D. enigmata on the right, with the three larger samples on the left representing D. discoides. PLoS one

Over the past few years, studies of genomes have confused what we thought we knew about the origin of animal life. Instead of the simple sponges being the earliest branch off the animal tree, a group of relatively complex organisms, the ctenophores, seem to be the earliest branch. That finding has some serious implications, as it suggests that a nervous system evolved twice.

Now, some more traditional biology may upset the family tree even further. Old samples taken from the seabed near Tasmania contain examples of two different species that may belong to a phylum entirely unknown to us—one that split off near the base of the animal tree. The strange creatures also have features that suggest they may be related to remains from the Ediacaran, a period in which the first animal life appears in the fossil record.

The samples actually date from a research cruise taken nearly 30 years ago, where a "sled" was dragged along the ocean floor and samples returned to the surface. The new species weren't recognized as interesting when they were first found, so they were left mixed in with the rest of the collection, which was fixed with formaldehyde and then dumped in 80 percent ethanol. The samples suffered a bit of further abuse when one of the authors wanted to refresh the alcohol and was given 100 percent ethanol instead. (The paper actually notes, "Unfortunately absolute alcohol was provided without comment instead of the requested 80 percent ethanol.")

Read 10 remaining paragraphs | Comments

The new Moto X is a worthy successor to the original. Andrew Cunningham

CN.dart.call("xrailTop", {sz:"300x250", kws:["top"], collapse: true});At the end of last year's Moto X review, we concluded that it wasn't a perfect phone. Still, we wanted to see where Motorola would be in a year, and, about 13 months later, it's safe to say it's been a busy year for the company.

For starters, Motorola has made an aggressive play for the midrange, low-end, and emerging smartphone markets in the form of the Moto G and the Moto E. Both phones make compromises to hit their sub-$200-unlocked prices, but they largely identify the most important smartphone stuff and give you enough to get by. The original Moto X launched at a $579 unlocked ($199 on-contract) price point that was frankly too much to pay for what it offered, but it dropped to a more suitable $399 by the beginning of the year. The phone has spent most of its time since hovering between $300 and $400, give or take a sale.

Things have been no less lively on the business side. The US-based phone factory that factored so prominently into early Moto X advertising is being shuttered. The division has continued to lose money for Google, but its sales are finally on an uptick, and reviews of each Moto phone have typically been positive. Most importantly, Google is selling Motorola to Lenovo, a company that isn't doing so badly in the smartphone market itself (the deal isn't actually scheduled to close until some time next year, but Motorola has already quietly stripped "a Google company" from its branding on everything from its homepage to its phones' boot screens).

Read 39 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Film critic Christian Blauvelt and entertainment reporter Emma Jones chat with Tom Brook about highlights of this year's Toronto International Film Festival.

MH17 Dutch experts say Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine after being hit by 'numerous objects' that 'pierced the plane at high speed'.

A woman, Reefat Drabu, who escaped flooding in Indian-administered Kashmir says people were given no warning they should evacuate the area.

A 50-year-old man has been killed in a shark attack off a beach in Byron Bay, the most easterly point on the Australian mainland, officials say

A second year of badger culling has begun in parts of Gloucestershire and Somerset in a bid to tackle bovine TB.

Version:next-20140909 (linux-next) Released:2014-09-09

A 50-year-old man has been killed in a shark attack off a beach in Byron Bay, the most easterly point on the Australian mainland, officials say.

Dramatic pictures have emerged of a recently closed rollercoaster in Los Angeles that collapsed after fire broke out on the wooden frame.

Brain tumour patient Ashya King is in the Czech Republic for proton beam treatment and his father has thanked the public for their support.

CN.dart.call("xrailTop", {sz:"300x250", kws:["top"], collapse: true});

Last week was a full one for Motorola. The company invited a group of technology journalists to its newly opened offices in Chicago's historic Merchandise Mart for a first look at its new Moto 360 smartwatch, as well as its updated Moto X and Moto G smartphones. Much like our trip to HP's Houston campus in June, the visit to Motorola's multi-floor laboratory and design workshop provided the perfect opportunity to snap a ton of interesting pictures.

