man! A new vest being developed by the US Navy purports to neutralize the symptoms of vertigo, which officials say is the No.1 killer of military pilots ... [more]

High-tech concrete: It bends! It flexes! It floats! And it could make great spaceships, too ... [more]

Forget freezers. There's a cheaper way to transport fish to market -- pack 'em in peat ... [more]

It could be the next big question: "Hey baby, what's your genotype?" ... [more]

Geek house: Hardware hackers are using a fast-spreading technology called X-10 to give their homes a cheap and speedy intelligence upgrade ... [more]

A fingerful of earwax could reveal more than you think, say researchers -- such as susceptibility to breast cancer ... [more]

DNA tests on ancient potato leaves are forcing scientists to re-think their theories about the Irish potato famine ... [more]

A new survey has pinpointed the rise of an epidemic of violence by computer users against their poor, defenseless PCs ... [more]

Cocaine screws with your mind. Anyone who's used it knows this. But now neurologists are beginning to understand what coke does to your brain ... [more]

It's the ultimate in recycling: from corpse to compost. Now a Swedish scientist has found a way to speed up the process -- and it even has the blessing of the Church of Sweden ... [more]

Silk and chips: Silk, one of nature's strongest materials, can be grown in genetically modified potatoes and tobacco ... [more]

A Scottish university is setting up the world's first doctoral program in chess and artificial intelligence, which is expected to provide a major boost to supercomputing ... [more]

Folklore has it that curvaceous mothers produce more girls, while less rounded women tend to have boys. Oh well, it was a nice theory ... [more]

Antacid medications are just as good at treating severe heartburn as anti-reflux surgery, according to a recent study ... [more]

Call it the ultimate California home. When it's done, this earth-tone, US$3-million-plus house of concrete, glass and steel will not only be virtually fireproof, termite-proof and earthquake-proof. It will also be antimicrobial (registration required) ... [more]

No wonder babies find the world a bit confusing -- they're always listening broadband ... [more]

Researchers say the atmosphere's ability to cleanse itself naturally has weakened over the past decade, possibly because of a change in the mix of pollutants emanating from industrialized nations ... [more]

A dab of smart paint could soon warn engineers when bridges are in danger of shaking themselves to pieces ... [more]

Can conservationists control the destiny of one of Earth's few remaining Edens? ... [more]

Monogamy is not the only way to procreate. In fact, despite appearances to the contrary, it's not really all that common ... [more]

The traditional stereotypes of cautious women drivers and brash male motorists may have some truth at 10,000ft ... [more]

Earth's massive land slabs were on the move much earlier in the planet's history than previously assumed -- which means complex life had enough heat and food to evolve then too ... [more]

If you can't stop acting on impulse it might not be your fault -- maybe your brain's just wired strangely ... [more]

New reasons to watch what you eat: Drinking coffee can protect against Parkinson's disease; and low levels of vitamin B12 and folate are linked with Alzheimer's disease ... [more]

A new ultralight ceramic foam could be a safe and economical substitute for harmful asbestos and ceramic fibers as a high-temperature thermal insulator ... [more]

For 90 years, scientists have dreamed about the incredible potential of superconductors -- but technical problems have always stood in the way. This year may see the barriers tumbling down ... [more]

Ancient farmers in a lost civilization grew corn-like plants on a Mexican coastal plain more than 6,000 years ago -- the earliest evidence of maize farming in North America ... [more]

Flying just keeps getting more dangerous. Even if you survive the in-flight food and seat-induced deep vein thrombosis, repeated jet lag without time to recover could shrink bits of your brain ... [more]

Astronomers analyzing debris from a comet that broke apart have spied pieces as small as smoke and as large as football-fields. But it's what they haven't seen that has them intrugued ... [more]

Low-cost water purification sachets can help to relieve malnutrition in developing countries and disaster areas with contaminated water supplies ... [more]

Satellite data shows that windblown desert dust can aggravate drought conditions by choking rain clouds, cutting rainfall hundreds of miles away ... [more]

Australian researchers say hemp-bodied cars are a smokin' idea ... [more]

Methadone, widely used to treat heroin addicts, may stimulate the HIV virus in infected patients ... [more]

Warning that war, destruction of habitat and poaching have pushed the world's Great Apes to the brink of extinction, UN environment officials have announced a major international effort to save mankind's closest relatives ... [more]

Mixed messages: A device commonly used to untangle signals sent over fibre optic lines might ultimately be used to make the Internet faster and more powerful ... [more]

Australia's fairy penguins are all set for winter and any oil spills with 1,000 tiny woolly jerseys in the closet ... [more]

A UN treaty will ban a range of man-made chemicals so toxic that they are causing polar bears in the otherwise pristine Arctic to develop malformed sexual organs ... [more]

What are little moons made of, made of?
What are little moons made of?
Organics and rocks and ice, so nice
That's what little moons (like Titan) are made of ... [more]

A South African expedition to find and film the coelacanth, a "fossil fish" that has swum the seas for around 400 million years, has been halted by authorities for conservation reasons ... [more]

