Well it's Friday and if you're a regular reader, you know what that means -- the weekly wrap-up of articles about cool things going on in the world of science.

• 
  When we think of the solar system's biggest mountains, we usually think of the volcanic peaks of Mars, such as Olympus Mons. But now geophysicists have discovered a volcano in the north ( Read more... )

• 
  One of the recurring themes in my Science Friday compilations has been lessons from the natural world that can be applied to technology. Along those lines, Wired magazine explores what the swarming and networking behavior of ants can teach us about man-made networks.
  


• 
  The biggest mystery in the history of the solar system may be the question of how ( Read more... )

Well, another Friday has rolled around. For those of you who like themes, that means a collection of stories from the week about neat things going on in science and nature.

• 
  It seems like every week or two I come across another story about some bizarre invasive species. Today's installment: An infestation in parts of Texas, Florida, and the Gulf ( Read more... )

• 
  Fittingly, we start off Science Friday with an item from the "One Nation Under Surveillance" Department (Hi, NSA guys!!!). Time magazine has some of the key facts you need to know about Big Brother the federal government's massive telephone surveillance program.
  


• 
  Yet another invasive species problem in the Great Lakes region. Wildlife officials ( Read more... )

• 
  A new study from Canada underscores a reason for caution as scientists rush forward with creating genetically engineered organisms. The study found that a genetically modified salmon created by the biotech company AquaBounty could conceivably mate with brown trout in the wild and pass on its modified genes to its offspring. AquaBounty responds ( Read more... )

As if there weren't already enough reasons to hate cockroaches, here's another one.

• 
  Hey guys, I have an idea. Why don't we take a strain of the flu virus known for being highly lethal and combine it with a strain known for being highly contagious. It'll be fun! What could possibly go wrong?
  


• 
  Imagine a material that's paper-thin and can generate electricity by turning any surface that it coats into a type of solar panel. Then ( Read more... )

I was listening to an episode of RadioLab on NPR about bio-engineering, essentially tinkering with the building blocks of life to modify organisms. It was a particularly interesting show in light of my recent posts about the TV series Fringe and science run amok ( Read more... )

A paper claims to have discovered a bacteria that survives on arsenic. I'm somewhat skeptical because, as open-minded as I can be about some things, I'm still a firm believer in the old maxim that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Still, it's intriguing to consider that we might have found something so different in a place as ( Read more... )