Science news - Original Signal

National Geographic

Near-Extinct Monkeys Found in Colombian Park: A new population of one of the worlds rarest primates has been found in a Colombian park, conservationists announced today.

Stonehenge Precursor Found? Island Complex Predates Famous Site: Whats more, the Scottish island complex may have been the model for Englands famous stone-circle site, new data suggest.

Hottest Thing on Earth: X-rays Heat Metal to 3.6 Million Degrees: By zapping a scrap of metal with superpowerful x-rays, scientists created plasma that rivals the sun for heat.

Hyperactive Sun Helping to Clear Out Space Junk: The recent uptick in solar flares and other sun activity has been causing orbiting debris to fall faster, a NASA scientist reports.

Space Pictures This Week: Sun Loops, Blue Marble, More: Plasma arcs over the sun, Earth shines in high resolution, a colorful halo surrounds the moon, and more in the weeks best space pictures.

Giant Veil of "Cold Plasma" Discovered High Above Earth: Clouds of slow-moving charged particles reach from the top of Earths atmosphere to a quarter of the distance to the moon, new data show.

Death Valley's Big Bang: Volcano "Potentially Active": It may be barren, but Californias Ubehebe Crater is anything but dead, according to a new study.

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Universe Today

Emerging Supermassive Black Holes Choke Star Formation: Located on the Chajnantor plateau in the foothills of the Chilean Andes, ESO’s APEX telescope has been busy looking into deep, deep space. Recently a group of astronomers released their findings regarding massive galaxies in connection with extreme times of

Large Amounts of Water Ice Found Underground on Mars: Many models predict that water ice shouldn’t be stable on Mars today, anywhere beyond the poles, no matter how deep you bury it. And yet, a recently published study shows that large regions outside the polar areas may, in fact,

Test Failure Points to Potential Delay for Next Soyuz Launch: Russia may have to delay the launch of the next crew to the International Space Station, as the descent module of the Soyuz spacecraft experienced an air leak during testing. The next crew of three for the space station had

Orion Capsule Embarks on Cross Country Public Tour: Here’s your chance for a birds-eye view of an Orion capsule, up-close and personal. A full scale test version of one of NASA’s Orion spacecraft has embarked on a cross country tour from White Sands, New Mexico, across several states

Rocket Carrier Causes Bridge Collapse in Kentucky: A cargo ship carrying rocket components for an upcoming launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station collided with a bridge in Kentucky early January 27, 2012 causing a portion of the bridge to collapse. There were cars on the bridge

CosmoQuest: Taking Citizen Science to the Next Level: “X” marks the spot for a new place for Citizen Science on the web. It’s called CosmoQuest and the collaborators of this new website invite you to come visit and do more than just click your mouse. Besides contributing to

Mystery Moon Flashes Caused by Meteorite Impacts: For hundreds of years, people have seen tiny flashes of light on the surface of the Moon. Very brief, but bright enough to be seen from Earth, these odd flashes still hadn’t been adequately explained up until now. Also known

Astronomers Capture Images of Asteroid 2012 BX34′s Close Flyby of Earth: Small asteroid 2012 BX34 skimmed past Earth today, January 27, 2012, with closest approach at about 15:25 UT, and it passed only about 59,044 km (36,750 miles) or about ~0.2 lunar distance (or 0.0004 AU) above the Earth’s surface. It

Op-Ed: Lunar Twitter — Republicans Debate Manned Moon Base: Editor’s note – Bruce Dorminey, science journalist and author of Distant Wanderers: The search for Planets beyond the Solar System, is a lifelong proponent of lunar exploration. Newt Gingrich certainly has his own political motives for suddenly deciding that now

Does Water Ice Lurk Beneath the Poles of Vesta ?: The mysterious asteroid Vesta may well have more surprises in store. Despite past observations that Vesta would be nearly bone dry, newly published research indicates that about half of the giant asteroid is sufficiently cold and dark enough that water

Remembering NASA’s Lost Astronauts: Today is NASA’s Day of Remembrance, a occasion to recall the seventeen astronauts who have died in pursuit of space exploration. The anniversaries of each accident — Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia — fall eerily close together, and give us recourse to stop

Weekly Space Hangout – Jan. 26, 2012: Another edition of our weekly space hangout. This week we talked about a week of space remembrance, solar storms, Newt’s plans for a 2020 lunar base, arsenic and old news, black holes and their galaxies and the death of Phobos-Grunt.