A baby star has been spotted blowing bubbles, confounding researchers who say it's supposed to be too young to know how ... [more]

A self-navigating smart wheelchair can be steered by verbal commands alone -- offering mobility to people whose physical disabilities render them completely incapable of movement (registration required) ... [more]

Third-generation mobile phones could allow hearing-impaired users to give commands to their phones in sign language, call up video news, and access a real-time interpretation service to aid them in communicating with hearing people ... [more]

French Web addicts can now buy their dream home -- a fully-wired Web house dubbed Ma M@isonnet -- in the suburban Parisian town of Etiolles ... [more]

The US Supreme Court ruling that marijuana cannot be used as medicine may have unexpectedly boosted research on cannabis extracts ... [more]

Illegal medicine: The US Supreme Court has ruled that cannabis cannot be legally used as medicine in the United States, undermining medical-marijuana laws in nine states. One cancer sufferer calls it a nauseating ruling ... [more]

Sometime soon, women may be able to throw away the Pill and slap on a birth-control patch instead ... [more]

A simple computer that marries the mind-boggling computing power of quantum mechanics with the ease of manipulating light has been built by US researchers ... [more]

Amateur astronomers will have an opportunity over the next few months to observe a planet orbiting another star. But the sighting will require dedication ... [more]

Claims that 200,000 seal pups were trapped and starving in Russia's White Sea were false, say wildlife experts ... [more]

A black hole is a voracious maw, devouring everything that crosses its path. Well, maybe not ... [more]

To Academy Award winners go the spoils, including, it appears, life itself ... [more]

The recent tequila boom has seen demand for the blue agave-based spirit far outpace supply -- and outstrip plant resources ... [more] The answer may lie in tequila's close cousin, mezcal ... [more]

Astronauts on the International Space Station have found their creativity and fix-it skills tested by many aspects of station life -- not least by the problem of the missing kitchen table ... [more]

Have you ever stared at your plate of greens and thought "Vegie-powered cars, great idea"? Probably not, but it some people out there think a little more laterally than others ... [more]

A new paint that has been developed in China will not only reduce your heating bills, but give your house a whole new look to match each season ... [more]

The secret of the Indian rope-trick, which has intrigued generations of scientists and magicians, has finally been revealed ... [more]

Woodworkers beware: Working with wood in industry or at home exposes people to the risk of cancer and other diseases, says a US research scientist ... [more]

Chernobyl's children: The children of people exposed to low doses of ionising radiation show very high levels of DNA damage ... [more]

A previously unknown relative of Tyrannosaurus rex has been unearthed in Britain, adding a limb to the family tree of the fearsome predator ... [more]

Cloning, move over. The powerful and potentially dark force that would give you a "mini-me" may soon be knocked off genetic engineering's center stage by an emerging laboratory effort to create life that is decidedly not as we know it ... [more]

Need to learn something really important? Don't stress out about remembering -- or you're more likely to forget ... [more]

A breakthrough in pollution emissions technology signals the day when a new class of vehicles will travel up to 80 miles on a gallon of fuel while meeting reduced emissions levels for nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons ... [more]

Delivering radiation via 'seeds' implanted in the breast following surgery to remove breast cancer takes less time, has fewer side effects, and may be as effective as standard radiation treatment ... [more]

GM babies: Babies born with DNA from three parents are being described as the first genetically engineered humans ... [more]

Earthquakes can really hit us where we live. But computers are playing a growing role in understanding, predicting -- and surviving -- the shakes ... [more]

Have goat, will travel: A goat seems to have been the must-have accessory for any prehistoric farmer with wanderlust ... [more]

A mutated form of the anthrax toxin could be used to make both a new vaccine and a fast-acting medicine for people exposed to biological weapons ... [more]

Dyslexic children need to use a lot more brainpower than their normal peers to perform simple language tasks, according to a new study by US researchers ... [more]

Environmental changes, such as increases in atmospheric CO2, can actually be good news for some species -- but their gain comes at a cost to biological diversity ... [more]

For people at high risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, small lifestyle changes can make a huge difference to their chances of avoiding the disease ... [more]

US scientists have created a bunch of mutant space plants. If all goes as planned, the seedlings should be sending back glowing reports from Mars in 2007 ... [more]

Under pressure: Storing a whole heap of pressurised air underground to power homes may sound like a long shot, but that is exactly what US scientists are proposing for an inactive limestone mine ... [more]

More efficient solar panels, clearer dashboards and better TV screens are just some of the possible uses for a new class of cheap, flexible antireflective coatings developed by researchers in Switzerland ... [more]

Babies who later develop autism or retardation could be treated from birth, suggests new research ... [more]

The next generation of optical fibers promises far more efficient light pipes with a much greater capacity to carry information. If they work, the Internet will never be the same ... [more]

Don't try this at home, but experiments in mice indicate that inhaling carbon monoxide can save the animals' lives after severe lung damage ... [more]

Charmed, I'm sure ... For the scientifically bright but socially befuddled, a day of etiquette instruction might be just what the PhD ordered ... [more]

It's a big day for little computers, with the launch of two intense research efforts: To develop a tinier, faster computer chip; and to create a computer that runs by itself ... [more]

