Mars team 
ponders whether Phoenix Lander sees ice or salt
LOS ANGELES — Is the white stuff in the Martian soil ice or salt?
That's the question bedeviling scientists in the three weeks since the Phoenix lander began digging into Mars' north pole region to study whether the arctic could be habitable.
Shallow trenches excavated by the lander's backhoe-like robotic arm have turned up specks and at times even stripes of mysterious white material mixed in with the clumpy, reddish dirt.
Phoenix merged two previously dug trenches over the weekend into a single pit measuring a little over a foot long and 3 inches deep. The new trench was excavated at the edge of a polygon-shaped pattern in the ground that may have been formed by the seasonal melting of underground ice.
» Full Story | USA Today - June 17, 2008
Climbing robot throws its weight around
A four-limbed robot climbs vertical walls using foot- and handholds like a human climber. The technology could be used to scale Martian cliffs to find exposed rocks and reveal new information about the planet’s geology.
A video shows the robot, Capuchin, in action. It was built by researchers at Stanford University, California, US, and carefully balances its weight across its arms and legs using force sensors in the tips of its limbs. It can climb around 40 times faster than an earlier climbing robot built by the team.
» Full Story | New Scientist
Molecular Basis of Life Discovered on Extrasolar Planet
Scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope have for the first time found the telltale signature of methane, an organic molecule, in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system.
Methane is one of the chemicals of life, an organic compound in the class of molecules containing carbon. However, no life is likely to exist on the large, gaseous planet known as HD 189733b. Its daily temperatures can reach 1,340 degrees Fahrenheit.
» Full Story | Wired
Tiny Sensor Developed To Detect Homemade Bombs
A team of chemists and physicists at the University of California, San Diego has developed a tiny, inexpensive sensor chip capable of detecting trace amounts of hydrogen peroxide, a chemical used in the most common form of homemade explosives.
The invention and operation of this penny-sized electronic sensor, capable of sniffing out hydrogen peroxide vapor in the parts-per-billion range from peroxide-based explosives, such as those used in the 2005 bombing of the London transit system, is detailed in a new article.
» Full Story | Science Daily
Unlimited Tunes from Apple? Not So Fast
Reports that Apple is discussing an "all-you-can-eat" subscription music service with major record labels are overblown, say people in a position to know. But giving customers access to the entire iTunes catalog in exchange for a premium on iPod music players isn't a bad idea—and it's one Apple may need to consider.
» Full Story | Business Week
Gaming
Taking gaming back from Web, onto the couch
Online multiplayer gaming has really come into its own on the current generation of video-game consoles, with millions of people logging in every day to play "Call of Duty 4" or "Halo 3."
Still, some of us still prefer our multiplayer action offline -- that is, with everyone in the same room, playing on the same console and the same TV.
» Full Story | CNN