11 New Planetary Systems… 26 New Planets… Kepler Racks ‘Em Up!: Eleven ball in the side pocket. Whack! And another 26 planets are discovered! NASA just announced the latest tally and the new discoveries come close to doubling the amount of verified planets and tripling the number of stars which are

Asteroid’s Unusual Light and Dark Crater: Light and dark material spreads outward from a 5-km-wide crater on Vesta in this image from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, acquired on October 22, 2011. While craters with differently-toned materials have been previously seen on the asteroid, it is unusual to

New Research Suggests Fomalhaut b May Not Be a Planet After All: When the Hubble Space Telescope photographed the apparent exoplanet Fomalhaut b in 2008, it was regarded as the first visible light image obtained of a planet orbiting another star. The breakthrough was announced by a research team led by Paul Kalas

8-Meter-Wide Asteroid Will Pass Close to Earth January 27: A small asteroid will pass extremely close to Earth tomorrow (January 27, 2012). Named 2012 BX34, this 8 meter- (26-foot-) wide space rock will skim Earth less than 60,000 km (37,000 miles, .0004 AU), at around 16:00 UTC, according to

Cold Plasma Flourishes In Earth’s Upper Atmosphere: Thousands of miles above Earth, space weather rules. Here storms of high-energy particles mix the atmosphere, create auroras, challenge satellites and even cause disturbances with electric grids and electronic devices below. It’s a seemingly empty and lonely place – one

Astrophoto: Purple Orion: This beautiful photo of the Orion Nebula was taken by Marco T. in Italy on January 25, 2012. It was taken with a Canon 500d, and a Skywatcher Black Diamond ED80 Pro “Sum of 32 shots of 85 seconds at

NASAs Resilient Rover Opportunity Begins Year 9 On Mars with Audacious Science Ahead: Today, the resilient Opportunity robot begins her 9th year roving around beautifully Earth-like Martian terrain where potentially life sustaining liquid water once flowed billions of years ago. Opportunity celebrates her 8th anniversary on the Red Planet gazing at the foothills

Newt Promises a Moon Base by 2020: Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich campaigned in Florida on Wednesday, and made some audacious claims if he would become President of the United States: “By the end of my second term we will have the first permanent base on the

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The New York Times

Bydureon, a Diabetes Drug from Amylin, Wins F.D.A. Approval: The Food and Drug Administration twice declined to approve Bydureon in 2010, with its most serious concern being that the drug might contribute to heart rhythm abnormalities.

Green Blog: New York's Fracking Deliberations Inch Along: A meeting with an advisory panel is deferred, suggesting that the decision-making process will not be rushed in coming months.

Political Science: For a Moon Colony, Technology Is the Easy Part: The smallest hurdle for establishing a moon colony is the technology, much of which already exists; the economics and politics would be far more difficult.

Green Blog: Racing Up (and Down) the Performance Index: In the latest Environmental Performance Index, Switzerland is at the top, Russia is much closer to the bottom and the United States has failed to gain much ground.

Internet Criticism Pushes China to Act on Pollution: Under popular pressure, Chinese officials have begun to track the most pernicious measure of urban air pollution and promise to set new health standards and publish data on air pollution.

Scientist at Work Blog: Wolves, Snow and the Red Dragon: When snow freezes to the wings of their research plane, scientists studying wolves prepare the Red Dragon - a 25-pound propane tank, 12-volt battery, spark-ignited torch and blower, and a hose, all strapped to a toboggan.

Green Blog: When Marine Mammals Become Food: Rising human consumption of marine mammals in tropical regions poses a threat to animals like the dugong, which is similar to a manatee, and the Atlantic humpback dolphin, researchers write.

Green Blog: On Our Radar: 6 More Coal Plants to Close: FirstEnergy says it would not be cost-effective to install scrubbing technology at aging plants to meet new federal emissions rules.

Green Blog: Reaping a Bonus From Cap-and-Trade: Rather than imposing higher costs on consumers and businesses, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative lowered their bills.

Green Blog: How to Manage U.S. Forests, Version 3.1: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sets out the Obama Administrations new blueprint for management of 193 million acres of national forests, emphasizing collaborative development of forest plans and protection of wildlife and watersheds.

