In work that could lead to safe and effective techniques for gene therapy, MIT researchers have found a way to fine-tune the ability of biodegradable polymers to deliver genes.

  Daily television viewing for two or more hours in early childhood can lead to behavioral problems and poor social skills, according to a study of children 2.5 to 5.5 years of age conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

  The English landscape painter JMW Turner said his work was not to be understood but "to show what such a scene was like". Now global warming experts are taking advantage of his prosaic nature to improve their predictions of the consequences of climate change. The scientists are analysing the striking sunsets painted by Turner and dozens of other artists to work out the cooling effects of huge volcanic eruptions. By working out how the climate varied naturally in the past they hope to improve the computer models used to simulate global warming.

  While the current state of web streamed TV might be considerably less than high definition quality, the ability to watch TV from around the world on-demand could completely change when and how we enjoy our favourite shows.

  When Sputnik took off 50 years ago, the world gazed at the heavens in awe and apprehension, watching what seemed like the unveiling of a sustained Soviet effort to conquer space and score a stunning Cold War triumph.

  It's bad enough a recent study has shown that having older brothers can actually make you shorter (one might think it's from all the pbysical pounding on your head, but it's apparently because those born last "appear to grow up in an environment where parents are more stretched for time, money and the ability to lavish attention." Now, a new UC Davis study shows that children who have older brothers tend to become more aggressive than those with older sisters.

  DNA extracted from skeletal remains has shown that Neanderthals roamed some 2000 kilometres further east than previously thought.

  A rare drug-resistant bacterium has spread throughout U.S. military hospitals around the world, killing at least 27 since the start of the Iraq war.

  Fishermen like Diego Crespo have trapped the giant tuna swarming into the warm Mediterranean for over 3,000 years, but he says this year may be one of his last.

  For centuries, devout Christians traveled by foot and donkey to see the churches perched in the northern highlands. The skulls and mummified remains of some lie even now in tombs chiseled deep into the cliff walls around one church, Beit Giorgis.