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The results of the study confirm that Darwin had it right all along. In his 1859 book, On the Origin of Species, the British naturalist proposed that, "all the organic beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended from some one primordial form." Over the last century and a half, qualitative evidence for this theory has steadily grown, in the numerous, surprising transitional forms found in the fossil record, for example, and in the identification of sweeping fundamental biological similarities at the molecular level.

Still, rumblings among some evolutionary biologists have recently emerged questioning whether the evolutionary relationships among living organisms are best described by a single "family tree" or rather by multiple, interconnected trees—a "web of life." Recent molecular evidence indicates that primordial life may have undergone rampant horizontal gene transfer, which occurs frequently today when single-celled organisms swap genes using mechanisms other than usual organismal reproduction. In that case, some scientists argue, early evolutionary relationships were web-like, making it possible that life sprang up independently from many ancestors.

According to biochemist Douglas Theobald, it doesn't really matter. "Let's say life originated independently multiple times, which UCA allows is possible," said Theobald. "If so, the theory holds that a bottleneck occurred in evolution, with descendants of only one of the independent origins surviving until the present. Alternatively, separate populations could have merged, by exchanging enough genes over time to become a single species that eventually was ancestral to us all. Either way, all of life would still be genetically related."

Harnessing powerful computational tools and applying Bayesian statistics, Theobald found that the evidence overwhelmingly supports UCA, regardless of horizontal gene transfer or multiple origins of life. Theobald said UCA is millions of times more probable than any theory of multiple independent ancestries.

"There have been major advances in biology over the last decade, with our ability to test Darwin's theory in a way never before possible," said Theobald. "The number of genetic sequences of individual organisms doubles every three years, and our computational power is much stronger now than it was even a few years ago."

While other scientists have previously examined common ancestry more narrowly, for example, among only vertebrates, Theobald is the first to formally test Darwin's theory across all three domains of life. The three domains include diverse life forms such as the Eukarya (organisms, including humans, yeast, and plants, whose cells have a DNA-containing nucleus) as well as Bacteria and Archaea (two distinct groups of unicellular microorganisms whose DNA floats around in the cell instead of in a nucleus).

Theobald studied a set of 23 universally conserved, essential proteins found in all known organisms. He chose to study four representative organisms from each of the three domains of life. For example, he researched the genetic links found among these proteins in archaeal microorganisms that produce marsh gas and methane in cows and the human gut; in fruit flies, humans, round worms, and baker's yeast; and in bacteria like E. coli and the pathogen that causes tuberculosis.

Theobald's study rests on several simple assumptions about how the diversity of modern proteins arose. First, he assumed that genetic copies of a protein can be multiplied during reproduction, such as when one parent gives a copy of one of their genes to several of their children. Second, he assumed that a process of replication and mutation over the eons may modify these proteins from their ancestral versions. These two factors, then, should have created the differences in the modern versions of these proteins we see throughout life today. Lastly, he assumed that genetic changes in one species don't affect mutations in another species—for example, genetic mutations in kangaroos don't affect those in humans.

What Theobald did not assume, however, was how far back these processes go in linking organisms genealogically. It is clear, say, that these processes are able to link the shared proteins found in all humans to each other genetically. But do the processes in these assumptions link humans to other animals? Do these processes link animals to other eukaryotes? Do these processes link eukaryotes to the other domains of life, bacteria and archaea? The answer to each of these questions turns out to be a resounding yes.

Just what did this universal common ancestor look like and where did it live? Theobald's study doesn't answer this question. Nevertheless, he speculated, "to us, it would most likely look like some sort of froth, perhaps living at the edge of the ocean, or deep in the ocean on a geothermal vent. At the molecular level, I'm sure it would have looked as complex and beautiful as modern life."

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For the lucky carriers of the 'Methuselah' genes, worries over smoking, eating unhealthily and not getting enough exercise may not be as prevalent as those of us without the rare DNA pattern.

Research into the genetic make-up of centenarians, nonagenarians and their families unearthed the tiny mutation which scientists believe give extra protection against the diseases of old age as well as protecting against the effects of the unhealthy lifestyles we believe will lead us to an early grave.

