Amid the current media frenzy about Somali pirates, it’s hard not to imagine them as characters in some dystopian Horn of Africa version of Waterworld. We see wily corsairs in ragged clothing swarming out of their elusive mother ships, chewing narcotic khat while thumbing GPS phones and grappling hooks.
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Ancient microbes discovered alive beneath Antarctic glacier
Beneath an Antarctic glacier in a cold, airless pool that never sees the sun seems like an unusual place to search for life. But under the Taylor Glacier on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, near a place called Blood Falls, scientists have discovered a time capsule of bacterial activity. At chilling temperatures, with no oxygen or sunlight, these newly found microbes have survived for the past 1.5 million years using an “iron-breathing” technique, which may show how life could exist on other planets
With anti-addiction pill, ‘no urge, no craving’
A no-frills bar called Goober’s, just north of Providence, Rhode Island, is probably the last place you’d expect to find a debate over cutting-edge addiction therapy. But this is where Walter Kent, a retired mechanic, spends his Fridays. He helps in the kitchen and hangs out in the bar, catching up with old friends
Birds face biggest threat since Ice Age, scientists suggest
Global markets surge on U.S. optimism
Type A Personalities Have the Edge in Procreating
Wipe Away That Frown: Botox Makes You Happier
Botox may not only provide a nonsurgical face-lift it may also lift your spirits, new research suggests. By paralyzing the facial muscles used for frowning, Botulinum Toxin A or Botox prevents people from physically displaying expressions of negative emotion. Building on previous research that suggests facial expressions not only reflect but influence mood levels, the new study hypothesizes that Botox may lighten people’s moods by literally wiping the frowns off their faces
Want to Save Money? Carry Around $100 Bills
Crabs ‘feel and remember pain’ suggests new study
New research suggests that crabs not only suffer pain but that they retain a memory of it. The study, which was carried out by Professor Bob Elwood and Mirjam Appel from the School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s University, Belfast, looked at the reactions of hermit crabs to small electric shocks