Murderers brought in for questioning by the police have plenty of reasons to feign innocence. What's worse is that people, including police, are quite likely to be duped by such liars. But some cops can't be fooled ... [more]

Execution, Inc.: The People’s Republic of China has long been suspected of selling organs harvested from executed prisoners. Now one New York doctor knows the rumours are true ... [more]

Brevity, as the Bard said, may well be the soul of wit. But it's also the soul of language acquisition ... [more]

The endless frontier: On the 40th anniversary of the first manned space flight, BlueEar considers new propulsion technologies and their promise for the next forty years ... [more]

The controversial vaccine theory of HIV's origins has been dealt a body blow ... [more]

Astronomers have peered inside a stellar nursery for young planets in the Orion Nebula, but what they saw looked more like a bar-room brawl than a day-care center ... [more]

Sore throat, scarlet fever, toxic shock syndrome, impetigo, rheumatic fever and the rare, flesh-eating disease necrotising fasciitis -- one potent bug causes them all. Now its genome has revealed the secrets of its success ... [more]

Thanks to a rare cosmic line-up astronomers have been able to probe the surface of a remote star in unprecedented detail ... [more]

When it comes to hearing, what you see is what you get ... [more]

Dr Darwin's Rx: Before you treat that fever, consider the emerging field of evolutionary medicine. The symptom just might speed the cure ... [more]

Open wide: Dentists repaired teeth with stone-tipped drills more than 8000 years ago ... [more]

Quantum cryptography -- using light particles to communicate in code -- is the only sure way to talk in secret, and may finally be within scientists' reach ... [more]

The MMR vaccine, which has been a cornerstone of paediatric health for three decades, is not responsible for a dramatic rise in autism among US children, according to a comprehensive scientific review ... [more]

New Guinea holds endless surprises for naturalists -- from tree kangaroos to poisonous birds ... [more]

The greening of Mars: A hardy microbe from Earth might one day transform the barren ground of Mars into arable soil ... [more]

Attack of the munchies: Even law-abiding citizens fall prey to the cravings triggered by cannabis ... [more]

A recent study says that organically-grown apples aren't just easier on the Earth -- they taste better, too ... [more]

Ancient tree stumps uncovered in a South American earthquake have provided an unprecedented weather record from 50,000 years ago ... [more]

It's tough to get away from it all when the process of getting away can be so taxing. But there are lots of innovations that soon could ease the stress of travel ... [more]

For the first time, researchers have identified a direct link between global climate change and local factors that cause the death of amphibian eggs in the wild ... [more]

Talk about power dressing! Soon you could be plugging your palmtop into your clothes, and throwing away the batteries ... [more]

By traveling inside drag-cutting gas pockets, new subsea systems can move much faster and more efficiently underwater than their conventional counterparts ... [more]

Do you hate surprises? Really? Because your brain sure loves them ... [more]

An Israeli hi-tech company has produced a computer mouse that helps the blind to 'see' computer graphics ... [more]

Victims of the Mt Vesuvius eruption were killed instantly by a 500°C heat wave that vaporised their brains ... [more]

Scientists are peering into the centre of storms in a bid to understand what happens at the heart of a hurricane ... [more]

As if telescopes aren't cool enough already, two astronomers now want to fit them with sunglasses ... [more]

Police officers searching for a suspect hiding inside a building could soon have a new tool for protecting themselves and finding the "bad guy" -- a flashlight that can see through doors ... [more]

Soon you could be getting weather forecasts and text messages on your morning toast ... [more]

The "strongest evidence to date" for global warming undermines a discrepancy often cited by sceptics ... [more]

Chemists have had sweet success with a bitter tonic: they've finally synthesized the antimalarial drug quinine, after 150 years of trying ... [more]

A robotic inchworm is about to climb all the way to the International Space Station ... [more]

A US hospital has started an unusual organ-donation programme: Donate one of your kidneys to a stranger, and your loved one will move up on the waiting list ... [more]

Physicist Nick Sheridon's goal is to create a paperless newspaper ... [more]

Comfort feeding: The shape of women's breasts may have evolved to prevent babies smothering during feeding ... [more]

There are a few basic rules about building telescopes: They should have a good view of the sky, they should be easily accessible and it's probably best to point them upwards. Then again, maybe not ... [more]

It may help keep the red wine stains out of your carpet, but Scotchgard, a popular water and stain repellant, is leaving its mark on the environment ... [more]

Kids got rhythm -- but a feeling for major and minor keys takes a while to develop ... [more]

Hardened arteries and heart attacks may be the price we pay for fighting off infections ... [more]

New imaging technology is revealing hidden worlds -- a development with applications ranging from archaeology to medicine to fighting crime ... [more]

Yet more reasons for parents to worry: Infants who cry more often and are fussier than other babies may have an increased risk of developing allergy-related problems ... [more] And it turns out that peanut allergens can be passed from mother to baby through breast milk ... [more]

Healthy knees aren't usually the main consideration in choosing among high heels, but new research says chunky heels are just as bad for the knees as spindly stilettos ... [more]