Green Blog: Is Spent Nuclear Fuel Really Waste?: A special commission on nuclear waste is not bullish on the near-term prospects for reprocessing it so that the uranium and plutonium it contains can be reused..

Clean Energy Projects Face Waning Subsidies: Wind and solar companies say they need more government support to be competitive. But in Washington, there’s little enthusiasm for more subsidies.

In Northeast Greenhouse Gas Group, Many Unsold Allowances: The Greenhouse Gas Initiative involving Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states has cut the number of allowances power companies can use to offset emissions.

Transocean Not Liable for Some Gulf Spill Claims, Judge Rules: A federal judge ruled that Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon, which blew out in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, was not liable for some pollution claims.

World Briefing | Asia: Japan: Nuclear Contamination Cleanup Near Stricken Plant to Start in Spring: The Environment Ministry said the cleanup would cover about two-thirds of the 100-square-mile zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, with the goal of cutting radiation levels in half within two years.

Green Blog: Panel Urges 'Urgent' Solution on Nuclear Waste: A special panel warns that if a disposal site is not expedited, the federal government will foot ever-greater related expenses -- and lose face with its citizens and the international community.

Green Blog: They've Done It Again: An Albatross Chick: For the second time, an endangered short-tailed albatross couple have produced a chick on United States soil.

Nuclear Waste Panel Urges ‘Consent-Based’ Approach: With local cooperation, the panel said, the government might avoid the kind of conflicts that led to the cancellation of plans to create a vast repository at Yucca Mountain.

Green Blog: Apple, Electronics and Environmental Ills: Environmental groups say that while multinational corporations like Apple are trying to improve conditions, thousands -- or perhaps tens of thousands -- of smaller companies are cutting corners and dumping hazardous chemicals in rural areas and even near densely populated

In Real Time, a Virus Learns a New Way to Infect: Researchers report that viruses deprived of their usual channel for infiltrating the E. coli bacterium evolved a different route into the cells in little more than two weeks.

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Scientific American

California OKs New Rules to Cut Tailpipe Emissions: LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Californias powerful air-quality regulator on Friday approved sweeping new rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles by requiring automakers to put many more electric and hybrid vehicles on the states roads. The regulations, approved unanimously

How Google's New Privacy Policy Could Affect You: You’re on the way to a meeting. Traffic seems to be slowing. A text comes in: “You’re going to be late. Take the next exit for alternate route.” It’s from Google.

Dozens and Dozens: NASA's Kepler Spies Packs of New Exoplanets: No description.

Are Wallabies Left or Right Handed? Both! (Sometimes): Which limb do you prefer? If you’re like most members of our species, you prefer your right hand for most tasks. If you’re like a smaller minority of our species, you might prefer your left hand. Very, very few of

China Cadmium Spill Threatens Drinking Water for Millions: BEIJING (Reuters) - A cancer-causing cadmium discharge from a mining company has polluted a long stretch of two rivers in southern China, and officials warned some 3.7 million people of Liuzhou in the Guangxi region to avoid drinking water from

The Disappearing Actinides, and Other Frustrations from the Bottom Row of the Periodic Table of(...): I bought three copies of Sam Kean s The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements . I left the first one in the seat-back

Guest Post: Shale Gas - The Low Carbon Option?: It may be surprising to hear that hydraulic fracturing is not the cause of water contamination , but what may be even more surprising is that shale gas produced using fracking may have lower life cycle greenhouse gas emissions than

Blue Ribbon Commissions Calls for New Home for Nuclear Waste: The embarrassing and damaging failure of U.S. policy on spent nuclear fuel can be repaired if the administration and Congress begin work now on new strategies, the co-chairmen of a presidential commission said yesterday.

