Giant stairsteps on Mars are evidence of ancient climate cycles, suggest images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Modern inhabitants of Spain and Portugal still display genetic traces of the cultural melting pot that existed in the late 1400s

The days of smutty grey and black buildings are gone, suggests research into how stone facades will be altered by changes in the atmosphere

The huge particle smasher will be back up and running by the third quarter of 2009 – probably

It is a well-known fact in drug trials that individuals can respond just as well to placebos, sugar pills, as to the active drug. On the other hand, it is difficult to explain why only certain people get better from placebos. A team of researchers from Uppsala University and Gothenburg University have now found gene variants that can impact the placebo effect and a mechanism in the brain that characterizes those who respond to placebos.