Massachusetts to spend $1 billion on biotechnology (Reuters)

Reuters - Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill on Monday that will direct $1 billion of state funds toward biotechnology over 10 years, aiming to fill a federal funding shortfall caused by White House opposition to embryonic stem cell research.

How NASA Might Find Rock-Eating Microbes on Mars (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - Signs of life on Mars may be hiding under its rocks, or perhaps hiding inside those rocks. A new study offers a simplified technique for detecting biological and pre-biotic molecules that become trapped inside minerals.

NASA searches for rock-eating Mars microbes

Signs of life on Mars may be hiding under its rocks, or perhaps hiding inside those rocks. A new study offers a simplified technique for detecting biological and pre-biotic molecules that become trapped inside minerals.

Microbes found living at record 1.6km below seabed (Reuters)

Reuters - Microbes have been found living at a record depth of 1.6 km (a mile) beneath the Atlantic seabed in a hint that life might also evolve underground on other planets, scientists said on Thursday.

Microbes Could Build 'Iron Man' Circuits (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - How is the Iron Man suit made? We admire the result in the movie (still number one this week at the box office); the comic book version states that the Iron Man suit circuits were created using a process called biological circuit fabrication:

Children in Blended Families Still Close to Biological Mothers (HealthDay)

HealthDay - MONDAY, Aug. 4 (HealthDay News) -- With few exceptions, stepchildren and those in other non-traditional families featuring the kids' biological mother spend as much time with their parents as those in traditional families, new research finds.