These are science news items and links removed over time from my frontpage.

Older Science news/links

24.10.2011 Wolbachia: the male-killing, gender-bending, gonad-eating bacteria.

Many strains of Wolbachia do amazing things to their insect hosts: changing their sex, killing their offspring, and possibly even creating new species.

23.09.2011 FoldIt

If you haven't already read about how gamers have helped solve a problem in days which had baffled scientists for years, then it may change your view of the value of computer gaming. If you wish to join in you can download FodlIt from the Foldit project frontpage.

06.06.2011 Anti-matter created in the lab

Anti-matter has been created in a large enough quanitity, and maintained for long enough, to make experiments on it a real possibility. Star Trek engines aren't on the horizon for the foreseeable future, but it holds exciting possibilities - Ars Technica

04.05.2011 All-female lizard species created in the lab

Much to the chagrin of creationists, who reject evolution and the production of new species, a new species of all-female lizard evolves in the lab - Ars Technica

26.10.2010 Giant virus found in tiny predator

Another virus with an unexpectedly large genome is discovered, and carries some molecular parasites called inteins - Ars Technica - New Scientist

18.08.2010 Demise of Mammoths NOT down to humans

Latest research suggests that climate change was the key factor in the demise of the Mammoths - BBC

25.06.2010 Neutrino experiment poses challenge for particle physicists

Findings from two experiments hint that neutrinos may challenge traditional model of subatomic particles and forces - ScienceNews

09.06.2010 Methane eating bacteria in subzero environment

The discovery of methane eating bacteria at Lost hammer Spring offer prospect of life on other planets - AstroBiology Magazine

20.05.2010 Scientists create synthetic living cell

Scientists at the Venter Institute have constructed synthetic DNA and inserted it into a cell, creating a new organism - BBC - Nature - Scientific American

13.05.2010 New Cambrian fossil finds

Soft bodied animals, that are rarely fossiled, have been found in Moroccan deposits. They show that many Cambrian creatures survived for much longer than previously thought - BBC - Scientific American

10.05.2010 Neanderthals mated with humans?

A paper, recently published in Science, has analysed the genomes of Neanderthals and compared them to modern humans with quite striking results - BBC - National Geographic - LivesScience

04.05.2010 Very small and bizarre microbe's genome reconstructed

A strange archaeal organism that lives in a highly acidic environment has it's strange genome reconstructed - LiveScience

21.04.2010 Just how clever can Crows get?

Some remarkable film showing a crow that uses a sequence of 3 tools to get a reward - BBC

15.04.2010 BCA drops libel action against Simon Singh.

The British Chiropractic Association has dropped it's libel action against Simon Singh, who bravely stood up to the bullying legal action that attempted to silence his criticism of the pseudo-scientific claims of many chiropractors. - BBC

09.04.2010 New Hominin find - cautionary review

Just to balance the already overblown claims being made, a review that suggests caution over the interpretation of the new exciting finds - Nature

08.04.2010 New Hominin find - possible human ancestor

New fossils found in South Africa reveal a new possible hominin ancestor for humans. Let's hope the press coverage is a little more responsible and accurate than in the Ida episode. Scientific American - Science Daily - Eurekalert

06.04.2010 Velociraptor and Protoceratops

Fossil fragments of Velociraptor teeth found among Protoceratops bones - BBC

24.03.2010 Possible new Human relative discovered

A finger bone in a Siberian cave yields DNA evidence of what may be a previously unknown human relative from around 40,000 years ago - Scientific American - Nature

24.03.2010 Global warming eliminates territorial dispute

It appears that there may be an unexpected benefit to global warming, as a disputed island disappears under the sea - BBC

15.03.2010 Ancient amphibian may push back date of terrestrial invertebrates

A fossil skull found near Pittsburgh airport is one of only a few large amphibian fossils to display evidence of a predominantly terrestrial life history so early in geologic time - Eurekalert - LiveScience

08.03.2010 Shellfish could supplant tree rings for environmental data

New work on shellfish could supplant tree rings as indicator of climate, and confirm elements of the Viking sagas - Nature

05.03.2010 Dinosaurs wiped out by asteroid

It seems that everywhere there are reports of the latest study that strongly concludes that it was an asteroid and not volcanic activity from the Deccan Traps - BBC - Guardian - ScienceDaily - Space.com

04.03.2010 Dinosaurs may be slightly older than previously thought

Herbivore Asilisaurus kongwe pushes back the start of the dinosaur family another 10 million years - BBC - Geology.com

02.03.2010 Chiropractics try to silence critics

The UK libel laws are being abused by The British Chiropractors Association who are using them to try to silence science journalist Simon Singh. Internet supporters have hit back and reviewed the content of Chiropractics web sites and found a host of false claims, and have reported them for false advertising. For more informations see YT video and SimonSingh.net