Our universe could be located within the interior of a wormhole which itself is part of a black hole that lies within a much larger universe, according to a new paper published in Physics Letters B.

In the paper, Indiana University theoretical physicist Nikodem Poplawski used the Euclidean-based coordinate system called isotropic coordinates to describe the gravitational field of a black hole and to model the radial geodesic motion of a massive particle into a black hole.

A new study by scientists at the University of Michigan and Taiwan's National Health Research Institutes suggests that the evolution of morphology and physiology are controlled by different genetic mechanisms.

The finding that form and function are shaped by different evolutionary genetic processes can not only aid in future evolutionary studies, but can also be helpful in the study of human disease, the study's authors say.

The research appears this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A 95-million-year-old amber deposit discovered in ethopia has added 30 arthropods from thirteen families of insects and spiders. The fossils represent some of the earliest African fossil records for a variety of arthropods, including wasps, barklice, moths, beetles, a primitive ant, a rare insect called a zorapteran, and a sheet-web weaving spider.

Parasitic fungi that lived on the resin-bearing trees were also found, as well as filaments of bacteria and the remains of flowering plants and ferns.  In addition, the amber deposit may provide fresh insights into the rise and diversification of flowering plants during the Cretaceous.

The find is documented in a new paper published this week in PNAS.

The drinking habits of the people in your extended social group play a major role in determining how many adult beverages you consume, says researchers writing in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The authors suggest this social phenomenon could have implications for clinical and health interventions. Social networks could be used to exploit positive health behaviors and further support group interventions.

Madagascar's radiated tortoise is rapidly nearing extinction due to rampant hunting for its meat and the illegal pet trade. Biologists with the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) predict that unless drastic conservation measures take place, the species will be driven to extinction within the next 20 years.

The team's recent field survey in southern Madagascar's spiny forest, revealed that entire regions are devoid of tortoises. Residents also reported that armed bands of poachers had taken away truckloads of tortoises to supply open meat markets in towns such as Beloha and Tsihombe. Poaching camps have been discovered with the remains of thousands of radiated tortoises, and truckloads of tortoise meat have been seized recently.

Web sites that foster online communication and interaction are not merely vapid echo chambers of self-promotion, according to a new study in American Behavioral Scientist.

In fact, just the opposite is true. Interactions on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites positively impact real-life and the intersection between online communication and the offline world forms two halves of a support mechanism for local communities.