The carriers are thought to be protected against the effects of smoking and bad diet and the onset of age-related illnesses such as cancer and heart disease can be delayed by up to three decades.

The study shows that it is a combination of genes rather than one gene that guarantees a long life, though they are extremely rare with only one person in 10,000 reaching the age of 100.

Eline Slagboom of Leiden University, who is leading a study into 3,500 Dutch nonagenarians, recently published  studies showing how the physiology of people in long-lived families differs from normal people.

She said: 'People who live to be a great age metabolise fat and glucose differently, their skin ages more slowly and they have lower prevalence of heart disease, diabetes and hypertension.

'The factors are all under strong genetic control, so we see the very same features in the children of very old people.'

The Methuselah genes - named after the oldest person in the bible, a patriarch who lived to be 969 - are believed to include ADIPOQ, a gene associated with metabolism which is found in about 10 per cent of young people but in 30 per cent of centenarians.

It is hoped the findings will enable scientists to invent an anti-ageing drug which will slow the ageing process down considerably. If it came about, it would be the ultimate blockbuster for the pharmaceutical industry as delaying the signs and symptoms of old age have long been a worldwide craze and one that people spend billions of pounds on every year.

Dr David Gems, a longevity researcher at University College London, believes that these treatments will become widespread.

'If we know which genes control longevity then we can find out what proteins they make and then target them with drugs. That makes it possible to slow down ageing,' he said.

'We need to reclassify it as a disease rather than a natural, benign process. Much of the pain and suffering in the world are caused by aging. If we can find a way to reduce that, then we are morally obliged to take it.'

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The research, which involves regenerating the sensitive hair cells that turn sound vibrations into nerve signals, was described as "really exciting" and could benefit millions of people.

DuPont has excelled where no man has before—demonstrating the first OLED panels to be printed, and in under two minutes no less. Using a Dainippon Screen multi-nozzle printer, they successfully created a 50-inch display.

This is something they've been talking about for years now, so it's pleasing to see DuPont has finally managed to achieve their (rather lofty) goals. The OLED panels have a purported lifetime of 15 years, and will help bring the cost right down if they're able to be created in the time it takes to boil the kettle.

DuPont teamed up with Dainippon Screen, whose printers can squeeze out active molecules within the ink, layering them up between 12 to 15 layers—taking just a second to drop 4 - 5m of ink down. Pretty amazing stuff, and great news for anyone who's ever fallen in love with Sony or LG's OLED panels. [Technology-Review via OLED-Display]

A group of scientists led by Professor Immanuel Bloch (Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching, Germany) has now succeeded to take a glance 'behind the scenes' of atomic interactions revealing the complex structure of these quantum dynamics. By generating thousands of miniature BECs ordered in an optical lattice the researchers were able to observe a large number of collapse and revival cycles over long periods of time. The experimental results imply that the atoms do not only interact pairwise - as typically assumed - but also perform exotic collisions involving three, four or more atoms at the same time. On the one hand, these results have fundamental importance for the understanding of quantum many-body systems. On the other hand, they pave the way for the generation of new exotic states of matter, based on such multi-body interactions.

The experiment starts by cooling a dilute cloud of hundreds of thousands of atoms to temperatures close to absolute zero, approximately -273 degrees Celsius. At these temperatures the atoms form a so-called Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), a quantum phase in which all particles occupy the same quantum state. Now an optical lattice is superimposed on the BEC: This is a kind of artificial crystal made of light with periodically arranged bright and dark areas, generated by the superposition of standing laser light waves from different directions. This lattice can be viewed as an 'egg carton' on which the atoms are distributed. Whereas in a real egg carton each site is either occupied by a single egg or no egg, the number of atoms sitting at each lattice site is determined by the laws of quantum mechanics: Depending on the lattice height (i.e. the intensity of the laser beam) the single lattice sites can be occupied by zero, one, two, three and more atoms at the same time.

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Scientists say the revolutionary 'STAIR' (St Andrews Air) battery could now pave the way for a new generation of electric cars, laptops and mobile phones.