CSI: Viking Age - Homicide charges dropped against ancient Norse

For years, archaeologists have believed that one of two women found on board a perfectly preserved Viking ship was a human sacrifice. But now scientists say that the collarbone injury that was thought to have killed her had actually been healing for weeks, and that her death may have been of natural causes. ...read more

Scientists achieve one small step for moon-farming

You may think of the moon as a harsh, unforgiving place. But scientists have succeeded in growing plants in a very close simulation of lunar soil! Turns out that all you need to do is add bacteria. And water. And air. ...read more

Researchers: Glasses aren't geeky

For too long, those who wear glasses have been stigmatized as dorkwads and lame-os. But now, scientists have declared that glasses-wearers are no more likely than the population at large to be introverted, and are slightly more likely than average to be "agreeable." There's no word on whether these geeky scientists are themselves four-eyed types with an agenda to push. ...read more

Scientists train suicidal fish

Seeking to resolve the environmental impact of fish farms, scientists are working to train fish to return to a specific point from their home in the open sea in response to an audio signal. The fish would be fed after the noise was broadcast until they were conditioned to associate that sound with good times -- until they got fat enough, and then they'd be killed and eaten, obviously. ...read more

Hero inventor to drag Canada into the space age

Canada is a great nation -- so shouldn't it have its own rocket-launch capabilities? One British Columbian aims to provide just that with his own brand of high-tech bottle rockets. The current models only go up a few hundred yards (or "metres," as they call them in Canada) but he has plans for a polymer-based version that can go into orbit. ...read more

Harvard profs attempt to fool college students with "science is sexy" lie

In an attempt to coax young people into their profession, a group of Harvard-based scientists threw a "science is sexy" party, in which they demonstrated the scientific basis for romantic attraction. Suckers who are conned into the sciences by this front will discover too late that the job mostly involves applying for grant money and fudging data. ...read more

Chinese breeding race of fluorescent pigs

A pig cloned by Chinese scientists with altered genes that caused it to glow under fluorescent lights has given birth to glow-in-the-dark piglets. This news gives hope to those who believe that such genetically altered animals could grow organs for human transplant -- and those who just want glowing pets. ...continue

Top ten scientific discoveries

From the crucial (stem cells that can be grown from ordinary skin tissues) to the wacky (real-life kryptonite - of a sort), these discoveries from 2007 showed that the march of science continues. ...continue reading 'Top ten scientific discoveries'