Science and Tech

SAN FRANCISCO - Wanted: Dark-haired HIV-negative men and women to participate in a study designed to measure drug levels in hair.

It's called the "Strand Study" and it's part of a larger effort by AIDS scientists to look at whether people who are HIV-negative can benefit from prophylactically taking anti-HIV drugs to reduce their chances of infection.

Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time

Platform: PlayStation 3

Genre: Platformer

Publisher: Sony

ESRB Rating: E for Everyone

Grade: 4 stars

For a while I was the coolest nerd on the block last week because I had a review unit of Verizon's "Droid" phone on my desk before the official release date.

This prompted lots of visits from long-lost friends and plenty of Star Wars jokes ("This IS the droid I was looking for...") but finally after the flock left I was left with a few days to poke around on the phone myself.

SAN FRANCISCO - Consumers are increasingly relying on humans to help them sift through the huge amounts of news, video, music and other media online, as social networking and old-fashioned editorial filtering promise ever more personalized results.

It's the Internet equivalent of a friend's referral, adding more of a human touch to a medium long dominated by crawlers and algorithms.

HOBUCK BEACH, Wash. - They died in droves: common murres, scoters, loons and more, in the largest-ever-recorded kill of seabirds on Washington's coast.

A new study encourages governments to consider sea level rise when deciding what land along the coast should be protected and what areas should be allowed to turn to marsh or beach.

Scientists have decoded the words in the secret chemical language of Argentine ants, a discovery that could lead to an environmentally benign pesticide against the insects.

I have received a boatload of questions recently about online backup solutions, I believe in the wake of a huge ad campaign by one of the major providers of this service.

Before we wade in, we need to lay the foundation.

There are really three ways to back up your computer.

Imagine for a moment seeing the world through the eyes of a Terminator cyborg. Information on objects, locations and people automatically pop up in real time as you encounter them.

Need directions to the nearest transit line? Virtual signposts instantly appear, guiding the way. Curious about the historic building you're looking at? A description floats into your view.

CLEMSON, S.C. - Algae could have had a lot to do with the extinction of dinosaurs and other species, two Clemson University scientists report.

And that could bode ill for present species if the Earth's temperatures are rising, as many scientists have reported.