The mysterious common ancestor of all life on Earth may have been more complex than before thought—a sophisticated organism with an intricate structure, scientists now suggest.
An international team of physicists has pushed the boundaries on ultra-precise measurement by harnessing quantum light waves in a new way. It is one thing to be able to measure spectacularly small distances using “squeezed” light, but it is now possible to do this even while the target is moving around. An Australian-Japanese research collaboration…
Scientists announced that they have succeeded in sequencing the full genome of the naked mole rat, an exceptionally long-lived and cancer-resistant rodent. While that might not sound like headline news, scientists say the findings could provide insights into human aging and risks for malignancy. Author Metanexus Editors
There is no clear correlation between tax cuts for high earners and economic growth, according to a new study by the Congressional Research Service. The findings are pertinent to a central debate in the presidential election, wherein President Obama is pushing to end the Bush-era tax cuts on high incomes, while his Republican challenger Mitt…
Large volumes of the greenhouse gas methane could have been produced under the Antarctic Ice Sheet over millions of years, which could add to global warming if released into the atmosphere by a thaw, a study said. Scientists from the universities of Bristol, Utrecht, California and Alberta simulated the accumulation of methane in Antarctic sedimentary…
When the Obama administration declared that employees of Catholic institutions must have contraception covered in their health plans (before the president’s deft backtracking compromise), one group of religious Americans stood firmly opposed to Obama’s original position. No, it wasn’t Catholics. Despite the bishops’ howls of protest, poll after poll showed Catholics supporting the administration’s new…
Scientists in a cluttered Berkeley laboratory are working a bit of biochemical wizardry to transform ordinary seaweed into biofuels that promise a new source of energy for this oil-dependent nation. The lab’s research has already fueled a start-up company whose workers at a coastal site in southern Chile are farming nearly 200 acres of kelp…