Evolution Is Deterministic, Not Random, Biologists Conclude From Multi-species Study

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071119123929.htm --- A multi-national team of biologists has concluded that developmental evolution is deterministic and orderly, rather than random, based on a study of different species of roundworms.

Scientists seeking a cure for a deadly superbug have successfully treated patients using human faeces.

http://improbable.com/2007/11/15/donor-stool-triumphant/ --- Scientists seeking a cure for a deadly superbug have successfully treated patients using human faeces.

Tropical fish can live for months out of water | Oddly Enough | Reuters.com

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2007-11-15T140133Z_01_N15222990_RTRUKOC_0_US-FISH.xml ---

Scientists Successfully Simulate Photosynthesis And Design A Better Leaf

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071109123201.htm --- University of Illinois researchers have built a better plant, one that produces more leaves and fruit without needing extra fertilizer. The researchers accomplished the feat using a computer model that mimics the process of evolution. Theirs is the first model to simulate every step of the photosynthesis process.

Painful Prawns

http://www.null-hypothesis.co.uk/article/1459?from=rss --- We all know that fish is best eaten fresh. Seafood lovers will even argue that in the case of shellfish, it is best cooked alive. But would this opinion still hold if there was any possibility that the shellfish were suffering? It has been suggested by a scientist at Queen's University, Belfast that prawns feel pain.

Patent round-up: Sea cucumber corneas - tech - 05 November 2007 - New Scientist Tech

http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/dn12878-patent-roundup-sea-cucumber-corneas.html?feedId=online-news_rss20 --- The team's artificial cornea is made from tiny collagen fibres extracted from these sea cucumbers. When placed in a centrifuge, the fibres self assemble into layers in which the fibres are aligned vertically, a structure that is very similar to the tissue in mammalian corneas. The result is a thin layer of material that is transparent and biocompatible, as well as cheap and easy to make, says the team.

Scientist distances himself from creationist claims - opinion - 04 November 2007 - New Scientist

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinion/mg19626283.000-scientist-distances-himself-from-creationist-claims.html?feedId=online-news_rss20 --- It is a central tenet of creationism that evolutionary biologists are part of a vast conspiracy. Should evidence emerge that runs counter to Darwin's theories, creationist thinking goes, it is quickly suppressed by the scientific thought police. Now retired chemist Homer Jacobson may have inadvertently lent the conspiracy theorists a helping hand. The trouble started when Jacobson, formerly at Brooklyn College in New York, did a web search for his own name. Among the top results were creationist websites. They cited a 1955 paper on the origin of life, in which Jacobson discussed the challenges of explaining how the chemical building blocks of life emerged. Creationists say his paper shows that divine intervention must have been involved. In a letter in this month's edition of American Scientist, the journal in which the original article appeared, Jacobson retracts two paragraphs from it. He says that subsequent developments have shown his conjectures ...