Monday, May 24, 2010

Breakthrough in quest to boost rice yields - environment - 24 May 2010 - New Scientist

Breakthrough in quest to boost rice yields - environment - 24 May 2010 - New Scientist: "If any crop needs an evolutionary boost, it's rice. Nearly half of humanity relies on the stuff, and yields must increase more than 50 per cent by 2050 to feed growing demand, so the discovery of a gene mutation that can bump up yields by a full 10 per cent is exciting news."

Thursday, May 20, 2010

CultureLab: A physicist finds God in cosmic harmonies

CultureLab: A physicist finds God in cosmic harmonies: "In The Purpose-Guided Universe, Haisch makes his case for a physical cosmos that is deity-driven. The principal piece of evidence he uses is the apparent fine-tuning of the laws of physics for us to be here."

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

HowStuffWorks "10 Science Experiments That Changed the World"

HowStuffWorks "10 Science Experiments That Changed the World": "In 2007, the United States spent $368 billion on research and development, according to the National Science Foundation. Nearly 18 percent of that enormous pie went to fund basic research -- the kind driven by a scientist's curiosity or interest in a scientific question."