A new study has discovered an abundance of microbial life deep beneath the ocean floor in ancient basalt that forms part of the Earth’s crust, in research that once more expands the realm of seemingly hostile or remote environments in which living organisms can apparently thrive.

The research was done off the coast of Oregon near a sea-floor spreading center on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, by scientists from Oregon State University and several other institutions. It will be published Friday

Researchers from the University of California have found a natural detox program for selenium-contaminated farm runoff in the form of wetland vegetation and microbes.

Results from a two-year study by UC Berkeley researchers show that man-made wetlands in the state’s San Joaquin Valley were able to remove an average of 69.2 percent of the selenium in agricultural drainage water. More significantly, some plant populations showed remarkable promise at converting selenium into a harmless g

INASMET Foundation, a member of the TECNALIA Corporation from the Basque Country, is currently carrying out research on intraocular lenses. In fact, INASMET presented two projects at the 17th European Congress on Biomaterials held in Barcelona. Apart from publishing the results of a comparative study on intraocular lenses, they presented a project, currently under development, on intracorneal lenses.

This project started three years ago in collaboration with the Hospital de Donostia, the De

The flora and fauna are sending signals about the impact of global warming – a message that is being heard in backyards around the world.

A study in the Jan. 2 edition of the British science journal Nature synthesized data from 143 scientific papers to examine whether a signal, or “fingerprint,” of climate change can be found in how animals and plants have reacted to increasing temperatures.

Among their findings: In the temperate zone, the researchers estimate that, for spe

Combining concepts from electromagnetic radiation research and fiber optics, researchers have created an extreme-ultraviolet, laser-like beam capable of producing tightly-focused light in a region of the electromagnetic spectrum not previously accessible to scientists. Between 10-100 times shorter than visible light waves, the extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths will allow researchers to “see” tiny features and carve miniature patterns, with applications in such fields as microscopy, lithography an

Physicians have been concerned that relatively new prescription medications called statins, which are being increasingly prescribed to reduce blood cholesterol levels, might also decrease reproductive hormone levels and cause women of child-bearing age to be less fertile.

A study headed by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles found that neither the use of statins nor low blood cholesterol levels significantly affected reproductive hormone levels in pre-, peri-, or postm