International Community for Auditory Display

Distributing or downloading copyrighted material will become a criminal offence if a new G8 treaty comes into force (full text available to subscribers)

A portable brain scanner may one day monitor astronauts for signs of brain injury or stress – but space crews might oppose its use

A simulation of processes deep in the Earth shows how an insulating effect may help drive the formation of supercontinents

A simulation of processes deep in the Earth shows how land masses may help drive the cycles of plate tectonics

An Australian rock deposit hints that life may have emerged 250 million years into Earth's history – nearly a billion years earlier than thought

The cold sore virus lurks in neurons by switching off its "escape" proteins, making it difficult to kill – but turning them back on could drive it out

A new map shows which countries are doing the most to combat climate change, with Latvia and Slovakia getting top marks

A record more than a century old could fall to a bizarre collection of kettle elements and power-station parts – if the car can be made to work

The effect of bright sunlight increases the production of the greenhouse gas ozone from aircraft exhaust fumes

It isn't just the sheer number of bees that counts when it comes to pollinating flowering plants, the bees' size, shape and behaviour matter too

Could "diet packs" make you fatter? A study finds that people eat more from tiny bags of unhealthy foods than they do from full-sized packets

The faint, twisting ribbon is actually a fast-moving shock wave from a supernova that exploded in the Middle Ages

Giving most British patients the potential to participate in clinical trials could save lives, but privacy and safety must be paramount, says

A NASA mission to study dark energy may be too expensive to begin in 2009, as planned

The quake behind the 2004 tsunami generated a taller wave than expected – flexible sediment on the seafloor could explain the difference

By getting more aggressive when market conditions demand it, a new virtual trader can be 5% more profitable than existing programs

Natural fires that forced conservationists to evacuate a field site in California's Big Sur have killed one of the endangered birds

Faced with a restrictive obstacle in their path, leaf-cutter ants are able to tailor their trimmings to keep the production line moving

Rhesus macaques that can add dots and sounds at the same time suggest that some mathematical abilities could be a boon in the wild

Crystals of pure silicon have been ground into nearly perfect spheres by master craftsmen – they could be used to redefine the kilogram