Science / Technology News

Google opened its own virtual world, Lively, in July. Unfortunately, not everything Google does turns gold. And at the end of the December, Lively will become lifeless.

Yep, Apple released the 2.2 version of the iPhone software today, as expected, and it's big. And by big I don't mean just feature-wise, but size-wise. For comparison's sake, the 2.1 update was 237.8 MB; this one is 246.4 MB.

When we think of single-celled organisms, we invariably think of tiny little beasties that can only be seen under a microscope. However, there are single celled organisms that are visible to the naked eye, as the image shows. These organisms may prove important to the study of evolution.

Mars has vast glaciers hidden under aprons of rocky debris near mid-latitude mountains, a new study confirms, pointing to a new and large potential reservoir of life-supporting water on the planet.

Despite the soap opera currently going on at its company, Yahoo! is certainly not sitting still. Thursday night, it unveiled Yahoo! Glue to U.S. users, something it has been experimenting with in India.

A woman went into surgery expecting to have a brain tumor removed, but what doctors found was something --- alive. Yes, rather than a brain tumor, doctors removed a worm from Rosemary Alvarez' brain.

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has made its second significant discovery : There are vast Martian glaciers of water ice under protective blankets of rocky debris - outside the polar caps.

While Google's new version of its Mobile App for the iPhone has been warmly received, according to a report, it appears it uses an undocumented API, which would be a no-no in Apple's book. However, the use of the API results in a great user experience, so one has to wonder: did Apple let the app into the App Store because it was great, because Google is so powerful, because the NY Times pimped the app, or because Apple just missed it?

November 20th begins the 32nd annual Great American Smokeout. While smoking is an addiction, and thus difficult or even near impossible to stop, there are many reasons to quit --- and I shouldn't have to tell you them.

Homeowners who dream of their electric meter spinning backward may seek solar panels to slash bills and carbon emissions. But where to start?

Before you call a contractor, these sites can assist with the early steps, like summing up what you could spend or save in your neighborhood.

Researchers have positively identified the remains of 16th-century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. They did so by comparing the DNA of hair found in one of Copernicus's books with that of skeletal remains found in 1995.

Today's column might as well carry the byline of Mr. Grinch. It's pretty much all negativity, explaining why five kinds of gadgets aren't worth your money this holiday season: Blu-ray high-definition players, XM and Sirius satellite radio receivers, set-top Internet video boxes, phones running Google's Android software and e-book readers like Amazon's Kindle.

I remember (and this will date me) when the first issues of PC Magazine, founded in 1982, came out. As time progressed, the magazine because huge, pushing 600 pages at the max if I remember correctly (and it's been a while), much of which was advertising. I recall looking at the tome once and trying to figure out how much was actual content.

Wal-Mart is set to join Best Buy as yet another retailer selling the iPhone, outside of the obvious Apple and AT&T locations. According to a report by BGR, they have internal communications that indicate the retail giant will begin selling the iPhone 3G on December 28th.

The “Big Three” U.S. auto companies are begging the government for money. But what have they been doing recently to prepare for the future? Developing more energy efficient cars? Feh! They’re engineering cars that are easier for aging boomers to drive

Researchers studying a rare and endangered species of penguin have uncovered a previously unknown species that disappeared about 500 years ago.

NASA isn't sure how a mishap in orbit occurred. A spacewalking astronaut accidentally let go of her tool bag yesterday after a grease gun inside it exploded.

Microsoft introduced its latest Zune models, as well as the version 3.0 update of its software in September. And here we are, already facing a price cut, and a pretty good one at that. Although Microsoft would like to call it a holiday price cut, one would have to wonder if the difficult economy, which has led to some pretty sad forecasts from retailers, has anything to do with this.

Oil giant BP and George Soros' investment firm are putting millions of dollars into a company that has isolated a microbe that can create ethanol.

One of the biggest photo collections in the world is now available to the public online, thanks to Life Magazine and Google. Most of the photographs, which range from the 1750s through the present day, have never been seen before.