"Impact from the Deep" by Peter D. Ward

http://www.chicagocleanpower.org/ward.pdf

This short article from Scientific American, by Peter D. Ward, provides short overview with clear illustration of the mechanism of Mass Extinction he describes in detail in his book, Under a Green Sky: Global Warming, the Mass Extinctions of the Past, and What They Can Tell Us About Our Future.

Mass Extinctions have fascinated me since I was a little boy reading about Dinosaurs,  Peter Ward's books are the primary way I indulge that fascination as an adult.

I recommend the pdf if you want a short concise explanation, but strongly suggest the book if your looking for a deeper understanding, or if like me your fascinated by Mass Extinctions or Paleontology.

Robots Imitating Life

Amoeboid Robot based on slime mold


http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/mimssbits/27638/

Seaweed for Bio Fuel?

Article from Scientific America discusses using bacteria to make biofuel.

Sounds promising, in test "researchers ground up some kombu, mixed it with water and added the altered E. coli. Before two days had gone by the solution contained about 5 percent ethanol and water. It also did this at (relatively) low temperatures between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius."

They make the excellent point, that using seaweed for biofuel wouldn't compete with edible crop production.

New Insights into Primitive Cells

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2012/01/researchers-resurrect-lost-proteins-to-understand-molecular-machines.ars

The Bio Sciences are my weakest by far, so I am not going to try and give any highlights, just suggest people click on the Ars link above.

Science keeps opening doors into the past, so exciting!

Birds can do Math

Pigeons can learn abstract numerical rules, a skill that scientists had believed only primates possessed. Although the birds may not be able to do higher math, their ability to reason numerically is likely something that a wide variety of species can do, too, researchers say.

Full story at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/12/no-joke-pigeons-ace-a-simple-math.html

Spiders vs Ants, sort of like Ninjas vs Pirates

As many of the readers here probably already know from personal study, Spiders tend to have problems with Ants, researchers have discovered that Golden Orb Spinner Spiders use a chemical irritant in their webs to deter Ants.

Article is from the Australian Geographic.