There may be some truth in the old cliché about being old and wise: children with higher IQs are likely to live longer ... [more]

The top U.N. climate scientist has said that almost all experts believe human activity is warming the planet, and US failure to support a global warming pact will slow the fight to curb emissions of harmful gases ... [more] Meanwhile, in an attempt to rescue the Kyoto protocol, the European Union has suggested that parts of the treaty could be renegotiated to suit the US ... [more]

Beating the ocean: Archaeologists are turning to a new silicone-polymer conservation process to preserve waterlogged artifacts ... [more]

A future robotic Mars probe may see the world through spiders' eyes ... [more]

Watch out for the killer pine trees! Though they're only dangerous if you're a small insect ... [more]

How will we grease the tiny motors for the long-anticipated micro-machinery of the future? US researchers may have the answer ... [more]

Score one more for evolution: Men think ovulating women smell sexier than their non-fertile peers ... [more]

There may yet be a Yeti: A sample of hair gathered from a tree in Bhutan has stumped DNA analysts, suggesting an undiscovered species ... [more]

Geologists have come up with a new answer to the worldwide problem of arsenic poisoning in water supplies. It requires a bucket and a kilogram or two of local rocks ... [more]

Trapping light: This is the future, and it moves at 186,000 miles per second ... [more]

Xenotransplantation has been hailed as the solution to the shortage of organs for transplant -- but critical safety issues are still unresolved ... [more]

Fear not! For millions of sufferers of phobias, science is offering new treatments -- and new hope ... [more]

Amoebas are among nature's most primitive creatures. But a new study suggests they also act as the world's tiniest midwives ... [more]

First come, first served: Does allocation of brain space favor those parts that simply develop earliest? ... [more]

Water is weird. It's the foundation of life, the most common of liquids, and the strangest. If only we knew how it worked ... [more]

Inspired by Nature's efficiency, researchers have identified a novel way to obliterate bacteria that cause strep throat, flesh-eating disease and other infections ... [more]

Forget about mountainous men with white loincloths and top knots. Japan has updated the ancient sport of sumo for a high-tech world ... [more]

There appears to be a new crack in Antarctica's icy armour. A massive iceberg-to-be is forming, heralded by a thin crack 25 kilometers long, stretching more than two-thirds of the way across Pine Island Glacier ... [more]

Women who live with smokers absorb five to six times more chemicals linked to lung cancer than do women who live with non-smokers, according to a recent study ... [more]

Kill the swill: The days of feeding leftover food to pigs may be numbered ... [more]

Space, the final frontier, is rapidly becoming one big trash dump ... [more]

What you don't see is what you eat. Edible coatings have come a long way since Grandma used an egg wash on her Swedish tea ring to make the crust shiny and golden ... [more]

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend" -- and some plants can signal to their insect friends when they're under attack ... [more]

Sit, RS-01, stay. Good robot ... [more]

When an elephant puts its foot down, people listen. And so, apparently, do other elephants -- using their toenails to sense messages sent from as far as 20 miles away ... [more]

An unhappy marriage can break a woman's heart, literally as well as figuratively ... [more]

Look inside a hand-held computer and you'll find that a sandwich of layers gives the screen just the right touch (registration required) ... [more]

The UN environment agency has launched a multimillion dollar project to help preserve the world's coral reefs, up to 60 percent of which are at risk -- primarily from human activity ... [more]

For lucid dreamers, sleep can be even better than reality. And new software could let almost anyone live out their fantasies during REM sleep ... [more]

The spread of foot and mouth disease to the Netherlands has prompted a pledge by the Dutch government to vaccinate vulnerable animals ... [more] And researchers have suggested a radical disposal method for UK farm animals slaughtered due to the disease -- napalm ... [more]

US semiconductor manufacturers have joined a worldwide effort by the industry to trim the use of long-lived chemicals that contribute to global warming ... [more]

A primary source of food for young fish is quickly disappearing from the Great Lakes, according to scientists who fear it could jeopardize decades of progress in restoring fish populations ... [more]

A solar power unit that can be carried in a backpack was created by a US inventor and released just three months ago. It is already making its way around the world ... [more]

Robots are beginning to walk, talk and even think like people. Is the age of robo sapiens just around the corner? ... [more]

Why do cats purr? Not just because they're happy, but to keep themselves healthy ... [more]

Coastal sea levels have risen a foot in the past century, and the high tide just keeps rising ... [more]

Some plans to save the world are of truly biblical proportions: The Garden of Eden is being recreated in the world's largest greenhouse ... [pretty pictures] ... [more] And a 21st century Noah's Ark is on ice at the University of New Orleans' "frozen zoo" ... [more]

The Mars Polar Lander may have been found -- intact -- by a top-secret spy imagery agency ... [more]

A new study may bring us closer to putting a chill on the common cold ... [more]

UK researchers have discovered that arsenic may play a role in endocrine disruption. The finding may offer important information on how arsenic increases the risk of cancer, diabetes and vascular disease ... [more]

Two men of science, armed with flashlights, video cameras, and a 50-gallon garbage can, went in search of the look of love in a fiery glowworm's eyes; and succumbed to the allure of raw firefly nookie in the wild ... [more]

