The Guild of Scientific Troubadours

Dark energy is the mysterious force that keeps the universe from imploding – or, some say, is pushing us all farther and farther apart. Other than that, we don’t know a thing … Read the rest “Joint Dark Energy Probe: Why are we falling apart?”

We’re in the middle of massive extinction event, warns SciDevNet – not of species, but of breeds. As in livestock. And that can be bigger problem than you’d think:

The

Oh, man. Nature gives us another reason to be terrified of moray eels. They’re just like the alien that stalked Sigourney Weaver:

Like the fearsome extraterrestrial from the sci-fi

Nature reveals that British researchers have been given the green light to create embryos from human DNA implanted in animal cells. Just don’t call them “human-animal hybrids”… Read the rest “Creatures called “cybrids.””

New Scientist reveals the new design for Spaceport America, to be built in the New Mexico desert in 2008:

The designers of Spaceport America opted for a “low-lying, organic shape”

We’re too clean, reports Science Daily. We need to get dirty to stay healthy:

Families with three or more children – a more common family dynamic 20 or 30 years ago – tend to have fewer

By now, you’ve probably heard about the gaping hole in the middle of everything, as covered by Scientific American (from Reuters):

The team at the University of Minnesota said the

Or, well, something like Ice-9. At least, so says New Scientist:

Layers of ice of few nanometres thick can remain frozen at human body temperature when grown on top of diamond sheets with

Check out what Scientific American has to say about these gizmos called “ultracapacitors” that could soon fuel cars without gasoline… and without chemical batteries:… Read the rest “No more batteries.”

PhysOrg has a sweet little story about the jokey birth of what could be the earliest computer virus:

He developed what is now known as a “boot sector” virus. When it boots, or

Science Daily reports on some very strange behavior found in bacterial DNA – one parasite’s entire genome is replicated by the host’s body. And, the researchers believe,… Read the rest “Stowaway Genes”

Experts at Harborview Medical Center and the University of Washington are refining an ultrasound device that seals punctured lungs without invasive surgery, reports Science Daily. … Read the rest “Star Trek medical scanner is GO!”

New Scientist confirms the fever-dreams of many a fanatic gardener with the discovery that mammals didn’t take over right after the death of the dinosaurs – orchids did:

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