science

Back from the UK so the current hiatus here should be over. Despite the evidence from stocky hirsute Scotsmen like myself recent DNA analysis has all but proved that Human's did not interbreed with Neanderthals. Blow to "human-Neanderthal inter-breeding" theory

Today is the 50th anniversary of the publication of the discovery of the structure of DNA by Francis Crick and James Watson. They received international recognition and Nobel prizes. The discovery relied upon research by Rosalind Franklin who did not receive any such recognition and died at the age of 37. Use the power of the web and make this Remember Rosalind Franklin Day by posting about her. HoustonChronicle.com - 'Photo 51' examines the unsung heroine of DNA

Doctors log on to fight SARS outbreak "Crippen says SARS is the first Internet-age epidemic." (Sorry, I just can't get over the fact that the physician quoted here is actually called Dr. Crippen, the name of one of Britain's most notorious murderers.)

"One of the most interesting things to me about this whole SARS episode is that with our current heightened awareness globally of potential bioterrorism, we have in place a surveillance system that is much more sensitive," he said. "My sense is that five to 10 years ago, these cases would have never hit our radar screen." Daily Review Online

A boy's own stem cells are used to trigger re-growth of part of his heart. Now if these cells were from someone else, some 'pro-lifers' would have a problem with it. Is pro-choice non pro-liferation? Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage

According to a journalist friend, the theory that the Amazon is human created (as quoted in this Atlantic Monthly piece from last year) is gaining support in scientific circles. "In a widely cited article from 1989, William Bal

"The world's first truly artificial organism has been engineered by researchers in California. The bacterium makes an amino acid that no other organism uses to build proteins." New Scientist

Stephen Wolfram is this years winner of Wired's tech renegade of the year award. Wolfram spent the best part of ten years in a nocturnal existence working on 'A new kind of Science' which he self published because he didn't trust peer review. If he was a painter his garret existence would be a badge of honor, but in the world of science this isolationist approach draws suspicion. connected.telegraph.co.uk - A revolution or self indulgent hype? How top scientists view Wolfram