Freeze on oil

American researchers have discovered that the Arctic Circle may contain as much as 30% of the world's undiscovered natural gas deposits and upto 13% of undiscovered oil, or double what we first thought. Writing in the journal Science, US Geological Survey (USGS) scientist Donald Gautier and his coll...

Fatty acids affect genes

We hear a lot about good fats and bad fats, and it can all get a bit confusing.  Now researchers in the US have studied the effects off the ratio of different fats in humans, and their effects on gene activity. Over the past century, we've seen significant changes in our Western diet, includin...

The oldest known leper

This week scientists have uncovered what they think is the world’s oldest example of a leprosy victim.  This is a paper in the journal PLoS One and the pictures are absolutely stunning; to an osteoarchaeologist at least. Gwen Robins and her colleagues, based at the Appalachian State University...

Cutting chromosomes gives clues to cell division

When we need new cells in our body, for example, to replace dead or damaged cells, they don't just appear from nowhere – they are created by the division of one cell into two new daughters. This process is called mitosis. Now scientists at the University of Michigan have used a clever laser techniqu...

A plethora of skin bacteria

Julie Segre takes us on a tour of the diverse species of bacteria her team have discovered crawling over our skin.

This Week in Science History - Identifying AIDS

This Week in Science History saw, in 1981, the publication of an article that was the first to describe a new endemic disorder of the immune system – what would later become known as Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. Sarah Castor-Perry explains more...