Earth orbits in space -- everybody knows that. But how many of us really know it? ... [more]

Physicists making gravity measurements have concluded that while there may indeed be extra dimensions out there, they'd have to be pretty small ... [more]

Unwanted cellphones are adding to the growing mountains of high-tech cast-offs. But a few eco-minded, humanitarian groups are answering the call ... [more] And they're just in time for the advent of disposable cell phones ... [more]

A topical lotion with DNA-repair enzymes can help prevent sun damage from developing into skin cancer ... [more]

A Thai farmer has found his own solution to global warming and the stagnation of Thailand's rural economy. Coconuts, he says, can do everything -- even power his car ... [more]

Ever thought about arm-wrestling an ant? A new invention can put you eye-to-eye (and potentially toe-to-toe) with real, live creepy-crawlies ... [more]

Dyslexics rule, KO! And four key findings indicate that the problem is organic rather than motivational ... [more]

Aquaculture is booming, but at what cost? Major sectors of the global aquaculture industry are contributing to the collapse of world fisheries ... [more] But banning fishing in a third of the world's oceans could both protect stocks and benefit the industry ... [more]

Speed freaks: Although their tinkering nullifies warranties and can even do PCs harm, people who make a hobby of pushing processors past their limits are willing to take the risks ... [more]

Sick of your new home? You could have good reason. Studies in Australia and Britain have found high levels of toxic chemicals leaking from furniture, floors and paints in newly built ... [more]

The New Age gurus are right about one thing: the mind does matter. A positive state of mind can be almost as effective as drugs at fighting serious disease ... [more]

There are a few glimmers of hope in the global warming gloom: Technology to cut greenhouse-gas emissions is progressing more quickly than anticipated ... [more] And Earth may cool down the same way we do: by opening a window ... [more]

In a reversal of the usual pattern, a Brazilian is searching for herbal medicines among the plants of the British isles ... [more]

Despite recent efforts to turn pathogens into panaceas, there are still fears about the safety of Russia's once-immense biological weapons programme ... [more]

The meditation masters are right. Overload your mind with too many stray thoughts and you won't be able to focus on the task at hand ... [more]

Talking to the animals has long been the stuff of fairytales and great works of fiction. Now researchers are devising a common language to communicate with dolphins ... [more]

Amicable numbers have almost no practical applications -- but they have fascinated mathematicians since Pythagoras' days ... [more]

When you wish upon a star... NASA's wish for inexpensive space travel is proving elusive -- and costly ... [more]

Some autoimmune diseases my be triggered by foreign invaders: the cells mothers pick up from their unborn babies ... [more]

People in Tibet and the Andes have lived in thin air for thousands of years -- and the two races have evolved two quite different ways of coping with the altitude ... [more]

A cavernous dairy barn in the US home to the rebirth of dinosaurs, in all their glory -- with the help of a few modern materials ... [more]

Getting enough folic acid in the diet may be as important for prospective fathers as it is for mothers-to-be ... [more]

You're coughing, you're sneezing, you think you've just got the flu; but you could be a victim of sunspots ... [more]

If you ever though the Citroën was a wierd shape, then take a look at what's been on the drawing board of car designers over the years ... [more]

Complex carbon molecules and water have been found in the dust and gas around distant stars. The findings boost the theory that the cosmic stew of life is common in the universe ... [more]

A new kind of vaccine could one day stop the mass destruction of livestock during foot and mouth outbreaks ... [more]

Big wide eyes, chubby cheeks and a snub nose make babies irresistably appealing to most adults. But it's not just looks that parents adore -- it's how their baby smells ... [more]

Although they're as orderly as bathroom-floor tiles, surface atoms of copper -- and perhaps other solids -- actually roam randomly and widely within their grid ... [more]

Simpler superconducting: A common lab chemical has been found to be an excellent superconductor, promising cheaper, warmer applications ... [more]

Archaeologists have found the first strong evidence of Iron Age cannibalism in England -- apparently a sacrificial feast on a grand scale ... [more]

Stereolithography has a great future -- we know, we've seen it on Star Trek ... [more]

A recent law change in the UK means that hackers now have a new tag: cyberterrorists ... [more]

For more than a hundred years, biologists have used mice for genetic experiments -- but we still don't know which mouse gene does what. It's time to remedy the situation ... [more]

Floppy disks are not dead. They're just waiting around to be turned into hyperfloppies ... [more]

Moving mountains is a long way off, but controlling your computer by the power of thought is on the horizon ... [more]

Snotty nosed kids have it right after all. Babies who get frequent runny noses may have lower risk of developing asthma ... [more]

Israeli researchers may have found a way to diagnose schizophrenia with a simple blood test (free registration required) ... [more]

Cockroaches have contributed more to the latest super-sensitive car than just their shape ... [more]

Insulin-dependent diabetics may soon be able to (carefully!) throw away their syringes, in favour of a new aerosol inhaler ... [more]

A crash helmet that mimics the head's own flexible structure could save lives ... [more]

