Light-absorbing glow-in-the-dark road markings have replaced streetlights on a 500m (0.3 mile) stretch of highway in the Netherlands.

Part of that vision included weather markings—snowdrops, for instance, would appear when the temperature reached a certain level. For now though, the stretch of the N329 highway in Oss features only the glow-in-the-dark road markings, created using a photo-luminescent powder integrated into the road paint, developed in conjunction with road construction company Heijmans.

Oracle says it has doubled the performance of its open source MySQL database when running over large datasets across more than 40 cores, as it strives to preserve its lead in a market thronging with credible contenders.

"These performance enhancements are reached at scale when looking at 40 or 50 or 60 cores being used," Ulin explained. "On the low core counts you don't see it."

The climate is highly sensitive to carbon dioxide, according to several new studies, which means that our greenhouse gas emissions will lead to strong warming. The finding suggests we need to cut emissions fast if we are to avoid dangerous climate change.

Hyatt said he's been waiting that long for a U.S. ruling on whether his electronic signal to control machinery should be granted a patent.

"It's totally unconscionable," said Brad Wright, a patent lawyer with Banner & Witcoff in Washington who specializes in computer-related applications and isn't involved in Hyatt's case. "The patent office doesn't want to be embarrassed that they might issue a broad patent that would have a sweeping impact on the technology sector. Rather than be embarrassed, they're just bottling it up."

Young Sophie Lester wrote a letter to CSIRO scientists in hopes of getting a dragon of her very own, and in the process charmed them with her request.

Their apology to Sophie went viral and ended up on so many blogs that CSIRO decided to take its appreciation of the little girl's letter a step further, by making her a dragon with the aid of a 3D printer.

Toothless is currently on her way to Sophie Lester's home, now proving that scientists can truly create anything -- even dragons for little girls.

According to a new Pew Research Center analysis, six-in-ten Americans (60%) say that “humans and other living things have evolved over time,” while a third (33%) reject the idea of evolution, saying that “humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time.”

Roughly a quarter of adults (24%) say that “a supreme being guided the evolution of living things for the purpose of creating humans and other life in the form it exists today,” while about a third (32%) say that evolution is “due to natural processes such as natural selection.”

As opposition to genetically modified crops has spread across Europe and the world, leading chemical companies including BASF (BASFY) and DuPont (DD) have turned to mutagenesis.

While earnings have grown at a rate of more than 20 percent the previous three years, Monsanto faces increased regulation and bans of its GMOs in some countries as well as political hurdles that can delay product launches for years, or indefinitely.

Opponents of genetic modification are up in arms again, this time over the proposed release of GM flies in Spain. The insects are designed to wipe out olive flies, a major pest.

Each potential release has to be considered on its own merits and risks, of course. But the previous trials provide confidence that the basic techniques are sound. These projects can easily be halted and their effects reversed.

Most major weather services (US NWS, Britain's Met Office, etc) have their own supercomputers, and their own weather models. But there are some models which are used globally. A new paper has been published, comparing outputs from one such program on different machines around the world. Apparently, the same code, running on different machines, can produce different outputs due to accumulation of differing round-off errors.

On October 10, 2011, researchers from the University of Minnesota found that women who took supplemental multivitamins died at rates higher than those who didn't. Two days later, researchers from the Cleveland Clinic found that men who took vitamin E had an increased risk of prostate cancer. "It's been a tough week for vitamins," said Carrie Gann of ABC News.

Seven previous studies had already shown that vitamins increased the risk of cancer and heart disease and shortened lives.

In May 1980, during an interview at Oregon State University, Linus Pauling was asked, "Does vitamin C have any side effects on long-term use of, let's say, gram quantities?" Pauling's answer was quick and decisive. "No," he replied.

Seven months later, his wife was dead of stomach cancer. In 1994, Linus Pauling died of prostate cancer.