“An unmapped reservoir of briny liquid chemically similar to sea water, but buried under an inland Antarctic glacier, appears to support unusual microbial life in a place where cold, darkness and lack of oxygen would previously have led scientists to believe nothing could survive…”When I started running the chemical analysis on it, there was no oxygen…it was a real ‘eureka’ moment.”…. Full Slice

“…picoeukaryotes such as Micromonas comprised, on average, only a quarter of the picophytoplankton cells in a Pacific Ocean sampling, but were responsible for three-quarters of the net carbon production. They were also shown to be subject to heavy grazing pressure; their lack of a cell wall may make them more digestible as prey. In this case carbon may be efficiently sequestered by the “biological pump,” the suite of processes that enable the algae to capture atmospheric carbon and transport it from the ocean surface zones to the depths below.

This research serves as a complement to field studies seeking to confirm emerging key players in global carbon fixation….” Full Slice

From Cheap Talk:

Of course there are many illegal markets that would generate stimulus were they to be legalized. Here are some of the big ones.

1. Drugs
2. Guns
3. Prostitution (except in Nevada)
4. Gay prostitution (even in Nevada)
5. Gambling
6. Trade with Cuba
7. Liberalized immigration

“…researchers have developed a strategy for using genetically engineered multifunctional viruses as scaffolds for the synthesis and assembly of cathode materials for high-power lithium-ion batteries. By manipulating two genes of the M13 virus (a bacteriophage), the viruses were equipped with peptide groups with affinity for single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) on one end and peptides capable of nucleating amorphous iron phosphate (a-FePO4) fused to the viral major coat protein to create a iron phosphate cathode material…The synthesis takes place at and below room temperature, requires no harmful organic solvents, and the materials that go into the battery are non-toxic….” Full Slice

Annual marijuana arrests: 1965-2006