Antibiotic resistant bacteria in your gut may be exchanging genetic material with bacteria which are just passing through ... [more]

The asthma epidemic is growing exponentially. As researchers float various theories for the cause, doctors struggle to keep it under control ... [more]

Microchips that control hovering atoms may lead to new quantum computers ... [more]

The recipient of the world's first successful larynx transplant not only speaks clearly now -- he lifts his restored voice in a choir ... [more]

We humans love to remake space to fit our imaginations, our hopes, our fears -- and scientists are no more immune to anthropomorphic whimsy than the rest of us ... [more]

Was the Roman Empire laid low by mosquitos? Signs of malaria in a 1500-year-old skeleton suggest that the winged pests may have played a crucial part in Rome's downfall ... [more]

Money doesn't grow on trees, but plastic might ... [more]

Greenpeace has withdrawn its opposition to field trials of "golden" rice -- a genetically modified, vitamin A-enriched variety -- which is being developed to combat blindness in the Third World ... [more]

Talk about a sweet job. John Bower, a US plant pathologist, is on a mission to protect chocolate ... [more]

A new generation of optical interferometers is giving astronomers a significantly sharper view of the stars ... [more]

A novel way of embedding chips in polymers may let you have your computer and sit on it, too ... [more]

Scientists are lighting up the lab: harnessing the natural glow of bacteria and fireflies to illuminate everything from diseases to dolphins ... [more]

A decade ago, Native Americans won the right to recover religious artifacts from museums. Today, those artifacts are toxic, and untouchable. What went wrong? ... [more]

Gene-altered rubber plants are putting human proteins on tap ... [more]

If fate is truly written in our genes, it must be some cosmic scriptwriter's idea of a joke. It seems our genetic code is awfully similar to that of the fruit fly ... [more]

Its radiation-saturated surface is frozen, cratered, cracked and craggy. But Jupiter's moon Europa may be living proof that life can thrive in a bizarre blend of environments ... [more]

Moose may be friendly, but they aren't dummies -- especially when it comes to coping with unfamiliar predators ... [more]

Rediscovered data are providing a unique opportunity for scientists to compare childhood mental ability and later dementia ... [more]

A 10-year study of genetically modified crops should ease fears that 'superplants' will escape farm fields and crowd out natural species ... [more]

What do you get when you cross a goat with a spider? Not the latest B-grade movie plot but a way of getting commercial quanities of spider silk ... [more]

Prepare yourself for a robot invasion. But don't worry: they want nothing more than to make your life easier ... [more]

There's a new villain in the mystery of the ever-expanding US waistline: It's not the food, it's the suburbs ... [more]

Take your hats off for a moment and think of dearly departed technologies, like wax cylinders and Wordstar ... [more] Will these ten emerging technologies fare any better? ... [more]

Clone killer: A few misplaced carbon atoms may be why clones die so often ... [more]

A UK company has developed a gadget to electrify your libido: a giant, multi-coloured "love-light" ... [more]

Penguins wobble but they don't fall down -- even when aircraft fly overhead ... [more]

Bronze Age secrets are the backbone of the 'new' economy ... [more]

What makes us human? It may well be a billiard-ball sized area of our brains' frontal lobes ... [more]

Tetrachromats know that there's more to colour than meets the eye ... [more]

The human genome influences our lives and choices in countless ways -- but it's powerless when faced with chocolate ... [more]

Rich social environments appear to provide some protection against dementia and cognitive decline ... [more]

A new species of camel has been discovered that can survive salty water -- but it may be threatened by nuclear weapons ... [more]

Good news: vaccinations don't cause multiple sclerosis ... [more]

Intellectual heavyweights are born, not made ... [more]

Aquaholics beware -- drinking too much water may be doing you harm ... [more]

An arsenic-loving fern could help clean up contaminated land and water ... [more]

Your brain knows which of your memories are real, even if your mind's not sure ... [more]

Despite the trauma and disturbance of a savage war, Africa's mountain gorillas are slowly improving their prospects of survival ... [more]

Rats apparently can't escape the rat race, even when they're sound asleep ... [more]

There's no shortage of hydrogen in space, as well as a sprinkling of all the other star stuff. Now a team of Spanish astronomers has detected life-building carbon rings in interstellar space ... [more]

The brain is the focus of some of the most complex phenomena in nature. But sometimes, it is just another electrical circuit that can be controlled with the flip of a switch ... [more]

Doctors may need a new item of equipment to assess patients' risk of type 2 diabetes: a tape measure ... [more]

Genetically engineered super-smart mice have turned out to be super-sensitive to pain. So maybe it's not such a good idea to start 'enhancing' humans just yet ... [more]

Along with gray hairs, aging brings an increased ability to see silver linings ... [more]

As the lights dim in parts of the US because of an energy shortage, the model for supplying clean and abundant electricity can be found at a Portland sewage plant ... [more]

Stressed? A relaxing coffee break might just make it worse ... [more]

Holy water isn't always a blessing (free registration required) ... [more]

A new telescope will start scouring the skies early next year, looking for messages from the stars written in pulses of laser light ... [more]

