LATEST NEWS
Vast stores of water ice surround Martian equator
19:30 20 November 2008 | 7 comments
Underground glaciers around the planet's midsection contain the largest deposits of ice outside the polar regions
It's confirmed: Matter is merely vacuum fluctuations
19:00 20 November 2008 | 28 comments
The apparently solid stuff is no more than fluctuations in the quantum vacuum, fiendishly complex calculations confirm
Dictators lay down the law in baboon troupes
18:00 20 November 2008 | 2 comments
Junior baboons follow their leaders blindly, even though they are often denied food as a result
Planes, trains or automobiles? Climate villains revealed
16:39 20 November 2008 | 5 comments
A study that takes into account the different nature of all transportation emissions, says cars and trucks have the biggest warming effect on the planet
Light opens up a world of sound for the deaf
THIS WEEK: 17:48 20 November 2008 | 1 comment
Infrared light can stimulate neurons in the inner ear as precisely as sound waves, a discovery that could lead to better cochlear implants
Gallery: Ape artists raise funds for conservation
16:00 20 November 2008 | 4 comments
See colourful works of art painted by bonobos and orangutans for an exhibition called Apes Helping Apes aiming to raise money to preserve wild apes
Cybercrime toll threatens new financial crisis
14:50 20 November 2008 | 2 comments
Internet crime costs $100 bn annually and international regulation is needed to prevent a catastrophe "equivalent to the current financial crisis", say experts
Were Neanderthals stoned to death by modern humans?
14:25 20 November 2008 | 14 comments
Changes in bone shape left by a life of overhand throwing hint that Stone Age humans regularly threw heavy objects, while Neanderthals did not
New project aims to unite science and Hollywood
00:32 20 November 2008 | 19 comments
The US National Academy of Sciences is sponsoring a programme to improve scientific accuracy in the entertainment industry
Water recycler and beds installed on space station
23:30 19 November 2008 | 2 comments
The work will pave the way for the station's crew size to double to six next year
FAVOURITE COMMENT
Ets Are Here
"Aliens are too clever to be obvious. If we can make things invisible with metamaterials (in theory) then imagine what billion year old technology can do. They're here and have been here for billennia. Maybe we should learn from Them how to tread lightly on the world and not trash it up." Adam
COMPETITION
Feedback Competition 2008: Glad Timings We Bring
Imagine three time travellers arriving, bearing gifts from the future. Tell us what the gifts would be, and win a bag of Christmas treats!
TECHNOLOGY
Ancient grave reveals 'Flintstone' family
A Stone Age massacre has provided evidence of the earliest known nuclear family
LIFE
Division of labour may not be key to ant success
Ants given a specific job to do are not necessarily the best at it – suggesting that social insects are not as organised as thought
SHORT SHARP SCIENCE BLOG
Should we clone a Neanderchimp?
17:49 20 November 2008 - updated 17:53 20 November 2008
Michael Crichton would have been proud of science yesterday. When researchers announced the completion of much of the woolly mammoth genome, most of the news stories focused on the prospect of resurrecting the ancient elephants, which went extinct about 5000...
Magnets make opening curtains an art form
17:22 20 November 2008 - updated 18:06 20 November 2008
Here's a simple but effective idea that's guaranteed to make opening the curtains in the morning a lot more fun. Florian Kräutli, a Swiss designer, has stitched a network of regularly-spaced magnets into a sheet of fabric. The result...
The end of trivia chat?
16:56 19 November 2008 - updated 18:14 19 November 2008
The internet puts a wealth of information at the fingertips of people the world over. But a good proportion of us seem unable, or unwilling, to use it. You're probably as likely now as 20 years ago to hear someone...
