7 new luminescent mushroom species discovered

Man I tell you, you can never have enough mushrooms… for some reason they’re really awesome; and glow in the dark mushrooms, that’s even more awesome. Not one, but seven of these new species were discovered, increasing the number of luminescent fungi from 64 to 71 (71 species of mushrooms that glow in the dark… [...]

Language is defined by culture, not biology

How and why language appeared has been a subject of countless studies and hours of research, but the results haven’t been always clear and as a matter of fact, they’ve sometimes been contradictory. Still, according to a recent study conducted by Professor Nick Chater (UCL Cognitive, Perceptual and Brain Sciences) and his colleagues, one thing’s [...]

Creating anticancer beer

Every once in a while you hear about such a good idea that you just know it deserves a prize. Such is the idea of a few students from Rice University, who are taking drinking beer to a whole new level; the genetically engineering level. They are entering it in the International Genetically Engineered Machine [...]

Diamonds hold the key to primordial life

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but according to a study led by Andrei Sommer, Dan Zhu, and Hans-Joerg Fecht, diamonds are life’s best friend too. According to them, billions of years ago the surface of these precious gems made it possible for life to rise, by providing just the right chemical conditions. It is currently [...]

Despite efforts, Creationism Creeps into U.S. Classrooms

If we were to state the obvious, there are 2 sides: creationists and evolutionists. Creationists are mostly religious people, and they believe humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe were created in their original form by a deity. Of course, evolutionists accept the scientific theory of biological evolution by natural selection or genetic drift. [...]

Meet the “oldest” Praying Mantis

Well this is a bit of a stretch; the thing is an 87-million-year-old praying mantis was found encased in amber in Japan. Scientists believe it may prove to be very useful in establishing a connection between mantises from the Cretaceous period and modern-day insects.Researchers have been searching for this “missing link” for many years. The [...]

Why most people fear snakes

Most people fear snakes, this kind of phobia being one of the most common in the world, although many people have never actually seen a snake. So how can this be? Well a recent study shows that this may point out that throughout time, mankind has learned to fear and avoid snakes (as well as [...]