Nanoscale memory cells could lead to smaller, less expensive cellular phones and digital cameras ... [more]

A rocket powered by thin films of nuclear material could get to Mars in as little as two weeks ... [more]

Three months on, life aboard the international space station Alpha keeps its residents far too busy to become bored or depressed ... [more]

Other Earths: are they out there? Was the formation of our lovably habitable Earth a freak accident or commonplace occurrence throughout the universe? ... [more]

When it comes to living in the reduced gravity of space, Mary Poppins could teach us a thing or two ... [more]

Sometimes, your ears may play tricks with your eyes ... [more]

A new study of Venus reveals a strange green glow in the night sky, while separate research seems to have solved a 20-year-old question about whether lightning strikes on the cloud-shrouded planet ... [more]

Two teams of scientists recently announced they can bring light to a halt, a finding that may speed up little-known efforts to create a desktop black hole ... [more]

Millimeter deviations from the expected wobble of the Earth's axis are giving geophysicists clues to what happens 1,800 miles underground ... [more]

Here's a sobering thought: Drunks can keep the lid on their temper -- if they want to ... [more]

A growing body of evidence suggests that the only important risk associated with mobile phones is a higher likelihood of traffic accidents (free registration required) ... [more]

Ah, listen to the sweet sounds of Earth, the dulcet tones of the electron density gradients, the crisp crackle of the lightning and the carefree whistle of magnetised plasma ... [more]

It often seems as if some animals have a 'sixth sense' which allows them communicate over long distances. Perhaps they have: one which picks up vibrations transmitted through the ground ... [more]

What a pity. Japanese whale-meat consumers could soon suffer from a dearth of whale blubber, after reports of high levels of PCBs in the fat prompted calls for a blubber ban ... [more]

The developers of a new liquid form of DNA aren't quite certain what it's good for, but they're sure it will come in handy ... [more]

Little by little, lightning sensors in space are revealing the inner workings of severe storms ... [more]

One of Australia's foulest pests -- the prolific and poisonous cane toad -- is poised to invade Kakadu National Park and lay waste to its native species ... [more]

Farming without a plough? The largest ever study of green farming shows surprising successes ... [more]

A US researcher has hit on a method for creating the ultimate nonstick surface ... [more]

A recent discovery in Namibia of early human stone tools has a leading anthropologist suggesting that scientists might have to reevaluate what they know about "the oldest periods in human evolution" in Africa ... [more]

Scientists using high-speed robots and the secrets of the human genome are leading the way to a brave new pharmacy ... [more]

Recycling newspaper and glass has become de rigueur among the environmentally conscious. Will they draw the line at recycling dead fish? ... [more]

It is a campaign that has lasted more than 50 years, but for Los Angeles' smog-busters, there's finally hope in the air ... [more]

Long periods of isolation, whether in the deep-freeze of Antarctica or the vast reaches of space, urge the mind to certain transformations ... [more]

What's in your fish tank? Check that coral -- you could be contributing to destructive fishing practices throughout the Indo-Pacific ... [more]

A new computer-controlled tractor leaves the driving to the Global Positioning System ... [more]

The activity of a single enzyme in peat bogs from Scotland to Siberia is the only thing preventing a massive release of carbon dioxide, says a British scientist ... [more]

The world's largest wind farm should generate enough electricity for 70,000 US homes ... [more]

Nocturnal worms with powerful homemaking instincts may have laid the foundations of some of the world's great coral reefs ... [more]

Inquisitive space ants may one day cruise the resource-rich asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter ... [more]

Little things mean a lot, especially when it comes to air pollution ... [more]

Scientists who accidently created a deadly version of mouse smallpox in the laboratory say lethal human viruses are only a step away, prompting renewed fears of bioterrorism ... [more]

Cold war, hot secret: Radioactive tags were used to track dissidents behind the Berlin Wall ... [more]

A colony of cannibalistic Dracula ants may be the "missing link" between ants and the wasps from which they evolved millions of years ago ... [more]

Drug reactions kill tens of thousands of patients each year. Part of the problem is how the medicine is being delivered. Researchers are seeking technologies that go beyond needles and pills ... [more]

Have you always wanted to work for NASA? Felt a yearning for a career in planetary exploration? Your time has come ... [more]

GM plans to join the ranks of manufacturers offering hybrid gasoline-electric systems on domestic cars, with a promise of up to 35% higher fuel efficiency ... [more]

Britons may want to watch out for moonstruck madness, but the folks Down Under have nothing to fear ... [more]

Drive safely: Take your eyes off the road now and then ... [more]

The problem: Ships' ballast water spreads harmful microorganisms around the world. The solution: Zap the water -- and its inhabitants -- with concentrated UV rays ... [more]

The Venetian organization Pax in Aqua is working with the World Wide Fund for Nature to focus international attention on the city's fight to overcome that sinking feeling ... [more]

Early tin cans effectively shut out mould and bacteria -- and, all too often, humans. Much ingenuity has since gone into making cans' contents accessible ... [more]

Your brain is a glutton for nourishment ... [more]