Readers Respond to "Toxins All Around Us" and Other Articles: CHEMISTRY COMMENTARY

Can Too Much Information Harm Patients?: Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Health Care (Basic Books, 2012), by Eric Topol, a professor of innovative medicine and the director of the Scripps Translational

Apollo 1: the fire that shocked NASA: The Apollo 1 Command Module after the fire that claimed the lives of Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. Credit: NASA. NASA s Apollo program began with one of the worst disasters the organization has ever faced. A routine

Real-life SpiderMan: Thomas Shahan: photo by Thomas Shahan As the science media today is carrying news of how spiders use defocus to judge distance , I thought it an opportune moment to share the portfolio of a master of spider portraiture. Oklahoma artist Thomas

MIND Reviews: Thinking, Fast and Slow: Thinking, Fast and Slow

Notion in Motion: Wireless Sensors Monitor Brain-Waves on the Fly: A fighter pilot heads back to base after a long mission, feeling spent. A warning light flashes on the control panel. Has she noticed? If so, is she focused enough to fix the problem?

Guest Post: Water Contamination - Fracking is not the problem: With the current negative attention and controversy surrounding shale gas drilling, the words hydraulic fracturing or fracking have become synonymous with something else: water contamination. But according to recent research out of MIT, the contamination of drinking water near natural

Bosses Who Work Out Are Nicer: We've all heard exercise is good for your physical and mental wellbeing. But a good workout can actually influence the mental wellbeing of others, too. Because bosses who hit the gym tend to be less abusive to their employees. That's

Hydrogen and Kinetic Energy Will Keep Phones Ringing: Carmakers learned years ago it's not easy to make a practical hydrogen fuel cell. Yet hydrogen fuel cells do work, and they're greener than batteries. So how about using a mini hydrogen fuel cell to re-charge something small--like your mobile

'Mad Cow' and Other Prion Diseases Hide Out in Spleen: By Jo Marchant of Nature magazinePrion diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) are able to jump species much more easily than previously thought.

Flooding Is Biggest Climate Risk to UK: By Nina Chestney LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Flooding will be Britain'sbiggest climate risk this century, with damage set to cost asmuch as 12 billion pounds ($18 billion) a year by the 2080s ifnothing is done to adapt to extreme

3-D Microscopy Casts Blood Vessel's Structure in New Light: No description.

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Space.com

Freedom 7 Mercury Capsule, Flown by 1st American in Space, Heads to Boston, D.C.: NASA astronaut Alan Shepard flew the Freedom 7 capsule on May 5, 1961.

Last Man on Moon & 7 Other Space Leaders Back Mitt Romney: Two retired astronauts, a former NASA administrator and five other space leaders signed an open letter.

GOP Presidential Candidates: Where They Stand on Space: A summary of the Republican contenders views on NASA and the future of American spaceflight.

Massive X-Flare Tops Sun's Active Week: The same sunspot to unleash a M.9 flare just a few days ago erupted again with the strongest of flares, X type, on January 27, 2012. Fortunately, the Earth was spared the full brunt of the solar shockwave, but a

Sun Unleashes Strongest Flare Yet of 2012: An X-class flare, the most powerful type of solar storm, erupted from the sun today.

Barge Carrying Atlas Rockets Crashes Into Bridge: The two launch vehicles are apparently undamaged.

Shooting Star Flies Over Castle Ruins in Skywatcher Photo: The ruins of the castle gleam against the backdrop of the Bakony mountain range in the stunning image.

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ScienceDaily

Space weather center to add world's first 'ensemble forecasting' capability: Leaner, greener flying machines for the year 2025 are on the drawing boards of three industry teams under contract to the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorates Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project.

New ideas sharpen focus for greener aircraft: Leaner, greener flying machines for the year 2025 are on the drawing boards of three industry teams under contract to the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorates Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project.

NASA study solves case of Earth's 'missing energy': Two years ago, scientists released a study claiming that inconsistencies between satellite observations of Earths heat and measurements of ocean heating amounted to evidence of missing energy in the planets system. Where was it going? Or, they wondered, was something

Mars-bound instrument detects solar burst's effects: RAD measures radiation from solar storm: The largest solar particle event since 2005 hit Earth, Mars and the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft traveling in-between, allowing the onboard Radiation Assessment Detector to measure the radiation a human astronaut could be exposed to en route to the Red

NuSTAR spacecraft arrives in California: NASAs Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, mission arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip by truck from the Orbital Sciences Corporations manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va. The mission is scheduled to launch

Mind over matter: Patients' perceptions of illness make a difference: Whenever we fall ill, there are many different factors that come together to influence the course of our illness. Additional medical conditions, stress levels, and social support all have an impact on our health and well-being, especially when we are

New information for flu fight: Influenza virus can rapidly evolve from one form to another, complicating the effectiveness of vaccines and anti-viral drugs used to treat it. By first understanding the complex host cell pathways that the flu uses for replication, researchers are finding new

Making memories last: Researchers discovered that a prion-like protein plays a key role in storing long-term memories.

