In the media

NASA scientists studying the origin of life have reproduced uracil, cytosine, and thymine, three key components of our hereditary material, in the laboratory. They discovered that an ice sample containing pyrimidine exposed to ultraviolet radiation under space-like conditions produces these essential ingredients of life. – See more at: http://www.astrobio.net/topic/origins/origin-and-evolution-of-life/nasa-ames-reproduces-building-blocks-life-laboratory/#sthash.7JIfVL47.dpuf

Investigadores españoles trabajan para que la botánica sea una disciplina forense reconocida. Además de resolver casos de asesinato, la técnica permite detectar fraudes alimentarios, envenenamientos o el origen de partidas de droga. Así se abre el camino hacia la futura botánica forense española.

Clinical trials underway after scientists in Madrid pioneer technique which hones in on woman’s optimum time for treatment

Desde el nacimiento, millones de bacterias empiezan a colonizar nuestro intestino. Desempeñan un papel fundamental para mantener la salud física pero, además, podrían tener mucho que decir en la personalidad. Modifican el estado emocional, influyen sobre la memoria, el estado de ansiedad e incluso serían clave a la hora de elegir compañía sexual, como apuntan estudios con animales. Sin ellas no seríamos quien somos.

Long-awaited shift in tropical Pacific will have little effect on weather patterns.

To some people, the transition to daylight saving time means a few days of sleep deprivation, or the chance to leave work before the sky is completely dark. To others, it’s a perfect opportunity to conduct scientific research.

Virginia Tech (VT) offers a glimpse into just how much “big data” has changed the game by magnifying the U.S. intelligence community’s ability to forecast—with phenomenal accuracy—human behavior on a global scale by scouring Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia, Tumblr, Tor, Facebook and more. VT is using algorithms and a variety of advanced tools to sort through dense and complex information for patterns in the chaos—patterns that frequently point to events before they happen, such as civil uprisings, disease outbreaks, humanitarian crises, mass migrations, protests, riots, political routs, even violence.

An infection sweeping through Australia’s koala population is revealing how retroviruses insert themselves into the genome

Etiopian aurkitutako hominino baten fosilak 2,8 milioi urte inguru dituela kalkulatu dute. Inoiz aurkitu den Homo generoko fosilik zaharrena da, eta milioi-erdi urte atzeratzen du Homo generoaren jatorria. Hain zuzen ere, genero hori uste baino lehenagotik datorrela ondorioztatu dute aldi berean argitaratu den beste ikerketa batean ere, Homo habilisen aspaldiko fosil bat ordenagailu bidez berregin ondoren.

A huge primitive ocean covered one-fifth of the red planet’s surface, making it warm, wet and ideal for alien life to gain a foothold, scientists say