The prospect, no matter how remote, that a space probe launched from Earth may "contaminate" another planet with Earthly microbes, is concerning some scientists, especially once technology allowing unmanned spacecraft to travel to nearby star systems is developed. However far in the future such technologies may be, it is worth thinking about the potential problem of contaminating other solar systems with Earth life, according to a new paper by Charles ... Read full entry

Fungi lock depleted uranium out of harm's way An unexpected ally in the battle against uranium contaminated war zones: common backyard fungi. A research team in Scotland has established that common fungi can grow on and chemically lock away the offending uranium. As their hyphal filaments sprawled across fragments of depleted uranium, the tubules gradually became coated in a yellowy mineral. This, it turned out, locked the uranium into a chemical ... Read full entry