Driven by fluctuations in oil prices, and seduced by the prospect of easing climate change, experts are ramping up efforts to squeeze fuel out of a promising new organism: pond scum. As it turns out, algae -- slimy, fast-growing and full of fat -- is gaining ground as a potential renewable energy source. Experts say it is intriguing for its ability to ...

South Florida's top federal prosecutor, whose office convicted corrupt Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla, was named dean Wednesday of Florida International University's law school. U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta, 40, has presided over one of the nation's largest and busiest ...

Liberty University has told its fledgling College Democrats club it can no longer be a campus group, saying the party stands against the conservative Christian school's moral principles. Club president Brian Diaz said he was shocked to get the notice from the private university in Lynchburg, Va., founded by the ...

The Dalai Lama has offered $100,000 to help an imperiled religion department at a Florida university after receiving an e-mailed plea for a letter of support from a longtime acquaintance on the faculty. "He responded with this astounding, astounding offer," said Nathan Katz, a professor ...