scientists

Scientists say they've found the world's oldest creature -- unfortunately, they've also killed the poor thing. The creature in question is an ocean quahog known as the 'Ming clam'. It was found in northern Wales about seven years ago and, at the ... time, it was believed the creature was roughly four hundred years old. That meant the Ming clam was the world's oldest creature, and soon found itself in the Guinness Book of World Records. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the previous record was set by another clam, though that one was discovered in Iceland. (Source: mirror.co.uk ) Fame Comes at a Price for ... (view more)

From Family Matters to The Simpsons and, of course, Back to the Future, the idea of time travel has become a common theme in American pop culture. There's no doubt, then, that many will be disappointed to hear of a new report from a group of Hong ... Kong scientists which suggests that traveling through time is simply impossible. The report comes from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where researchers under the direction of Professor Shengwang Du have concluded that single photons (the absolute smallest particle of light) simply can't travel faster than light. The finding is ... (view more)

Microsoft has released a new tool to help scientists and other researchers access the power of cloud computing . Project Daytona could help them analyze data in a more efficient and affordable manner. Cloud System Uses Decentralized Computing The ... project builds on Microsoft's could-based Windows Azure system. That doesn't simply mean storing information online, but also using remote computers to carry out tasks. Cloud computing can range from relatively simple tasks, such as accessing email on services such as Hotmail, to more complex tasks, such as the way some websites run through databases ... (view more)

They're the stuff of Disney fantasy and childhood dreams, but invisibility cloaks are something University of California scientists stay they are one step closer to developing. The scientists at the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, lead by ... Xiang Zhang, are creeping closer to perfecting 'metamaterials', artificially engineered structures that have properties not seen in nature, such as negative refractive index. These metamaterials have recently undergone successful tests allowing scientists to cloak 3-D objects. The technology works when the metamaterials scatter the light that ... (view more)