Scottish environmental officers are clamping down on overzealous Nessie-hunters, amid fears they could be a danger to the less fabulous inhabitants of Loch Ness ... [more]

Scary, hairy and huge they may be, but there's one exotic spider that has no difficulty attracting a mate. Its secret? Perfume ... [more]

Few people get a thrill out of sludge -- the goo that remains after cleaning sewage and other wastewater. But a new technique may pump up that excitement level, offering to cut costs and provide a safer product ... [more]

Honey is already being used to treat ulcers and burns. Now a provocative Turkish study indicates that it can be used during colon-cancer surgery to help prevent tumors from recurring ... [more]. And it may be the ultimate hangover headache cure, into the bargain ... [more]

Elephants might never forget, but they have every reason to be confused about their relatives ... [more]

Oceanographers have stumbled onto a spectacular deep-sea garden of hot springs and towering spires that they have nicknamed the Lost City (new link) ... [more]

Historians will look back at Y2K as the year the human race set out to forever break its terrestrial bonds -- to finally lay claim to permanent residence in space ... [more]

New findings suggest that autoimmune disorders may result from the rare confluence of entirely normal immune functions ... [more]

If awards were given for perfect timing, male king penguins would get the grand prize ... [more]

The cloning of a disease-resistant bull could lead to whole herds of naturally healthy, antibiotic-free beef ... [more]

Despite close study, scientists have been unable to pinpoint a cause of death for Oetzi the Iceman ... [more]

US researchers look to the Tour d'Espace to keep future astronauts fit and healthy -- courtesy of a zero-gravity exercise bicycle ... [more]

The death of a cancer patient due to use of an alternative cancer remedy has increased concerns over the rise of internet snake-oil peddlers (free registration required) ... [more]

Physicists have hoisted a one-dimensional banner in a two-dimensional wind to solve the puzzle of why flags flutter in the breeze ... [more]

NASA's Voyager 1 is at neither the beginning nor the end of the solar system, but it may soon arrive at the beginning of the end ... [more]

Consider it a stretch of the imagination or the ultimate high-wire act. All aboard the space elevator, to be whisked above Earth in an electromagnetic-powered cable car ... [more]

Ancient Mayan cities appear to have had their own version of urban sprawl ... [more]

UK conservationists say the increasing use of plastic stoppers to replace corks in wine bottles threatens an irreplaceable bird habitat ... [more]

An asteroid capable of wiping out a city has missed the Earth by an astronomical whisker ... [more]

Analysing how people wobble could help doctors and engineers pinpoint balance problems in humans and robots ... [more]

The Prozac generation may be on to something after all. Antidepressants not only relieve the symptoms of depression, they also appear to stimulate the growth of new brain cells ... [more]

Just in time for Christmas, Annals of Improbable Research presents the results of a study testing how the US Postal Service's handling some very peculiar mail ... [more]

Recent evidence shows that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. Furthermore, the data strongly suggest that an unidentified form of energy is the cause ... [more]

For water-borne life, turbulence can make the difference between life and death ... [more]

Biomass energy taps the past to fuel the future ... [more]

Black holes may generate as much energy as all the stars in the universe combined. And they are getting more massive all the time ... [more]

Armed only with a measuring cylinder and a microwave oven, US researchers are searching for a mythical beast, the very existence of which many deny: perfect popcorn ... [more]

Is standard videoconferencing leaving you flat? 3D tele-immersion all but teleports faraway places into the here and now ... [more]

How many genes does it take to make a person? Maybe not that many more than it takes to make a small plant ... [more]

Some say that life begins at forty, but so does the process of mental decline ... [more]

US and Canadian researchers have been earning their Scout badges in tying metal micro-knots ... [more]

For some rescued species, there may be no way home ... [more]

Traditional Chinese Medicine is thousands of years old and claims to have the power to cure what ails you, but its effect on wildlife gives environmentalists the heebie-jeebies ... [more]

The detection of an ocean deep below the frozen crust of Ganymede makes it the third of Jupiter’s moons thought to harbor liquid water ... [more]

A new breed of dyes for colour film may lead to a faster photo finish ... [more]

Proponents of solar power are seeking a place in the sun ... [more]

Whether or not it is the case that a mustard seed can move mountains, mustard's poorer cousin has just been certified one of the heavy lifters of 21st-century biology. It is the first plant to have its genome fully sequenced ... [more]

A Brazilian chemist says he has sniffed out an environmentally friendly solution to a problem ravaging the Amazon rain forest and plaguing the international perfume industry ... [more]

Bacteria and viruses in donated blood won't stand a chance against a "neutron bomb" strategy that kills dangerous microbes but leaves red blood cells intact ... [more]

Coloured lights, a giant butterfly, and a tube filled with bubbles: A psychedelic room that looks like a modern art exhibit is in fact designed to enhance mental stimulation for people with dementia ... [more]

Sometimes there are lessons to be learnt even from villains. By adapting a trick used by the AIDS virus, a team of US chemists has found a new way to smuggle drugs through cell walls ... [more]

The Scottish scientists who created Dolly, the world's first cloned mammal, plan to breed chickens that lay life-saving eggs ... [more]