The Sun Alters Radioactive Decay Rates

Many scientists rely on the assumption that radioactive elements decay at constant, undisturbed rates and therefore can be used as reliable clocks to measure the ages of rocks and artifacts. Most estimates of the age of the earth are founded on this assumption.

However, new observations have found that those nuclear decay rates actually fluctuate based on solar activity. More...

Why Can't Science Start with the Bible?

A report that looked into a miracle Jesus performed over 2,000 years ago was recently retracted from a medical journal. A few weeks after the article was published, it drew ridicule from the blogosphere, and Virology Journal retracted it with an apology.

Since modern science and technology are commonly employed to conduct research on past events, why did this particular article create such an uproar? More...

Beetle Larva Bifocals Are Better than Manmade

The eye is an amazing organ. It enables an organism to translate light into electro-chemical impulses that the brain can assemble into "images" of the world around it.

Many types of eyes are known in the living world, and a new study describes one of the most intriguing eye designs yet to be uncovered. More...

Oil-eating Bacteria Are Cleaning Up Gulf

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has spawned concerns regarding the long-term negative impact on the area's ecology, and especially on local fisheries. These worries are based on the assumption that the oil would persist and carry deadly effects up the food chain for many years.

But a recent study showed that the oil is actually disappearing rather quickly. More...

The 'Animal Connection' Points to Creation, not Evolution

What do the oldest European artworks and the domestication of animals have in common? A Penn State University paleoanthropologist suggested that they are evidence of a unique connection with animals that profoundly shaped the evolutionary development of early man.

However, though her hypothesis provides an interesting spin on the evolutionary story, it ignores much of what the data actually reveal. More...

New Finds and Possible Fraud Discredit 'Chimp Culture'

Do chimpanzees have their own culture? If so, some researchers would connect their behaviors to aspects of human culture, which they believe supports an evolutionary relationship.

But current developments shed doubt on that idea. More...

Contrary to Expectation, Extinct Sea Monsters Were Expert Swimmers

Mosasaurs were marine reptiles with large jaws and big teeth. Their fossils have been found on every continent, including Antarctica.

Scientists had until now assumed that they were only mediocre swimmers. But new research is changing that perception. More...