Arstechnica | How deep does the asymmetry between matter and antimatter go? Each type of particle (electrons, protons, etc.) have antimatter partners: positrons, antiprotons, and so forth. These antiparticles have an opposite electric charge (unless they're neutral), but otherwise behave much like their matter counterparts. But one interesting question remains unanswered: does antimatter possess antigravity, experiencing a repulsive force when matter experiences attraction? And, even if antimatter experiences plain old gravity, does it behave in exactly the same way as matter does?

Discovery | The answer to whether or not we are alone in the universe could be right under our nose, or, more literally, inside every cell in our body. Could our genes have an intelligently designed “manufacturer’s stamp” inside them, written eons ago elsewhere in our galaxy? Such a “designer label” would be an indelible stamp of a master extraterrestrial civilization that preceded us by many millions or billions of years. As their ultimate legacy, they recast the Milky Way in their own biological image.

LiveScience.com | The increasing power and accessibility of genetic technology may one day give parents the option of modifying their unborn children, in order to spare offspring from disease or, conceivably, make them tall, well muscled, intelligent or otherwise blessed with desirable traits.

eCommerceBytes.com | What if you could buy something on eBay, but not reveal your address to the seller? And as a seller, how would you feel about sending a package to a hidden address? The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) just published eBay patent application 20130018759, "Third Party Token System for Anonymous Shipping."

WeeklyStandard.com | In the middle of the night at a U.N. conference in Dubai, the presiding chairman of the International Telecommunication Union conference surveyed the assembled countries to see whether there was interest in having greater involvement in the U.N. governing the Internet. A majority of countries gave their approval.

TheHill.com | Government officials from around the world will descend on Dubai next month to revise a treaty that could have a major effect on the future of the Internet. The 193 member countries of the United Nation's International Telecommunications Union (ITU) will meet in Dubai to update the International Telecommunications Regulations treaty for the first time since 1988. The treaty governs how telephone calls and other communications traffic are exchanged internationally.

Pop Sci | Habit Control Your pre-frontal cortex, where thought and planning occurs, also switches your habits on and off. Wikimedia Commons. Neuroscientists at MIT have identified the region of the brain that switches between old and new habits. In the study, researchers trained rats to run in a T-shaped maze. They would receive chocolate milk for turning left or sugar water for turning right. When the researchers took away the rewards, the rats who had learned to turn left continued to do so, even though they weren't benefitting in any way.

Wired.com | Three weeks after a group of desktop gunsmiths had its leased 3D printer seized by the digital manufacturing firm that owned it, the weaponeers have quietly restarted plans to build a gun entirely of printed parts. The group has also begun expanding their operation with outside help, including space for ballistics testing provided by a mysterious firm involved in the defense industry.

RT | Foxconn, a major Apple supplier, has admitted to using underage interns in factories in China, employing children as young as 14. It’s the latest in the string of scandals surrounding the company’s activity in the country. The violation was revealed during a Foxconn probe over various media reports, which said that interns from 14 to 16 were working at the plant in the eastern Shandong province for about three weeks.

Pop Sci | The BioLite is a regular woodstove, meant for camping, but it converts excess heat to electricity so you can plug in any USB-powered gadget. Just in case your iPad dies while you're trying to camp. iPads are important.

MSU.edu | At a time when the value of gold has reached an all-time high, Michigan State University researchers have discovered a bacterium’s ability to withstand incredible amounts of toxicity is key to creating 24-karat gold. “Microbial alchemy is what we’re doing – transforming gold from something that has no value into a solid, precious metal that’s valuable,” said Kazem Kashefi, assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics.

CNN | What if you found yourself stuck alone at a faraway airport -- with no money, credit cards or ID? How easily could you fly back home again? You might survive if you had a smartphone. Emerging "empty pockets" technology is increasingly allowing travelers to use their phones to make purchases, book flights, check in and board planes.

Daily Mail | Apple is in the final stages of purchasing a fingerprint security firm - meaning future iPhones are likely to have an extra layer of built-in security. There are even suggestions that the new iPhone - due to be unveiled on Wednesday - will already have a fingerprint scanner built in, stopping anyone from reading your messages and data without your fingerprint authorisation.

Thehill.com | The Federal Communications Commission is rapidly backpedaling from a proposal to tax broadband Internet service after a public outcry over the issue. Democrats and Republicans at the agency are now blaming each other for pushing the idea in the first place.

Ars Technica | Last Christmas, my cousin Martin do Nascimento received a Kindle 3G as a gift from my brother, Alex. At the time, we all figured it would be a nice way for Martin to read books while serving in the Peace Corps Nicaragua on the Caribbean coast. But what we didn’t know at the time was exactly how indispensable it would be to him as he lived in a town so small that it barely has a Wikipedia entry. It turns out that this little, relatively cheap device has been a godsend for him in 2012, with its worldwide 3G Internet. Even though Martin lives in a remote area, I hear from him nearly every day by e-mail.