The preview event was held on September 4, the day before the Moto 360 went on sale. We were first ushered through several hours of carefully choreographed presentations showing off the capabilities and design heritage of the Moto 360; this was followed by more of the same type of presentations about the Moto G and the Moto X. After about four hours, Managing Editor Eric Bangeman and I skipped away from lunch with our review hardware to get started with our initial write-ups.

We were somewhat limited with where we could take pictures—not at all unusual in a functioning office with people trying to work—but below are a few dozen images showing a bit of what we saw during the reveals.

Read on Ars Technica | Comments

Despite a ceasefire in Ukraine the number of children killed during the conflict has risen to 23.

On Monday, Home Depot confirmed that thieves compromised the payment systems in its stores in the US and Canada and stole credit and debit card data.

The theft likely began in April and used unspecified malware, but it may not have compromised the PINs used to secure debit cards, the company said in a statement. The home supply retailer has not yet determined how many cards were breached, but the thieves had as many as six months in the company's systems. Comparatively, the malware-enabled theft of card data from retail giant Target resulted in the compromise of 40 million credit and debit card accounts and occurred in just over three weeks, albeit during the peak shopping season.

Home Depot's Chairman and CEO Frank Blake apologized to customers on Monday.

Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Costumed street performers in New York have staged a protest against a proposed law which will mean licensing, background checks and other regulations for them.

The BBC's Reda El Mawy speaks to Abdul Razzak Mohamed Ali about his decision to come out of retirement and take up arms against Islamic State.

Front Porch ad.

A Northern California company that bills itself as the "worldwide leader in Wi-Fi monetization" is the vendor behind Comcast's and other US cable companies' promotional advertising campaign performed through JavaScript injection, Comcast said Monday.

Comcast spokesman Charlie Douglas confirmed the vendor's name, Front Porch of Sonora, hours after Ars reported that Comcast recently started serving Comcast ads to devices connected to one of its 3.5 million publicly accessible Wi-Fi hotspots across the US. We wrote that Comcast's decision to inject data into the net raises security concerns and cuts to the heart of the ongoing net neutrality debate.

As it turns out, Front Porch also does business with Cox, Time Warner, Bright House, and Cablevision in the US, Front Porch CTO Carlos Vazquez said in a telephone interview.

Read 8 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Prince William says he and his wife Catherine are "thrilled" at the fact they are expecting their second child.

Andrew North joins rescue workers in Pakistan who are still searching for people trapped after a week of damaging floods.

The new Moto G is mostly just a larger version of the original, and that's fine. Andrew Cunningham

CN.dart.call("xrailTop", {sz:"300x250", kws:["top"], collapse: true});We were big fans of the first Moto G, mostly because it was a budget smartphone that didn't look or act like your typical budget smartphone. Many phones you can buy for around $200 unlocked are still either cheap, underpowered handsets that can never hope to see updates or any additional support from the company you bought them from, or they're near-end-of-life flagships from years gone by.

Decent, current "midrange" phones from the likes of Samsung, Apple, or HTC can still cost $400 or more without a contract, tying many buyers to two-year agreements with major carriers that subsidize the up-front price but eventually end up charging you more than the phone would have cost in the first place. So a $179 unlocked smartphone that has (so far) gotten prompt updates and features reasonably high-quality hardware was a breath of fresh air. Even nine months past its launch, the original Moto G doesn't have a lot of competition.

Motorola has had quite a bit of success with these low-cost phones, though, so the company isn't resting on its laurels. The second-generation Moto G (called simply the "Moto G" in most advertising materials, though with a "2nd generation" tag on the box, Motorola's site, and the phone's About panel) is already here. What's different? What stays the same? And, more importantly, is this still the best Android phone that $179 can buy?

Read 25 remaining paragraphs | Comments