Grape seed extract kills head and neck cancer cells, leaves healthy cells unharmed: In both cell lines and mouse models, grape seed extract kills head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells, while leaving healthy cells unharmed, new research shows.

New drug release mechanism utilizes 3-D superhydrophobic materials: There is a new mechanism of drug release using 3-D superhydrophobic materials that utilizes air as a removable barrier to control the rate at which drug is released.

Making poisonous plants and seeds safe and palatable: Canola now, cannabis next?: Every night millions of people go to bed hungry. New genetic technology can help us feed the world by making inedible seeds edible and tasty.

Research on vitamins could lead to the design of novel drugs to combat malaria: New research could lead to the design of more effective drugs to combat malaria. The research will enable scientists to learn more about the nature of the enzymes required for vitamin biosynthesis by the malaria causing pathogen Plasmodium. Vitamins are

How cholera bacterium gains a foothold in the gut: Biologists have made an important advance in our understanding of the way cholera attacks the body. The discovery could help scientists target treatments for the globally significant intestinal disease which kills more than 100,000 people every year.

Genetic variation that raises risk of serious complication linked to osteoporosis drugs identified: Researchers have identified a genetic variation that raises the risk of developing serious necrotic jaw bone lesions in patients who take bisphosphonates, a common class of osteoclastic inhibitors.

Body location plays part in scratching pleasure: New research from a world-renowned itch expert shows that how good scratching an itch feels is related to the itch’s location.

Giant cell reveals metabolic secrets: Chemical reactions within the cell produce intermediate and end products in the form of small molecules called metabolites. Using an approach called metabolomics, researchers have elucidated the localization and dynamics of 125 metabolites within a single giant cell of the

Genetic abnormalities may cause cerebral palsy, study suggests: For years it was thought that a difficult birth and other perinatal factors were the leading causes of cerebral palsy (CP), a group of disorders that can involve brain and nervous system functions such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing and

Kitchen gadget inspires scientist to make more effective plastic electronics: A kitchen gadget that vacuum seals food in plastic inspired a physicist to improve the performance of organic transistors for potential use in video displays.

Discovery of new vaccine approach for treatment of cancer: Scientists have developed a new vaccine to treat cancer at the pre-clinical level. They developed a new approach for treating the disease based on manipulating the immune response to malignant tumors.

What really happened prior to 'Snowball Earth'?: The large changes in the carbon isotopic composition of carbonates which occurred prior to the major climatic event more than 500 million years ago, known as Snowball Earth, are unrelated to worldwide glacial events, a new study suggests.

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New Scientist

Gold-coated ant wields microcog: Dont fear, ants havent started constructing micromachines: this cog-wielding insect has been sealed in golden armour after death

Today on New Scientist: 27 January 2012: All todays stories on newscientist.com, including: arsenic life does not exist after all and repeated drought in east Africa may prompt aid rethink

US voters are less partisan than they think: Democrat and Republican voters views on touchstone issues are not as strongly polarised as they assume – but mistrustful activists may often swing elections

Cane toads lose their killer touch in east Australia: Australias native species die when they eat poisonous cane toads – but not the blue-tongue lizards of eastern Australia

Creativity takes teamwork: What does creativity in science look like? The most creative scientists may be those that collaborate with others from different disciplines, concludes a panel

Astrophile: Picture yourself on a sandboard on Titan: Taking in plastic sand, marmalade skies and methane rivers, a tour of Titans sand dunes would be as trippy as a late Beatles song

Virtual trees sway in wind just like the real thing: Animators will soon be able to construct startlingly realistic sylvan beauty in movies and video games with a new system for generating 3D virtual trees

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BBC

VIDEO: Bats find shelter in Israeli bunkers: Bats are finding a surprising haven in abandoned Israeli bunkers, researchers say.

Fishing's global footprint: Our use of the oceans riches now has a global reach, a report show

'Microplastic' threat to shores: Microscopic plastic debris from washing clothes is accumulating in the marine environment and could be entering the food chain, a study warns.

