23 August 2011 Fossils from the Pilbara could shine a light on the search for life on Mars. tysonA No, Australia’s new fossils are NOT the oldest, but their value is set in stone By Malcolm Walter, University of New South Wales and David Flannery, University of New South Wales A study published in Nature Geoscience yesterday reports the discovery of 3.4 billion-year-old microbial cells in ancient sandstones in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. Some headlines have suggested…
12 April 2012 New study of Viking soil data indicates life on Mars University of Southern California New mathematical analysis of 35-year-old data from the Mars Viking probes suggests that soil samples they retrieved may have…
16 November 2011 Treatment of Golden Staph impeded by antibiotic resistance Melbourne University/ Austin Health The treatment of serious infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus (Golden Staph) is complicated by the development of antibiotic…
23 August 2011 Stowaway yeast breeds lager beer industry University of Wisconsin-Madison Researchers believe they have finally identified the variety of wild yeast that now underpins the entire lager beer industry…
18 August 2011 The microbes, my friend, are blowin' in the wind Liverpool John Moores University Microorganisms have been found to travel vast distances and might even be able to blow between continents, potentially spreading…
12 August 2011 Molecular motors go into ‘energy-save’ mode Carnegie Mellon University The molecular motors inside living cells are able to put themselves into an “energy saving mode”, conserving cellular fuel…