Google has applied for a patent covering a person-to-person mobile payment system that uses text messages, which could move it further into the banking market.

Marc van Roosmalen is a world-renowned primatologist whose research in the Amazon has led to the discovery of five species of monkeys and a new primate genus. But precisely because of that work, van Roosmalen was this year sentenced to nearly 16 years in prison and jailed in Manaus, Brazil.

Astronomers have put a high-tech spin on an old technique known as "lucky imaging" to capture some of the sharpest ever shots of galaxies, stars, and nebulas.

Italian nuclear scientists have confirmed that the relics of St. Francis of Assisi kept in the Basilica of Cortona are real.  Four Franciscan churches in central Italy claim to hold a habit of St. Francis of Assisi, the friar who founded the Franciscan order in the early 1200s.

Patients switching from Pfizer’s branded cholesterol pill Lipitor to Merck & Co’s Zocor — now available as a cheap generic — are more likely to have a heart attack or die, according to a Pfizer-backed study.

WiTricity exploits a phenomenon that allows two objects resonating at the same frequency to exchange energy efficiently. Within five years, MIT hopes to release a commercial product with better power efficiency, a larger field and more compact, multitasking coils.

UK’s senior appeal court judge, Lord Justice Sedley, is quoted as saying, "The whole population and every UK visitor should be added to the national DNA database."  According to him, the present database in England and Wales holds details of 4m people who are guilty or cleared of a crime. He says this is indefensible […]

A Belgian prosecutor recommended after a 10-year investigation that the government prosecute the church of Scientology. The church is accused of being a criminal organization involved in extortion, fraud, unfair trading, violation of privacy laws, and unlawfully practicing medicine.

Architectural and engineering teams have begun shaping the look and feel of New Mexico’s Spaceport America, taking the wraps off new images today that showcase the curb appeal of the sprawling main terminal and hangar at the futuristic facility. Very cool images.

More than six in 10 Internet users watch online videos, according to an Advertising.com-commissioned study conducted by InsightExpress.