Individual still images were taken with a scanning electron microscope, digitized, and then animated.

Bill Gates' investment firm is funding Sapphire Energy, a company that intends to make auto fuel from algae. The lowly algae is the renewable fuel industry's great green hope. Because algae is rich in oil and can grow in a wide range of conditions, many companies are betting that it can create fuels cheaper than existing feedstocks.

At some point during the evening, in bars across the land, two things happens: the lights go down and the music goes up.

The first collisions between subatomic particles will take place in the giant Large Hadron Collider next week, which will mark another milestone for the biggest experiment in history.

For the first time in waters surrounding New York City, the beckoning calls of endangered fin, humpback and North Atlantic right whales have been recorded. The recorders were placed about 13 miles from the NY Harbor entrance and off the shores of Fire Island. Information about the seasonal presence of whales will help agencies protect them.

Genomatica, a San Diego-based sustainable chemical company, announced today that it has developed a process to make an important component of plastic without the use of petrochemicals. The chemical, 1,4-butanediol (BDO), has an annual production value of over $4 billion in the automotive, textile, and consumer goods industries.

Cornell researchers created a"tree"that simulates the process of transpiration, the cohesive capillary action that allows trees to wick moisture upward to their highest branches. It also may lead to new passive heat transfer technologies for cars or buildings, better methods for remediating soil and more effective ways to draw water.

For five happy years they enjoyed simple lives in their straw and mud huts.Generating their own power and growing their own food, they strived for self-sufficiency and thrived in homes that looked more suited to the hobbits from The Lord of the Rings.