Methanol fuel cells have been found to be an efficient and sustainable replacement for fossil fuels. The one thing preventing this device from hitting the mass market is its price since these devices need a catalyst made of platinum, a very expensive metal. However, a researcher from the University of Basque Country may have just the solution to drive the cost down. To find out more, head on over to the full article.

There's a hot little topic running in the socio-political, environmentalism picture, and it involves a regulation that the UK's Department for Transport has in mind for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. The deal is that the rule, if implemented, will probably hurt the world more than do its share of good, and even pro-environment organizations such as Greenpeace agree. Learn why at the full story.

The director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies James Hansen had several choice words directed towards the fossil fuels industry regarding the critical state of our planet right now. His rather forward address expounds on how the industry was trying to cover up the extent of the global warming problem from the public and how badly their byproducts are affecting the environment. You can read more about Hansen's statement in our full article.

If you've read the novel "War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells, or if you've at least seen the movie, you know how important viruses were in the story. Thing is, viruses have a less dramatic - but no less important - role to play in real life, according to scientists. It has something to do with how they relate to cyanobacteria. More "viral" news spreads after the jump.

What we have here is an image from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA showing Martian frozen sand dunes thawing the planet's northern hemisphere. This marks the spring season in the red planet. See the bigger picture after the jump!

Carbon dioxide is the biggest culprit that must be addressed to fight climate change. The U.S. realizes that and has set out on a mission to eliminate 90 percent of CO2 emissions from its power plants. It hopes to do so by chilling the compound and stopping it from escaping the plant. Full details after the jump!

Environmentalists have encountered another obstacle in their efforts to combat global warming: the developing world's so-called addiction to coal. With the rising costs of oil and natural gases, countries have turned to this abundant and inexpensive fuel source to power their economies. In response to this, the United Nations has proposed a course of action, much to the dislike of coal-using countries.

Find out what it is after the jump!

Lukewarm beer. Can't stand it. It's about time someone did something about it. Apparently someone just has: enter Kent Hodgson, an inventor from New Zealand. He invented a device - about the size and shape of a pen - that can chill 30 bottles of beer. The device has four times the cooling capacity of ice, cools the drink instantly and - get this - won't dilute the drink at all like ice does. Genius. Absolute genius. Beer is an inspiration for us all.

Evidence from the North and South Atlantic oceans show that the waters absorb considerably less carbon dioxide emissions than they did a decade ago. Scientists worry that the oceans have saturated and absorbed as much carbon dioxide as they can, meaning the atmosphere's CO2 levels will lose one of its major buffers.

The study by the University of East Anglia shows that between the mid-1990's and the period between 2002 to 2005, the North Atlantic only absorbed half as much carbon dioxide. A similar effect has been seen in the South Atlantic although the change is not as alarmingly fast or of the same magnitude.

The oceans act as a natural carbon sink for CO2 emissions. The ocean as a carbon sink acts to absorb a quarter of all carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. If the oceans continue to slow down or become too saturated to absorb any more carbon dioxide, the atmosphere's CO2 levels may rise more rapidly.

It is not sure whether the change was due to climate change or other variants but it remains that if they continue at this pace, the end result is that the gas will be left to speed up global warming in the atmosphere. Climate change has already affected the ice up in the Arctic.

A DNA researcher has created a synthetic chromosome from lab chemicals. It's expected that he will be announcing the successful creation of the first artificial life form, maybe as early as next week. The researcher, Craig Venter, is also involved in a commercial project parallel to the human genome project by deciphering the human genetic code.

The chromosome that Venter's team created was based on the bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium. Essentially the team broke down its components to the barest essentials needed to support life, then reconstructed the code using lab chemicals. The chromosome is then transplanted into a living bacterial cell, which it will take over and change, creating a new species.

The chromosome will be able to replicate and metabolize food using the body of the cell it's been injected into. Essentially, the cell isn't artificial, but its DNA is. It sounds like one of those mad scientist movies, but something like this was bound to happen someday. After cloning a sheep, this is just the next step.

Venter believes that life created in a test tube will be beneficial for mankind if properly regulated. Custom made life could lead to cells being used as alternative energy sources, the clean up crew for excessive carbon dioxide, or even as new fuels. When asked how he feels humankind will take the news, he says:

[This is] a very important philosophical step in the history of our species. We are going from reading our genetic code to the ability to write it. That gives us the hypothetical ability to do things never contemplated before. [...] We are not afraid to take on things that are important just because they stimulate thinking. We are dealing in big ideas. We are trying to create a new value system for life. When dealing at this scale, you can't expect everybody to be happy.