The Tomato Genomics Consortium fully sequenced the genome of the tomato, Solanum lycopersicu. They report in the Journal Nature that tomatoes possess some 35,000 genes arranged on 12 chromosomes. This research provides insights into fleshy fruit evolution and will allow plant breeders to produce new varieties more quickly with specific desired characteristics. For the first [...]

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute believe that they now know where the methane on Mars is originating from. In their published work, the scientists conclude that high-energy UV radiation triggers the release of methane from meteorites, which carry along carbonaceous compounds and continuously impact on the Martian surface. It was a sensation when scientists [...]

New research from anthropologists at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville found that white American skulls are becoming larger, taller, and narrower as seen from the front, resulting in a skull height increase of 6.8 percent since the late 1800s. White Americans’ heads are getting bigger. That’s according to research by forensic anthropologists at the University [...]

Researchers have discovered that the proliferation of oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere was linked to a sudden change in its mantle, billions of years ago, during the Paleoproterozoic era. Scientists from Princeton University published their findings in the journal Nature and revealed that rocks preserved in the Earth’s crust showed a steep decline in the [...]

The smallest five-ringed structure possible is about 100,000 times thinner than a human hair, and it was created by a collaboration between the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), the University of Warwick and IBM Research in Zürich. Scientists used a combination of synthetic chemistry and modern imaging techniques to create olympicene. The scientists decided to [...]

This year, more than a third of the world will suffer from shortages of potable water. This number is expected to rise by 50% by 2025 and that’s one of the reasons why the desalination techniques of seawater are so important, because they will allow coastal communities to address local shortfalls. The new technology was [...]