Now here's one of those news items that blends a little bit of gaming and science. Now we're pretty sure why MMORPG giant NCSoft has been named in this particular press release, but we'll also tell you: it's amazing what the human race can think of in the brink of its "serious and pending" extinction. Learn more about Operation Immortality - a part-game, part-reality project aimed at preserving the human race - at the full story.

It's been potpourri for the Science blog this week. We have news from everything between evolution to the secret of immortality, from life via diamonds to ... mutant pig-monkeys? I did say it was potpourri week. Let's get started with this week's Science Weekend Warrior!

Worried that the world will be ending soon? Then you might want to know that NCsoft, the publisher and developer of Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, is offering players a shot at immortality. Well, as close to immortality as you can get if the entire earth gets razed by another Tunguska event, a nuclear war, or even aliens. To find out more, check out the full article.

I usually disapprove of genetic manipulation, especially when I heard about the glow-in-the-dark cats last year, but I'm actually not against this new project from Mars (the chocolate company, not the planet). Mars wants to decode the genetic structure of the cacao tree. That is, the plant where chocolate comes from. Story in the full article.

 How do you get bacteria to solve math problems for you? Placing them in a life and death situation is one way. In order for them to be able to withstand the drugs, researchers injected these tiny life forms with proteins that will act like variables in an equation. Learn more in the full article up next.

A year ago, scientists found that there really is such a thing as an obesity gene. That statement isn't entirely accurate though. In reality, there's more than one "fat" gene. Now they've found two more. Details after the "read more" link below.

Cancerous cells multiply because of fast and uncontrolled cell division. If we knew what controls cell division, we may be able to do something about it. Scientists may have found the culprit: mitochondria. Yes, if you want your imagination to get ahead of you, the story of Parasite Eve just might prove itself true. Details in the full article.

It's common knowledge that the human race is made up of one species. Scientists have said, however, that our line was nearly split in two at some point in our history. The cause may have had something to do with living conditions in Africa. More splits occur in the full article after the jump.

"Gone, but not forgotten" is a phrase we often attribute to those who have passed on.  The phrase once applied to Javan elephants, as they were thought extinct. We said "once" because new evidence suggests that these animals may not really have died out after all. Find out why this is the case after the jump.

Sometimes, ancient life finds the the oddest places within which to hide and to leave signs. Take the case of this underground nuclear waste dump in New Mexico, for example. Scientists recently discovered the remains of ancient plant life in there. More "ancient" news follows after the jump.