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Scientists have identified a molecule that allows bacteria to send signals between species, a discovery that may eventually lead to new drugs designed to disrupt bacterial communication. The molecule is a key signal in an activity called quorum sensing -- the ability of certain bacteria to perform functions only when they are part of a sufficiently dense population...[more]

"It is possible to imagine a universe in which mathematical equations have nothing to do with the workings of nature. Yet the marvellous thing is that they do." In this article Graham Farmelo discusses the value of beauty and simplicity in mathematical equations and physical theories...[more]

Don Cruse argues that "rationality is, or rather should be, science's most prized possession, yet on close examination its vaunted theory of origins can be shown to be irrational through and through." ...[more]

Matt Young takes William Dembski to task for what he calls a "a subtle misuse of the second law of thermodynamics." Dembski responds...[more]

A new study shows that Eukaryotes contain 347 proteins that have no significant similarity to proteins in the other two domains, suggesting that the origin of the Eukaryotic cell cannot be explained by a merging of Bacteria and Archaea. A unique, complex pre-Eukaryotic cell, the Chronocyte, must have existed which, upon engulfing Bacteria and Archaea, aquired a nucleus and became a true Eukaryotic cell...[more]

What if we investigated cells as "deliberative agents functioning on the basis of beliefs, desires and intentions"? This paper argues that Artificial Intelligence modelling methods can be used successfully to describe essential aspects of cellular regulation... [more]

How are intelligent design and aesthetics related? Peter Williams explores this topic in his new essay "Intelligent design, Aesthetics and Design Arguments" ...[more]