U.S. scholars said that by using a metal-tolerant bacteria Cupriavidus metallidurans, it is possible to turn the toxic chemical gold chloride into pure gold.According to researchers at Michigan State University, the metal-tolerant bacteria is able to withstand a concentrated dosage of gold chloride, a gold and chlorine compound found in nature, and produce gold.“Microbial alchemy is what we’re doing -- transforming gold from something that has no value into a solid, precious metal that’s valuabl

 Researchers in Scotland say they have developed a see-through soil that will enable scientists to study roots in detail for the first time.The underground world of plant roots is called the rhizosphere and scientists at the University of Abertay Dundee and the James Hutton institute, writing in the journal PLos ONE, say creation of the new transparent soil marks a research milestone that will hav

A volcano on the border of China and North Korea is showing signs of increasing activity and could erupt in the next few decades, Chinese researchers say.A massive eruption of Baekdusan around 1,100 years ago spread ash and volcanic gases for 30 miles and left a 3-mile-wide crater atop the volcano, scientists said.Three smaller eruptions have occurred since then, the most recent in 1903, they said.Seismic activity, ground deformation and gas emissions recorded in a period of heightened activity

This image provided by NASA shows shows a Martian rock outcrop near the landing site of the rover Curiosity thought to be the site of an ancient streambed, next to similar rocks shown on earth. (AP-Yonhap News)The NASA rover Curiosity has beamed back pictures of bedrock that suggest a fast-moving stream, possibly waist-deep, once flowed on Mars _ a find that the mission's chief scientist called ex

(UPI)German scientists analyzing an ancient Buddhist statue discovered by a Nazi expedition to Tibet in 1938 say it was carved from a rare form of meteorite.The 22-pound statue, known as the Iron Man, was discovered by an expedition of German scientists led by renowned zoologist Ernst Schafer and supported by the Nazi party.Historians believe that support may have been based on a belief the origin

MUNICH, Germany (UPI) -- Ten years of images from the Hubble space telescope have been combined for the best, deepest-ever view of the universe, U.S. and European astronomers say.The photo, assembled by combining a decade of NASA/European Space Agency Hubble observations of a patch of sky within the original Hubble Ultra Deep Field, has been dubbed eXtreme Deep Field or XDF, the Hubble European Sp

(MCT)A new comet discovered by Russian skywatchers could be one of the brightest objects in the sky when it approaches Earth next year, astronomers say.Presently appearing as just a tiny dot in the sky beyond Jupiter, the comet was discovered Sept. 21 by Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok of the International Scientific Optical Network in Russia and confirmed Tuesday by the International Astronom

(123rf)Microorganisms embedded in fragments of distant planets that crashed to Earth might have been seeds of life on our planet, U.S. and European researchers say.Scientists from Princeton University, the University of Arizona and the Centro de Astrobiologia in Spain, writing in the journal Astrobiology, said there is a possibility that life came to Earth -- or spread from Earth to other planets

NASA has proposed a candidate for its next major mission, a “gateway” spacecraft on the far side of the moon as a staging base for moon and Mars missions.The spacecraft would hover in orbit on the far side of the moon, support a small permanent crew and function as “stepping stone” for missions to the lunar surface and possible flights to Mars.NASA Administrator Charles Bolden briefed the White House earlier this month on details of the proposed “gateway,” but it was unclear if any administratio

Petcharat Pokrang says it is a miracle that her 7-year-old son Palwawat, or “Ton Kla,” survived after being diagnosed with severe aplastic anaemia ― a condition in which bone marrow fails to produce sufficient new blood cells ― in April last year. Doctors in Saraburi told her the boy would not survive without a bone-marrow transplant, which costs up to 1 million baht ($32,400). Petcharat could not afford it. But as the boy’s condition worsened ― the whites of his eyes turned red and he experienc