This artist’s conception illustrates one of the most primitive supermassive black holes known (central black dot) at the core of a young, star-rich galaxy.
Astronomers have come across what appear to be two of the earliest and most primitive supermassive black holes known. The discovery, based largely on observations from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, will provide [...]

Researchers have found that the unique, specific changes among individuals in the sequence of DNA affect the ability of “control proteins” called transcription factors to bind to the regions that control gene expression.
The key to human individuality may lie not in our genes, but in the sequences that surround and control them, according to new [...]

Dog breeds and gray wolfs come from same evolutionary tree.

Dogs likely originated in the Middle East, not Asia or Europe, according to a new genetic analysis by an international team of scientists led by UCLA biologists.

This natural color view from the Cassini spacecraft highlights the myriad gradations in the transparency of Saturn’s inner rings.
From our vantage point on Earth, Saturn may look like a peaceful orb with rings worthy of a carefully raked Zen garden, but NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has been shadowing the gas giant long enough to see that [...]

A new infrared image from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, shows a cosmic rosebud blossoming with new stars.
A new infrared image from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, shows a cosmic rosebud blossoming with new stars. The stars, called the Berkeley 59 cluster, are the blue dots to the right of the [...]

In a country that claims to be the land of the free, the number of people under the control of the U.S. corrections system has exploded over the last 25 years to more than 7.3 million, or 1 in every 31 U.S. adults, according to a report released by the Pew Center on the States. [...]

Chemists have developed the most potent homogeneous catalyst known for water oxidation, considered a crucial component for generating clean hydrogen fuel using only water and sunlight.
Emory University chemists have developed the most potent homogeneous catalyst known for water oxidation, considered a crucial component for generating clean hydrogen fuel using only water and sunlight.

The planet, called CoRoT-9b, was discovered by using the CoRoT space telescope satellite.
An international team of scientists, including several who are affiliated with UC Santa Barbara, has discovered a new planet the size of Jupiter. The finding is published in the March 18 issue of the journal Nature.

The image spans about 50° of the sky. It is a three-colour combination constructed from Planck’s two highest frequency channels.
Giant filaments of cold dust stretching through our Galaxy are revealed in a new image from ESA’s Planck satellite. Analysing these structures could help to determine the forces that shape our Galaxy and trigger star formation.

Left: S. scovelli female. Right: Pregnant male Gulf pipefish.
Male pipefishes and their seahorse cousins are the only males that actually become pregnant and give birth, but pipefishes likely will never win any Father of The Year awards — their attitude towards their offspring can range from total love to total neglect, according to new findings [...]

The brain does not predict the unpredictable: The sight of bars apparently moving from bottom left to top right (dotted line) evokes activity in the primary visual cortex (V1).
It turns out that there is a striking similarity between how the human brain determines what is going on in the outside world and the job of [...]

Smog is a HUGE problem in India.

Officials in Delhi have unveiled a radical solution to tackle the increasingly noxious smog hanging over the city: a giant public air freshener that scrubs the atmosphere clean. The seven-tonne Systemlife Citta costs about 25 million rupees (£357,000). It sucks in 10,000 cubic metres of dirty air [...]

Why drink your coffee when you can inhale it?
Thanks to creative engineering by Harvard professor David Edwards, coffee addicts can now breathe their morning cup of joe (and get their caffeine fix) using a product called Le Whif.
Le Whif ‘gives us the kick of coffee without the cup,’ says Edwards.
How does it work? Users place [...]

Cosmologists use Type Ia supernovae, like the one visible in the lower left corner of this galaxy, to explore the past and future expansion of the universe and the nature of dark energy.
An international team led by Yale University has, for the first time, measured the mass of a type of supernova thought to belong [...]

One week old seed of the thale cress with embryo.
In the beginning is the fertilized egg cell. Following numerous cell divisions, it then develops into a complex organism with different organs and tissues. The largely unexplained process whereby the cells simply “know” the organs into which they should later develop is an astonishing phenomenon.

In natural photosynthesis, plants take in solar energy and carbon dioxide and then convert it to oxygen and sugars.
For decades, farmers have been trying to find ways to get more energy out of the sun. In natural photosynthesis, plants take in solar energy and carbon dioxide and then convert it to oxygen and sugars. The [...]

A new analysis of the land plant family tree suggests that flowering plants may have lived much earlier than previously thought.
Flowering plants may be considerably older than previously thought, says a new analysis of the plant family tree.

House made from recycled plastic
After working with Cardiff and Glamorgan universities for two years, Affresol Ltd., an innovative manufacturer of high quality, low cost, quick construction systems, has developed a new material called Thermo Poly Rock (TPR) from recycled plastics and minerals. The Building Research Establishment (BRE) and the Carbon Trust also played a vital [...]

Here’s an easy trend to copy.

Taking photos of people lying facedown on the ground in public is an emerging Internet meme. Facedowns is a photoblog of such pictures. The goal of the bloggers behind it, Lynn and Michael Chealander and Amy Mihyang, is to get facedown photos of people in many different countries around the [...]

Mega Mom on a Mission!

Donna Simpson already weighs 43st (273kg), but she is determined to nearly double her size to become the world’s fattest woman.
The 42-year-old from New Jersey, US, is set on reaching the 1,000lb mark (71st) in just two years. Remarkably she insists she is healthy, despite now needing a mobility scooter when [...]

A new technique developed at CU‑Boulder to identify individuals by the unique communities of hand bacteria they leave behind on objects they have handled may prove to be a valuable forensic tool in the future
Forensic scientists may soon have a valuable new item in their toolkits — a way to identify individuals using unique, telltale [...]

Yorkshire terrier.
A genetic study has found that small domestic dogs probably originated in the Middle East more than 12,000 years ago. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology traced the evolutionary history of the IGF1 gene, finding that the version of the gene that is a major determinant of small size probably originated [...]

This image, taken with atomic force microscopy, shows E. coli bacteria after they have been exposed to the antimicrobial peptide CM15. The peptides have begun destroying the bacteria’s cell walls.

For two decades, scientists have been pursuing a potential new way to treat bacterial infections, using naturally occurring proteins known as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Now, MIT [...]

Metaphase in a human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) cell. Chromosomes (red), microtubules (green).
If you can imagine identical twin sisters at rest, their breath drawing them subtly together and apart, who somehow latch onto ropes that pull them to opposite sides of the bed — you can imagine what happens to a chromosome in the dividing cell.

Abnormalities in how the nucleus accumbens, highlighted here, processes dopamine have been found in individuals with psychopathic traits and may be linked to violent, criminal behavior.
The brains of psychopaths appear to be wired to keep seeking a reward at any cost, new research from Vanderbilt University finds. The research uncovers the role of the brain’s [...]