science and technology

Vanishing Arctic sea ice brought on by climate change is causing the crucially important microscopic marine plants called phytoplankton to bloom explosively and die away as never before, a phenomenon that is likely to create havoc among migratory creatures that rely on the ocean for food, Stanford scientists have found.

"RoboCop" and "I, Robot" may not be as far-fetched as you think, and IBM and five universities including Stanford are teaming up to prove it.

Well we all know the economy is in the dumper and layoffs and foreclosures abound. Sounds like perfect time to buy a video game console and lots of video games, doesn't it?

When the Phoenix Mars lander succumbed to the Red Planet's harsh arctic winter earlier this month, dedicated amateur space explorers who followed the mission for months felt as though they'd lost a loved one. To them, Phoenix had become more than a complex mix of metal, solar panels and circuits - it was flesh and blood.

Call it the "intelligent pill" -- an amazing capsule that understands when your body needs medicine.The Dutch electronics company Philips, a maker of Webcams and cordless phones, has invented a battery-powered, programmable drug capsule it calls the "iPill."

Gears of War 2Platform: Xbox 360Genre: ShooterPublisher: Microsoft GamesESRB Rating: M for MatureGrade: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Here's the dilemma.At a fundamental level, we age because our cells stop dividing and multiplying.So why shouldn't medical science try to extend our life spans and improve our health in old age by making sure our cells keep proliferating?

While the Internet age has our virtual lives up to warp speed, there remains a nagging speed bump We're talking about the time it takes to get your computer operating system up and running. It can be a couple of minutes or more, depending on the age of your computer and the applications it has.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Genetic technology developed to identify the remains of those killed in the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will be enhanced in a University of Arizona genomics laboratory to solve a more complex puzzle - identification of families separated for generations after the Holocaust.

The future isn't exactly now, but presenters at the Sarasota International Design Summit in Florida assure us it's coming very soon.