Original Signal - Transmitting Science

National Geographic

VIDEO: First 3-D Fly-Through of a Supernova Remnant: Medical imaging tools used to peer inside living people have been adapted to create the first virtual fly-though of the remains of a dead star.

VIDEO: Bees Key to Better Missiles?: Scientists are studying bees aggressive behavior and ocular and navigational skills in hopes of improving missile technology.

2009 Science Preview: Atom Smasher, Super Spaceflights: Among the surprises scientists have in store for the coming year: Sunken treasures, a new evolution debate, earlier Earths, and a host of revelations about the universe.

PHOTO IN THE NEWS: Pterosaurs Took Flight on All Fours: Using Schwarzenegger strength, the ancient flying reptiles could make a leaping launch from flat ground in less than a second, a new study says.

PHOTOS: Vast New Marine Refuge Home to Huge Crab, Coral: See natural treasures to be protected in three new marine monuments announced by U.S. President Bush—worlds largest land crab, giant coral, and more.

THE ROUNDUP: Science and Nature News Around the Web: Darwin missed a species; stethoscope hears sound of silence; nixing mosquitoes naturally.

PHOTO IN THE NEWS: Milky Way's Turbulent Core in Hi-Res: The first infrared panorama of the Milky Ways center has revealed a previously unknown population of massive stars scattered across the turbulent zone around our galaxys core.

VIDEO: Huge Underground Lake Explored: Geologists in Hungary have been exploring a newfound underground lake beneath the capital, Budapest. The lake system is believed to extend 25 miles (40 kilometers).

SPACE PHOTOS THIS WEEK: Baby Stars and a Black Hole, Mo: Saturns true colors, baby blue stars, and an anniversary on Mars are among the weeks best space images.

PHOTO IN THE NEWS: Pink Iguana Species Discovered: The little-known reptile from the Galapagos fills a crucial gap in the evolution of land iguanas, scientists say. But its future may not be as rosy.

Largest Marine Reserve Declared; Home to Mariana Trench: The designation of nearly 200,000 square miles of pristine waters as marine monuments, including the deepest place on Earth, will be a savings account for the future, one conservationist says.

Rocky Planet Births Are Common, Dead Stars Suggest: Asteroid debris around the remains of dead stars once like our sun show chemical signatures similar to the makeup of our solar systems terrestrial worlds, according to a new study.

Biggest Known Landslide Found on Mars?: A Texas-size asteroid may have sparked a U.S.-size landslide on ancient Mars, says a new study that hints at the origin of a mysterious red planet region.

"Nanodiamond" Find Supports Comet Extinction Theory: The discovery of microscopic diamonds in 12,900-year-old soil supports the controversial idea that comet swarms caused a die-off of ice age mammals, a new study says.

Meteorite Triggered Ancient New York Tsunami?: A strike off Long Island may have sparked a tsunami that today would flood lower Manhattan, says a new study based on the discovery of telltale rocks.

VIDEO: Buried Spanish Galleon Found: Complete with canons and jars of olive oil, an 18th-century Spanish ship has been found at a Buenos Aires, Argentina, construction site.

VIDEO: Airliner Flies on Plant Fuel: Air New Zealand says a test flight Tuesday was the first commercial-jet journey to use a fuel that is equal parts biofuel and standard jet fuel.

BEST NEWS PHOTOS OF 2008: Editors' Picks: See the National Geographic Digital Media photo editors favorite photos from National Geographic Newss 2008 Week in Photos galleries.

Leap Second Added to 2008, Tech Glitches to Come?: Just one second tacked on to the worlds clocks in 2008 may create problems for systems dependent on time, such as navigation systems and stock exchanges.

Biggest Science Stories: Bloggers' Picks for 2008: National Geographic News asked six science bloggers to each choose the most important, most overlooked, and strangest stories of 2008.

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Universe Today

Which Comes First: Galaxy or Black Hole?: Do galaxies form first and then a black hole springs up in the center, or possibly, do galaxies form around an already existing black hole? That's the cosmic chicken-and-the-egg problem astronomers have been trying to figure out. The answer? "It

WR 104 Won't Kill Us After All: Early last year, concern was growing for a Wolf-Rayet star named WR 104 that appeared to be aiming right at Earth (see Looking Down the Barrel of A Gamma Ray Burst). A Wolf-Rayet star is a highly unstable star coming

Atmospheres of Super Earths: We stand on the edge of the next phase of planetary discovery. Hundreds of massive, Jupiter-like planets have been discovered, but now astronomers are turning up smaller, more familiar planets. Planets the mass of Earth are out of reach today,

Invading Stars Faster Than Speeding Bullet: A team of astronomers looking for pre-planetary nebulae using the Hubble Space Telescope instead came across some renegade stars screaming through space. These runaway stars are moving along at 50 km/s (112,000 miles an hour), and have traveled an estimated

