In the first weeks of the New Year a team of European scientists drilled successfully through 2002 metres of ice at Dome Concordia, high on East Antarctica`s plateau – one of the most hostile places on the planet. A specially created laboratory on the ice enabled scientists to analyse, for the first time, past climate shifts within hours of each 3 m length of core being drilled – rather than waiting months or years for detailed study back in European labs. The team, working on a seven-year Antarctic

A new theory on the evolution of ancient microbes is set to challenge widespread scientific views of early life on earth and could overturn previous interpretations of the huge bank of molecular taxonomic data that has been built up in recent years, according to research published today in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.

“I`ve reinterpreted fossil records to show that eukaryotes, which includes plants, animals and fungi, are only half as old as previous

Knowing the human genetic sequence helps unearth invaders.

Human DNA is a new device for disease detectives. The database of human genetics can expose misfit microbe genes in diseased tissues, a US team have found.

Matthew Meyerson, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and his colleagues compared 7,000 DNA sequences extracted from cervical cancer cells to the vast database of human genes – and pulled out two misfits. Both were from a virus known to cause the cancer

CORDIS, the European Commission`s Research and Development Information Service, is offering a new online service dedicated to science and technology foresight and the future of European research. The service is part of the re-launch of a redesigned and upgraded CORDIS `Research beyond 2002` site to reflect the latest developments on both the European research area (ERA) and the Sixth Framework programme (FP6).

Technology Foresight

The new service provides information on res

One way to make aeroplanes fly more efficiently is to drill millions of tiny holes in the leading edges of the wings. Like the dimples on a golf ball this has the effect of reducing drag. However, producing these holes on a manufacturing scale is not yet commercially feasible.

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and the aerospace company BAE SYSTEMS, have carried out a series of fundamental studies on drilling such holes

While the rest of world has warmed, Antarctica has grown chillier, scientists say. According to a new study, air temperature on the southernmost continent fell by 0.7 degree Celsius per decade between 1986 and 2000 – a cooling trend that has come with ecological consequences.

The findings may come as a surprise to climate researchers. Conventional wisdom holds that the polar regions should be the first to show the effects of global warming. And previous work has indeed detected increased t