Anti-matter set for gravity test: Researchers prepare pairs of matter and anti-matter particles in a bid to finally resolve whether anti-matter repels normal matter in a kind of anti-gravity.

VIDEO: Air pollution alert first for Scotland: Scotland is to become the first part of the UK to offer a pollution alert system which could be incorporated into weather forecasts.

'Record year' for ivory seizures: More elephant tusks were seized in 2011 than in any year since 1989, when the ivory trade was banned, international wildlife trade group Traffic says.

VIDEO: Child's toy launched into space: While America is running down its manned space programme - further north - two Canadian students have shown that flying into space does not always have to be rocket science.

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Discovery

How Do You Start a Fire With Ice?: You’ll need a sunny day, a frozen lake, a sharp knife, warm hands and some dry leaves or wood.

Psychics on the Moon and Incoming Sun Spit: This Week in Discovery News weve got psychics on the moon and the sun is spitting radiation right at us!

Hunting Pluto's Dangerous Rings: If there is a ring system, it could spell doom for the speedy New Horizons probe when it flies by in 2015.

Can You Choose to be Gay?: Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon says that she chooses to be gay. What does science say?

Cold Plasma Layer Detected High Above Earth: Cold, electrically charged particles have long been suspected to exist tens of thousands of miles above the Earths surface, and now satellites have detected such ions there for the first time.

See the World as a Shrimp Views It: A specialized camera allows people to see the world as reef-dwelling animals do.

NASA Welcomes Our Surgical Robot Overlords: Using a pioneering surgery technique developed for hospitals, could NASA fix satellites in orbit?

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Science/AAAS

Podcast: Magic Mushrooms, Sleeptalking Dolphins, and a Breakthrough for Embryonic Stem Cells: Listen to a roundup of some of our favorite stories from this week

National Academy Picks UC Administrator for Top Staff Job: A jack-of-all-trades in the U.S. science policy arena, Bruce Darling says that becoming executive...

North Star May Be Wasting Away: Polaris could be casting off the equivalent of Earths mass every year, observations suggest

Broad Institute Gets $32.5 Million to Map Cell Circuits: The Broad Institute has been showered with $32.5 million from a philanthropist to take...

Japanese Experts Question Safety of—and Need for—Nuclear Power: TOKYO—Japan is preparing for the possibility of a summer without nuclear power as utilities...

ScienceShot: Where to Find Fungi to Fuel Orchids: Symbiotic fungi thrive in mature forests

Italian Official Added to List of Defendants in Earthquake Trial: The former head of Italys civil protection department, Guido Bertolaso, is to be investigated...

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USATODAY

NASA's seven new space pioneers are companies: A half century ago the Mercury Seven embodied Americas space future. Now its the merchant seven: space companies for hire.

Medical groups assail patenting of human genes: Businesses argue in court that financial incentives are crucial.

President Obama kills NASA's moon mission plans: President Obama is redirecting Americas space program, killing NASAs $100 billion plans to return astronauts to the moon and using much of that money for new rocket technology research.

What happens to those 3-D glasses after 'Avatar'?: Recycling programs are in place to deal with the 935,834 pairs of 3-D glasses worn daily to see Avatar.

A science book worth your time: Time waits for no man. But when it comes to time, one man, Caltech physicist Sean Carroll, might be worth yours.

Study: Water vapor may help 'flatten global warming trend': Why Earths surface temperature hasnt warmed as expected puzzles scientists. Water vapor in the stratosphere may be a factor, says a new study.

Deadly fish virus found in Lake Superior: Researchers say a fatal fish virus has been found in Lake Superior for the first time, meaning it has spread to all the Great Lakes.

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Digg Science

Big News: Coal Electricity Drops Big Time: Its been a bad stretch recently for dirty coal, the countrys largest source of global warming emissions. First, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg stepped up and contributed big time to the Sierra Clubs fiercehttp://digg.com/news/science/big_news_coal_electricity_drops_big_timemikek814http://cdn3.diggstatic.com/user/3347795/p.png

Big News: Coal Electricity Drops Big Time: Its been a bad stretch recently for dirty coal, the countrys largest source of global warming emissions. First, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg stepped up and contributed big time to the Sierra Clubs fierce

The World's 18 Strangest Elevators: Elevators need not be boring metal boxes carrying office employees up and down. Our collection of the worlds strangest includes an elevator that rises through the middle of an aquarium, and one that scales a 1000-foot-high face of a cliff.

