Scientists have a new way to reshape nature, but none can predict the cost
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Comment is free: Madeleine Bunting: Synthetic biologists say their technology could tackle climate change and feed the hungry, but its dangers are terrifying.
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Finding could trigger recalculation of Earth's energy balance and help feed astronautsScientists have long assumed that fungi exist mainly to decompose matter into chemicals that other organisms can then use.
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In a few weeks, scientists from across the world will gather in the New Mexico desert to compete for one of the strangest and most ambitious technological competitions ever devised. Some researchers will unveil robots, powered by solar panels, which will climb long lengths of cable.
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A University of Connecticut scientist may have discovered a new and efficient way to clone
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Forget genetic engineering. The new idea is synthetic biology, an effort to rewire the genetic circuitry of living organisms.
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The discovery that it is possible to create equivalents to embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos has the potential to reshape -- and perhaps defuse -- the acrimonious political debate that has raged ever since human embryonic stem cells were discovered in 1998.
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Research offers new hope - from timely forecasts to building codes and maps of potential destruction.
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By Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop  Development is not always a one-way process of environmental destruction.
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A top scientist in the storied, sometimes controversial field explains how a population of creatures can be viewed as a high-level organism unto itself rather than a collection of disparate individuals.
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By Millar, Heather  It seems like such a tall order: Proactively plan human activities so that they mesh with the natural environment. Try to approach nature as a system, even though we don't now, and may never, fully understand all of its' complexities.
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The race to create life from scratch is underway. But how close are scientists to making a synthetic organism?
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Tackling climate change will cost far less than the pessimists suggest, a British scientist says.
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Science & environment: Â· Scientists shed new light on disputed skeleton findÂ· Bone analysis supports distinct species theory
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Exotic materials and cheaper substrates could lead to better photovoltaics.
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Morphing two faces together helps scientists understand how we recognise faces.
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If not for evolutionary innovation we might still be so many daubs of blue-green algae decorating a rock.
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Chemists unveil a type of material that could eventually help power plants generate electricity without emissions.