A recent item [subscription required] in Nature made me feel happy as well as healthy... For a while I've been telling some selected people about the wonders of probiotics on my health... I've always wondered though if I'm being duped or if there is some form of placebo effect at play. Now there seems to be some evidence and I feel far less of a "snake-oil-salesman-by-proxy".... Click to continue

One more organism has taken a giant leap and gone into space, the humble lichen (really more than one species, as we all know that lichens are composites of algae and fungi). The European Space agency removed the lichens from the comfort of their rock dwelling and blasted them off on a Soyuz rocket where they were subjected to the cold vacuum of space for just under 15 days. Their tough mineral coating seemingly protecting them from the whole spectrum of UV radiation and cosmic rays.

The two... Click to continue