Could Quark Stars Explain Magnetars Strong Magnetic Field?: Magnetars are the violent, exotic cousins of the well known neutron star. They emit excessive amounts of gamma-rays, X-rays and possess a powerful magnetic field. Neutron stars also have very strong magnetic fields (although weak when compared with magnetars), conserving

This Week's Where In The Universe Challenge: This week's Where In The Universe Challenge has a new twist. This image was actually submitted by one of our readers, Wienie van der Oord from Israel. Its quite an interesting image, don't you agree?! I'll not give any hints

International Year of Astronomy Opening Ceremonies: Nothing works better than repetition. 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy! We've said it more than a few times before, and you'll read a lot of coverage over the next year here on Universe Today. But last night we

Blogger Meet-Up Jan. 7 in Long Beach: If you live near Long Beach or are there for the American Astronomical Society meeting, meet Fraser, Ian and the Astronomy Cast LIVE team at a "Blogger Meet-up" on Wed. January 7 at the Rock Bottom Brewery from 6pm -

With No Smoke or Mirrors, Spacecraft Hunts for Active Galaxies with Central Black Holes: NASA's Swift spacecraft is designed to hunt for gamma-ray bursts. But in the time between these almost-daily cosmic explosions, Swift's Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) scans the sky, performing an ongoing X-ray survey. Some of the first results of that survey

AAS Session 328: Black Holes I, January 6th: The debate of whether or not a supermassive black hole (SMBH) was kicked out of the centre of a galaxy continues in the Black Holes I session at the AAS. According to Stefanie Komossa and her team at the Max

Podcast: How Old is the Universe?: We did a wildly popular three part series about the center, size and shape of the Universe. But every good trilogy needs a 4th episode. This week we look at age of the Universe. How old is the Universe, and

If Brown Isn't a Color, What Color are Brown Dwarfs?: We've talked about brown dwarfs here on Universe Today for years and years. These are the "failed stars"; objects with too little mass to fully ignite nuclear fusion in their cores. Instead of blazing with red, yellow or the white

"Lighthouse" Analogy No Longer Works for Pulsars: NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has found 12 previously unknown gamma-ray only pulsars, as well as identifying gamma-ray emissions from 18 known or suspected radio pulsars. And what the telescope is finding is changing the way we think of these

Molecules in Gamma-Ray Burst Detected: Gamma-ray bursts are the universe's most brilliant events, and now astronomers have been able to shed light on the composition of these spectacular phenomena, providing insight into star formation when the universe was about one-sixth its present age. Combining data

American Astronomical Society Meeting, Long Beach - Day 2: After a day of crazy traveling through a Vancouver blizzard I'm now having my first full day down at the American Astronomical Society Meeting in Long Beach, California. As you've probably read, Ian's here with me and Nancy's supporting us

Could Mystery Outburst be a New Stellar Phenomena?: The Hubble Space Telescope serendipitously captured a mysterious burst of light on February 21, 2006. Over the next 100 days, the object, cataloged as SCP 06F6, brightened and then slowly faded. Astronomers do not know the object's distance, so it

Cassiopeia A Comes Alive in 3-D Movies: Want to know what it's like to fly through a supernova remnant? Then, THIS, you have to see. You'll be able to experience SNR Cassiopeia A (Cas A) as never before, and see it across both time and space. Another

New Ares Construction "Towers" Over 39B: Things are a-changing over at the Kennedy Space Center launch complex. The first lightning tower for the Ares rockets has been completed, dwarfing all the other structures on pad 39B. The tower is for the new lightning protection system for

Watch More Events Live from AAS on Tuesday Jan. 6: Once again our sister site Astronomy Cast LIVE will be providing live video coverage of press events at the 213th AAS meeting being held in Long Beach CA. The video streams can be found at Astronomy Cast's UStream Channel. You

Triple Whammy: Milky Way More Massive, Spinning Faster and More Likely to Collide: For many of us, looking closely in the mirror and stepping on the bathroom scale just after the holidays can reveal a substantial surprise. Likewise, astronomers looking closely at the Milky Way have found our galaxy is more massive than

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The New York Times

Theory Ties Radio Signal to Universe’s First Stars: A mysterious radio static that seems to pervade the universe has astronomers theorizing as to its source.

Dot Earth: On Whale Wars and Bison Burgers: Whale wars heat up but hide bigger questions.

Japan Seeks Australia’s Help to Thwart Anti-Whalers: Japan said Tuesday that it would formally ask Australia to keep anti-whaling activists and their ship, the Steve Irwin, from refueling at Australian ports.

Dot Earth: China’s Power Slowdown: China’s recent explosive growth in generation of electricity has reversed, and emissions of carbon dioxide are presumably dropping, too.