Big bird - Really big bird - from dino era discovered: An enormous bird, taller than an adult human, walked the Earth (and maybe flew above it) more than 80 million years ago, according a newly discovered fossilized jaw. The finding suggests oversize birds were more common during the Age of

The Summer Triangle Over Catalonia: APOD August 10th 2011: Can you find the Summer Triangle? Its not hard to find this famous triangle of stars this time of year from northern locations. Just look straight up after sunset and find three of the brightest stars in the sky that

Eight years and 34 million miles on, Mars rover nears end of road: It travelled at an average speed of 60cm an hour and it has arrived a year late. But the Mars rover Opportunity is finally approaching its destination, the rim of the vast Endeavour crater.

Shot this on Sunday in Nebraska before turning the car around and flooring it: Imgur is used to share photos with social networks and online communities, and has the funniest pictures from all over the Internet.

Melting Arctic Circle -- Drill Baby Drill!: The drilling industry is preparing to swoop in and capture their shares of Arctic oil and gas as the top of the world loses its ice cover. Heres how to do it right.

Herpes cousin may enter through the nose: Viruses can appear in the noses of both healthy and infected people.

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's View of the Rim of Endeavour, called 'Spirit P(...): NASAs Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its panoramic camera to capture this view of Endeavour Craters rim after a drive during the rovers 2,676th Martian day, or sol, of working on Mars (Aug. 4, 2011). The drive covered 396 feet

Placenta Pills May Help Postpartum Depression: (DENVER) -- Mother of three Tamara Guida believes that women should eat their own placenta because the nutrient-packed organ that feeds the fetus is rich in nutritional and hormonal properties. Guida says consuming the placenta helps women recover from pregnancy

Blood Test Can Tell Fetal Sex at 7 Weeks, Study Says: A test that is not regulated in the United States but is routinely used in Europe to assess the risk of gender-linked disorders raises the specter of sex selection.

Study: Lizards are way smarter than you think: Tropical lizards show they can solve novel problems and remember the solutions

Launch of Juno!: An Atlas V rocket lofted the Juno spacecraft toward Jupiter from Space Launch Complex-41. The 4-ton Juno spacecraft will take five years to reach Jupiter on a mission to study its structure and decipher its history.

Potential Mars Water 'A Big Deal,' Scientists Say: The new discovery of salty water on Mars could prove significant for science and the search for life, scientists say.

NASA funds 30 new space research projects: Read NASA funds 30 new space research projects on Yahoo! News. The US space agency announced funding for 30 new space projects Monday, including ways to protect astronauts from deep-space radiation, eliminate space debris and improve spacesuit technology.

Why Giant Bugs Once Roamed the Earth: Dragonflies the size of modern birds ruled 300 million years ago because smaller larvae were at risk of oxygen toxicity, a new study hints.

Moonless Earth Could Potentially Still Support Life, Study Finds: Scientists have long thought the Earths moon was vital for its habitability. But that may not be so.

Wild Hemp Grows Everywhere In Nebraska: Back in the days before America got Reefer Madness, the good old U.S.A. was a worldwide center of hemp production. Verdant fields of the incredibly useful fiber crop were cultivated all over the country.

Simulation shows its possible to tow an iceberg to drought areas: Way back in the 70’s Georges Mougin, then an engineering graduate, had a big idea. He suggested that icebergs floating around in the North Atlantic could be tethered and dragged south to places that were experiencing a severe drought, such

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Science News Online

Issue for the week of February 11th, 2012: No description.

Book Review : A Great Aridness: Climate Change and the Future of the American Southwest by Will(...): A look at how global warming could affect the American Southwest reveals a landscape in peril.Oxford Univ., 2011, 369 p., $27.95

Book Review : Memory: Fragments of a Modern History by Alison Winter: With examples from police interrogators to hypnotized housewives, a historian describes changing views of memory

Book Review : BOOK REVIEW: How to Teach Relativity to Your Dog by Chad Orzel: Review by Allison Bohac

Self as Symbol: The loopy nature of consciousness trips up scientists studying themselves

Emblems of Awareness: Brain signatures lead scientists to the seat of consciousness

Deep Life: Teeming masses of organisms thrive beneath the seafloor

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NASA

Solar Eclipse over the USA: A "ring of fire" solar eclipse is coming to the USA this spring. It's the first annular eclipse visible from the contiguous United States in almost 18 years.

