Science / Technology News

Creationists and their intellectual cousins, intelligent design proponents, keep saying that scientists disagree as to 'the truth' of evolution, and that the field is therefore in crisis.

As is common in these circumstances, some creationist claims are in fact correct, but trivially so, while the use that creationists attempt to make of the claims themselves is highly (and possibly willfully) misleading.

Leonard Boyarsky wasn't the only big Blizzard developer we spoke to this past weekend in Paris.

George Washington Foundation director of archaeology David Muraca, left, and GWF research fellow Philip Levy examine evidence of a fire that damaged the Washington family home in 1740.

A female tuatara poking her head out of a nest. A female tuatara poking her head out of a nest.

Scientists using data from NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft have observed the bubble of solar wind surrounding the solar system is not round, but has a squashed shape, according to recent data published as part of a series of papers in this week's Nature.

Companies planning to build huge solar power plants in the desert will be able to file new applications to use federal lands after the Bureau of Land Management reversed its position on the issue Tuesday.

Well, they wanted to set a record, and they did it. Mozilla now holds a Guinness World Record for the most software downloads in 24 hours.

It's somewhat of an obvious idea, but not confirmed, until now. Since AT&T will allow any iPhone users to get the new pricing on the iPhone 3G, no matter where they are in their contract, many may opt to snag a new 3G version and de-activate the old one.

During the European heat wave of 2003 that killed tens of thousands, the temperature in parts of France hit 104 degrees. Nearly 15,000 people died in that country alone. During the Chicago heat wave of 1995, the mercury spiked at 106 and about 600 people died.

In a few decades, people will look back at those heat waves "and we will laugh," said Andreas Sterl, lead author of a new study and a scientist at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. "We will find (those temperatures) lovely and cool."

Hydrogenation, the process used to convert oil into solid trans fat by adding hydrogen, occurs in nature also. Bacteria in animals’ stomachs hydrogenate the fatty oils from animal feed, for example.

It’s a good idea, of course, to try to save on fuel. The problem comes when people who don’t know what they’re doing seize on what they think are the principles of hypermiling, leading them to adopt dangerous tactics, such as driving too slowly in traffic, tailgating larger vehicles or “drafting” (driving in another vehicle’s slipstream to reduce wind resistance) too closely, rolling through stop signs or making turns without using the brakes.

Egypt's best-known excavations usually focus on the glittering mummies and grand monuments of the pharaohs, but for something completely different, travel up the Nile to Tell Edfu: The archaeologists digging there have uncovered ruins that shed light on the administrative and agricultural foundations of ancient Egypt's riches.

Remember Albany, the beta version of Microsoft's subscription-based version of Office and Windows Live OneCare that I wrote about in mid-April? Well, Albany is now Equipt, but you won't find it in the state of New York: for now, starting in mid-July, you'll find it only at Circuit City.

Despite numerous assertions from both companies that they've "moved on," and even a statement from Bill Gates indicating a Yahoo! deal is unlikely, it appears Microsoft continues to pursue Yahoo!, somewhat like a spurned suitor pursuing his ex-.

The latest in the continuing soap opera: a report that indicates that Microsoft is in talks with other companies, searching for partners for a new run at Yahoo!.

A University of Chicago expedition at Tell Edfu in southern Egypt has unearthed a large administration building and silos.

A new assistive technology developed by engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology could help individuals with severe disabilities lead more independent lives.

Looks like we'll have to get up bright and early to buy the new iPhone. Also, AT&T says a "no-commitment" iPhone is "coming soon." First things first: The new iPhone 3G will go on sale at 8 a.m. next Friday.

Children studying subjects like math, physics and chemistry have a harder time gettings A's than students of similar ability studying subjects like media studies and psychology, according to a new report that really doesn't surprise anyone.

A laser treatment that wipes out drug-resistant bacterial infections may one day help doctors tackle the growing problem of superbugs, British researchers said on Tuesday.

The project: take 50 people from ten countries to defy common sense and for 30 days surf the Web on a computer with no anti-spam software. Not just that, they were to take risks, and respond to spam, to make matters worse.

The results were unsurprising. Of course, being the security company that it is, and having its own anti-spam product, McAfee has a vested interest in the results.