At the Stove, a Dash of Science, a Pinch of Folklore: Shirley O. Corriher, a biochemist turned folksy food scientist, helps answer some kitchen curiosities.

Vital Signs: Early Weight Problems Often Undiagnosed: Researchers said that especially with young patients who were overweight but not yet obese, doctors might be missing a good chance to intervene.

Vital Signs: Gasping Misunderstood in Heart Attacks: A new study reports that the heart attack victims who gasp are more likely to survive — especially if they are given chest compressions right away.

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Scientific American

A perk for coffee lovers: java may lower oral cancer risk: Raise high the coffee bean! Good news, coffee-drinkers: a new study shows your beverage of choice may lower your chances of getting oral, esophageal and pharyngeal (back-of-the-throat) cancer.

Jesse Anttila-Hughes: A Model Student Sustains a Developing Career: His finalist year: 1998His finalist project: Building a model of how nerve cells function in people with an autoimmune disorder

Did the universe mature at an early age?: LONG BEACH, CALIF.--You might think that the universe 11.5 billion years ago was in a more primitive state than it is today. Barely two billion years had passed since the big bang, our Milky Way galaxy was still taking shape,

Former astronaut, military man Bolden rumored for top NASA post: News outlets are reporting that former NASA astronaut Charles Bolden is among top candidates to head the space agency under President-elect Barack Obama. If tapped, Bolden, 62, would be the first African-American to serve as NASA administrator.

Mystery: Why are California Brown pelicans dying in droves?: Dead and dying California Brown Pelicans are littering the state’s coastline and nearby inland areas, and wildlife experts aren’t sure why.

The Evolution of Evolution: The text transcript is currently not available. Transcripts are posted about a week after the podcast airs.Science Talk is a weekly podcast, subscribe here: RSS | iTunes

Regrowing Borneo's Rainforest--Tree by Tree: Just below the equator, on the island of Borneo, a tropical rain forest is rising out of a logged, charred wasteland. Dawn mists cling to the leaves of ginger and mango trees erupting out of a tangle of ferns, rattan

Never Ask a Gay Man for Directions: I always seem to be the guy that people ask for directions. That is to say, me, the spatially challenged, head-to-the-ground expatriate living in Belfast. Usually, I try to wing it so that I don’t come across as completely stupid.

Singing in the Rain (Forest): In May 2009 the Rainforest Foundation will celebrate 20 years of protecting the Tropics.

Reflected Light Disrupts Animal Behavior: No description.

Simple Salves for Severe Traumatic Brain Injuries: Kirsten Timmons was navigating a frozen overpass one night when a passing car skidded out of control and slammed into her vehicle. As her car came to a stop, Timmons’s head probably snapped around its own axis, decelerating sharply when

Does Herpes Cause a Form of Sen. Edward Kennedy's Brain Cancer?: More and more in recent years, cancer biologists are pointing their fingers at viruses. Human papillomavirus, they found, causes cervical cancer; hepatitis B induces liver cancer; and Epstein-Barr virus has been implicated in lymphoma. Most recently, scientists discovered that malignant

New Galapagos species identified: No description.

World's leading protector of the oceans? President Bush: The environmental legacy of the Bush administration is a matter of some dispute but by designating three more marine monuments in the Pacific today, George W. Bush has entered the annals of history as the protector of 335,000 square miles

The new house call: Your doctor's at the door, er, on your Web cam: Too busy to go to the doctor? Unfortunately, its the rare one who makes house calls these days. But how about the next best thing? The Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA) next week is set to begin offering doctor consults

Sticky Business: Tree Frogs Hang Tight But How?: Like wall-hugging geckos, tree frogs are capable of gravity-defying feats of the feet. But new research shows that the two species cling to surfaces in markedly different ways.

Star power: Black hole's pull can't stop stars from forming: The center of the Milky Way galaxy is a forbidding place, dominated by what astronomers strongly suspect is a black hole four million times the mass of the sun. But a new study provides evidence that stars are able to

Drugs trigger dramatic weight loss in fat mice: Drugs currently on the market but used for other purposes helped plump mice shed pounds by upping their response to the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin, according to a new study. Researchers say the findings offer new hope in the search for

CNN's Sanjay Gupta to become surgeon general?: President-elect Barack Obama is paging Dr. Gupta, reportedly tapping CNNs chief medical correspondent to be his surgeon general.

This is your brain on love: Lasting romance makes an impression--literally: Make fun, if you must, but it turns out that love may not fade with time, after all -- and leaves a lasting impression in our brains as well as our hearts, according to a recent study.

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Space.com

Mystery Roar from Faraway Space Detected: The roar is from the distant cosmos. Nobody knows what causes it.

