Earth Ancient bacterium sheds a billion years A GENE study that pieced together the family tree of an ancient organism has overturned a long-standing belief about the creature's role as life on Earth emerged. Till now, cyanobacteria were believed to be among the first life forms on Earth. Because they produce oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis, they have been credited with … 51¶¯Âþ
Humans Westminster diary I LIKE the idea that our concrete jungle could one day emulate the real thing (51¶¯Âþ, 13 July, p 38) . John Harrison, a technologist from Hobart, Tasmania, says that if we were to make our cement based on magnesium carbonate rather than calcium carbonate it would soak up loads of carbon dioxide from … Opinion
The Prince of Humbugs In 1851, the art of photography was barely a decade old, and American daguerreotypists reading The Photographic Art-Journal could still expect some kind of innovation every month. But the January 1851 issue had a shocker: "We learn with pleasure that Mr L. Hill has succeeded in impressing the image upon the daguerreotype plate in all … Features
Rock on Asteroid Rendezvous: NEAR Shoemaker's Adventures at Eros edited by Jim Bell and Jacqueline Mitton, Cambridge University Press, £27.95, $30, ISBN 0521813603 Reviewed by David Hughes SOME space missions fail, others go as planned, and a few – very few – exceed all expectations. NEAR Shoemaker was in this last category. It was one of the … Books & Arts
Feedback THE end of the year approaches rapidly – in fact at an apparent rate proportional to your age – and people's thoughts are turning inevitably to the Feedback Christmas competition. The theme of this year's competition is evolution. Readers are invited to pick a human behaviour or trait and provide their own evolutionary explanation for … Regulars