Comet Corpses in the Solar Wind: A paper published in today's issue of Science raises an intriguing new possibility--the presence of abundant comet corpses in the solar wind. The new research is based on dramatic images of a comet disintegrating in the sun's atmosphere last July.

What Happened to all the Snow?: Winter seems to be on hold this year in some parts of the United States. Snowfall has been scarce in places that were overwhelmed with the white stuff at the same time last year. In this story from Science@NASA, JPL

Re-thinking an Alien World: A distant super-Earth named "55 Cancri e" is wetter and weirder than astronomers thought possible. The discovery has researchers re-thinking the nature of alien worlds.

Some Comets like it Hot: Astronomers are still scratching their heads over Comet Lovejoy, which plunged through the atmosphere of the sun in December and, against all odds, survived. The comet is now receding into the outer solar system leaving many mysteries behind.

Kepler Discovers a Tiny Solar System: NASA's Kepler spacecraft has discovered the tiniest solar system so far, composed of a red dwarf star with three rocky planets smaller than Earth.

Space Mountain Produces Terrestrial Meteorites: The discovery of a towering mountain on Vesta could solve a longstanding mystery: How did so many pieces of the giant asteroid end up right here on our own planet?

Twin Gravity Spacecraft Set to Enter Lunar Orbit: NASA's twin GRAIL spacecraft, on a mission to study the moon's gravitational field, are nearing their New Year's Eve and New Year's Day main-engine burns to place the duo in lunar orbit.

The Night After Christmas Sky Show: On Dec. 26th, Venus and the crescent Moon will gather in the western sunset sky for a beautiful post-Christmas show.

Kepler Discovers Earth-size Exoplanets: NASA's Kepler spacecraft has found two Earth-sized planets orbiting a distant sun-like star. These alien worlds are intermingled in their star system with other much larger planets, an arrangement which challenges orthodox ideas of how planets are formed.

Comet Lovejoy Plunges into the Sun and Survives: Sungrazing Comet Lovejoy has shocked astronomers by surviving its "death plunge" into the sun. Must-see movies of the comet's passage through the sun's atmosphere are featured in today's story from Science@NASA.

Curiosity and the Solar Storm: Curiosity wasn't the only thing that blasted off for Mars on Nov. 26th. On the same day, a solar storm launched itself toward the Red Planet. The coincidence heralds a new job for the multi-talented rover: Curiosity will spend much

Mars Rover Curiosity Takes Off: NASA's biggest and most capable Mars rover ever left Earth this morning in a picture perfect launch from the Kennedy Space Center. The new rover, named "Curiosity", is due to reach the Red Planet in August 2012.

New Evidence for Liquid Water on Europa: Scientists studying data from NASA's Galileo probe have discovered what appears to be a body of liquid water the volume of the North American Great Lakes locked inside the icy shell of Jupiter’s moon Europa.

Mystery of the Lunar Ionosphere: How can a world without air have an ionosphere? Somehow the Moon has done it. Lunar researchers have been struggling with the mystery for years, and they may have finally found a solution.

Stellar Extremophiles: A NASA space telescope named "GALEX" has found stars forming in extreme galactic environments, places where researchers thought stars should not be. The finding could affect astronomy much as the discovery of microbial extremophiles affected biology in the 1970s.

A Star with Spiral Arms: Using a Japanese telescope, NASA-supported researchers have found the first clear case of a star with spiral arms. The surprising arms could be sculpted by planets moving through a gas-rich circumstellar disk.

Strange Hollows Discovered on Mercury: NASA's MESSENGER probe has discovered a surprise on Mercury: Something is digging "hollows" in the surface of the innermost planet.

Weekend Meteor Shower: Earth is about to pass through a stream of debris from Halley's comet, source of the annual Orionid meteor shower. Forecasters expect more than 15 meteors per hour to fly across the sky on Saturday morning, Oct. 22nd, when the

Comet Storm in a Nearby Star System: NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected signs of icy bodies raining down in an alien solar system. The downpour resembles our own solar system several billion years ago during a period known as the "Late Heavy Bombardment."

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