Evolution: 40-Million-Year-Old Virus Found In Human Genome

Human DNA carries the artifact of an infection so ancient that it predates humanity itself. The brain-attacking disease, known as bornavirus, infected proto-hominids forty million years ago. It may provide evidence of how our evolutionary ancestors dealt with infection.Keizo Tomonaga of Osaka University in Japan led a team of scientists in the hunt for signs of bornavirus in the genomes of a range...

5 Great Microgravity Studies: Flying Carpets to Fish Embryos

The International Space Station has helping scientists examine all kinds of mysteries since it was launched into orbit in 1998. Having a unique set of environmental factors, it’s the perfect place to study the effects of microgravity on humans, animals and even the objects we use every day. These are five of the most interesting microgravity experiments that have taken place aboard the ISS. If humans...

Antikythera Mechanism : Advanced Imaging Reveals a Computer 1,500 Years Ahead of Its Time

X-rays and advanced photography have uncovered the true complexity of the mysterious Antikythera mechanism, a device so astonishing that its discovery is like finding a functional Buick in medieval Europe.In 1900, some divers found the wreck of a Roman vessel off the Greek island of Antikythera. Among the other treasures remanded to the Greek government was an unassuming corroded lump. Some time...

OpenGL vs DirectX : What's Better?

Often, when we meet other game developers and say that we use OpenGL for our game Overgrowth, we're met with stares of disbelief -- why would anyone use OpenGL? DirectX is the future. When we tell graphics card representatives that we use OpenGL, the temperature of the room drops by ten degrees. This baffles us. It's common geek wisdom that standards-based websites, for instance, trounce Silverlight,...