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Readers Respond to "Can We Feed the World and Sustain the Planet?" and Other Articles

ENTOMOLOGICAL ETHICS [More]

Mimicking Ear Makes Mobile Calls Clear

If you've ever been on the phone in a crowded room…hold on… [More]

Fruit Flies Take Medicinal Nips

We're not the only animals that like to knock back the hard stuff. Studies have shown that some mammals seek out food and drink that naturally contains alcohol. And according to new research, fruit flies will purposely hit the bottle: to self-medicate. [More]

California Seismologist Testifies Against Scientists in Italy Quake Manslaughter Trial

The courthouse in L'Aquila, Italy, on February 15 hosted a highly anticipated hearing in the trial of six seismologists and one government official indicted for manslaughter over their reassurances to the public ahead of a deadly earthquake in 2009 (see? "Scientists face trial over earthquake deaths " and "Scientists on trial: At fault? "). During the hearing, the former head of the Italian Department of Civil Protection turned from key witness into defendant, and a seismologist from California criticized Italy's top earthquake experts. [More]

Did life evolve in a `warm little pond'?

Geothermal pond near the Mutnovsky volcano, Kamtchatka. Copyright Anna S. Karyagina “But if (and oh what a big if) we could conceive in some warm little pond with all sorts of ammonia and phosphoric salts, light, heat, electricity etcetera present, that a protein compound was chemically formed, ready to undergo still more complex changes [..] ” [More]

DNA Robot Kills Cancer Cells

By Alla Katsnelson of Nature magazine DNA origami, a technique for making structures from DNA, may be more than just a cool design concept. [More]

Nanotechnology Turns Plants into Common Plastic

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - Dutch scientists have found a way of turning plant matter into the building blocks of common plastics using a nanotechnology process that offers an alternative to oil-based production. The team from Utrecht University and Dow Chemical Co produced ethylene and propylene - precursors of materials found in everything from CDs to carrier bags and carpets - after developing a new kind of iron catalyst made of nanoparticles. Existing bioplastics, which are made from crops such as corn and sugar, have only limited use as they are not exact substitutes for oil-based products. The new system, by contrast, produces chemicals that are the same as those made in petrochemical works, allowing them to be used in a wide range of industries. This also means they will not be biodegradable, although they will be made from renewable resources. Researcher Krijn De Jong and his colleagues envisage using non-food sources of biomass for the new process, such as fast-growing trees or grasses, rather than traditional crops, in order to reduce competition for resources between food and fuel. Plastics made from biomass could, however, be vulnerable to the same criticism that has beset biofuel production. Critics say the production of some biofuels can occupy land that would otherwise be used for agricultural purposes, thus limiting food and water resources for a rapidly rising world population. Some biofuel production could also increase carbon emissions, especially if rainforests are cut down to facilitate production. The research by De Jong and his colleagues, which was published Thursday in the journal Science, is still at an early stage. [More]

Microchip Implant Gives Medication On Command

For people who face frequent needle jabs to treat chronic conditions, a new technology is on the horizon that might make treatment a lot less painful. [More]

How the First Plant Came to Be

Earth is the planet of the plants--and it all can be traced back to one green cell. The world's lush profusion of photosynthesizers--from towering redwoods to ubiquitous diatoms--owe their existence to a tiny alga eons ago that swallowed a cyanobacteria and turned it into an internal solar power plant. [More]

Nitrogen Pollution Likely to Increase Under Climate Change

Scientists have recently found humanity's nitrogen footprint on watersheds once thought to be isolated and pristine, indicating our impact on the world is more widespread than previously imagined. [More]