Matt Ransford

Researchers use a range of digital technologies in the field to study animal populations. GPS collars and tags track range and migration; motion-sensitive cameras snap candid photos; pre-recorded calls and songs attract individuals so the scientists can get a closer look. Now a new tool has been added to the field arsenal for University of Montana biologists studying wolves in Idaho: the Howlbox.

The big news on the browser horizon is the release of Microsofts Internet Explorer 8. Its promising new contextual serviceslike being able to Digg a page with an integrated menuand a feature called WebSlices, which lets you bookmark and track only a certain portion of a page. But Microsoft isnt the only one with updates in store. The other big browsers are rolling out changes at least as promising as IE8's.

Metastasis is the process through which cancer cells detach from a tumor and travel the circulatory system until they reach an uninfected site on which to grow anew. It is one of the least understood mechanisms in medicine though it is the cause of nine out of every 10 deaths from cancer. Traditional research has so far yielded little headway, which is why M.I.T. is building a new institute which will pair cancer scientists with engineers to conduct research under the rubric of systems biology.

Add another study to the growing body of evidence that red-light cameras cause more accidents than they prevent. University of South Florida researchers found drivers are more likely to attempt to stop abruptly at camera intersections than otherwise, which results in a significant increase in injuries from rear end collisions. Red-light cameras are designed to snap a photo of a cars license plate if the driver moves through the intersection under a red light. The theory should hold that if drivers know theyre being watched, theyll be less likely to run the lights.

I live in a hundred year-old house where most everything is original: the windows (drafty), the walls (uninsulated), the furnace (burns oil). I need only look at my heating bill every month to deduce what the Commission for Environmental Cooperation has determined through a two-year study—homes and office buildings in North America account for over one-third of the continent's greenhouse gas emissions. They are terribly inefficient.

Last week, we reported on the good that can come from text-messaging in the context of NGOs using it to build community in developing nations. Now were seeing a story on SMS with a decidedly less altruistic bent. In the past two years, Sweden has seen the birth and rapid rise in popularity of SMS loans.

Happy Pi Day! Todays date is 3.14, the first three digits of arguably the most famous mathematical constant (anyone remember e? Napiers constant? Didnt think so). School children and geeks everywhere are celebrating it today by, well, eating pies, as it turns out.

Your TV just came another step closer to your computer. TiVo has partnered with YouTube to bring its content to broadband-connected subscribers with the Series 3 and HD set-top boxes. This means youll no longer have to drag the laptop downstairs or force everybody to huddle around the tiny screen of your iPhone at parties to show your guests the latest pratfalls. Just flick on your TV and youre set.

The World Heath Organization has released the results of a four-year study of patients in 81 countries which shows that rates of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are at their highest levels yet recorded. Extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis, which is nearly untreatable, has appeared in 45 of those countries. At face value, this sounds like bad news, but the true global reality may be even worse. Only six nations in Africa, where tuberculosis has the highest incidence, were able to provide any data.

Humans are in an escalating battle with bacterial infections. Our last lines of antibiotic defense are increasingly becoming our only lines. Bacteria have demonstrated an adept ability to mutate and foil drugs at a pace which nearly bests our research and development efforts. However, a new class of molecules recently synthesized by researchers at Stanford University is
showing early promise in fighting off infection in a manner unlike any other.

Personal information in the digital realm is always susceptible to malicious activity. Passwords can be stolen from a database, credit card numbers swiped at the point of sale; even the new American passports contain RFID chips which critics claim can be surreptitiously read. Now, even a pacemaker can be hacked from the outside.

Mutualism in nature describes the relationship of two different species interacting to provide both with a benefit. Pollination is the most well-known example: birds and insects get nectar from flowers in exchange for carrying the plants pollen to fertilize other individuals. In some mutualist combinations, the opportunity is present for one species to take advantage of the other. Take for example, the fig wasp: It pollinates the fig tree in exchange for seeds. Nevertheless, it never takes more seeds than it needs. Science is reporting on a fascinating new study which finally explains why. Turns out there is a second wasp involved who keeps the fig wasp in check.

AOL last week finally opened its hugely popular AIM chat network to multi-client third-party access. The SDK had been partially open to developers, but with restrictions against using it with multi-network IM clients. In the past, developers behind popular chat applications like Trillian and Adium have had to reverse engineer or otherwise hack their way around using the AIM network.

Spring is close at hand in New England, which means were getting a lot of rain and the robins are out in force. Youve certainly seen flocks of the orange-breasted birds out on a wet lawn running and stopping, running and stopping, then pouncing on a worm. It's a common springtime scene; but why exactly do the worms come out when it rains and expose themselves to hungry birds?

Robins are among the first each year to breed and lay eggs. Chances are, if you see robins during in the spring, theyre already making nests. And while they feed on a variety of invertebrates, fruits, and seeds, they prefer earthworms for their young.

If we have learned anything about education in recent years, its that the one-size-fits-all mentality of the basal reader just does not work. People learn differently; sexes learn differently. But the research has only gone so far in exploring from where these differences originate. Previously, studies focused only on cognition or brain function.