Explosion That Injured 7 Spurs NASA Probe: NASA is studying a tank explosion that injured 7 at its Florida spaceport.

NASA Chief to Step Down: NASA chief Michael Griffin expects to step down this month.

Perfect Space Storm Could be Catastrophic on Earth, Study Concludes: A new study outlines grim possibilities on Earth for a worst-case scenario solar storm.

Runaway Stars Go Ballistic: New Hubble images reveal 14 young, runaway stars.

Earth Life Headed for Mars Moon: A Russian mission is set to carry Earth organisms to a Martian moon.

Mars Trip Proposed for Space Shuttles: A Connecticut-based inventor has proposed sending two space shuttles to Mars.

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ScienceDaily

Structure Of Key Breast Cancer Target Enzyme Unraveled: Most people know that breast cancer is the most common cancer among women affecting about 1 in 8 women in the United States and the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer. Seventy-five to 80 percent

Levitation At Microscopic Scale Could Lead To Nanomechanical Devices Based On Quantum Levitation: Magicians have long created the illusion of levitating objects in the air. Now researchers have actually levitated an object, suspending it without the need for external support. Working at the molecular level, the researchers relied on the tendency of certain

Heart Valves Implanted Without Open-heart Surgery: An innovative approach for implanting a new aortic heart valve without open-heart surgery is being offered in a Phase 3 multicenter study. It is focused on the treatment of patients who are at high risk or not suitable for open-heart

Adolescents With Arthritis Need More Information When Transitioning To Adult Care: Helping adolescents with arthritis develop the skills and secure resources to assure that their health care needs are met as they transition to adulthood is an important issue in the US.

Health-care Providers And Patients Differ On Views Of Knee Replacement: Total knee replacement is a common treatment for osteoarthritis, a disease affecting more than 20 million Americans. However, the surgery poses risks and both patients and physicians must carefully assess its potential benefits and harm.

Renaissance Capitalist: New Research Answers Mystery About Illegitimate Daughter Of Pope: In popular legend, Lucrezia Borgia stands falsely accused of poisoning her second husband. Victor Hugo portrayed her in thinly veiled fiction as a tragic femme fatale. Buffalo Bill named his gun after her. But groundbreaking new research reveals that the

Possible New Alzheimer's Treatment? Destroying Amyloid Proteins With Lasers: Researchers have found that a technique used to visualize amyloid fibers in the laboratory might have the potential to destroy them in the clinic. The technique involves zapping the fluorescently-tagged fibers with a laser, which can inhibit their growth and

Preterm Births Rise 36 Percent Since Early 1980s: Nearly 543,000 babies were born too soon in 2006, according to new government statistics. The nations preterm birth rate (birth before 37 completed weeks gestation) rose to 12.8 percent in 2006 -- thats a 36 percent increase since the early

Converting Adult Somatic Cells To Pluripotent Stem Cells Using A Single Virus: Scientists have found a more efficient way to create induced pluripotent stem cells using a single virus vector instead of multiple viruses in the reprogramming process. The ability to combine four vectors into single stem cell cassette containing all four

Genetic Determinants Of ADHD Examined: A special issue of American Journal of Medical Genetics: Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics presents a comprehensive overview of the latest progress in genetic research of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Unique Skeletal Muscle Design Contributes To Spine Stability: The novel design of a deep muscle along the spinal column called the multifidus muscle may in fact be key to spinal support and a healthy back, according to researchers. Their findings about the potentially important scaffolding role of this

Half-baked Asteroids Have Earth-like Crust: Asteroids are hunks of rock that orbit in the outer reaches of space, and scientists have generally assumed that their small size limited the types of rock that could form in their crusts. But two newly discovered meteorites may rewrite

To Climate-change Worries, Add One More: Extended Mercury Threat: Mercury pollution has already spurred public health officials to advise eating less fish, but it could become a more pressing concern in a warmer world.

Spookfish Uses Mirrors For Eyes: A remarkable new discovery shows the four-eyed spookfish to be the first vertebrate ever found to use mirrors, rather than lenses, to focus light in its eyes.

Avian Flu Becoming More Resistant To Antiviral Drugs: A new study shows the resistance of the avian flu virus to a major class of antiviral drugs is increasing through positive evolutionary selection, with researchers documenting the trend in more than 30 percent of the samples tested.

Martian Rock Arrangement Not Alien Handiwork: A new study published in the journal Geology explains how pebble-sized rocks organize themselves in evenly spaced patterns in sand.

China's Food Economy Benefits Small, Poor Farmers: One of the most significant changes in Chinas agricultural economy over the past 15 years has been the rise of horticulture.

Absence Of CLP Protein Can Be Indicative Of Oral Cancer: Human calmodulin-like protein (CLP) is found in many cell types including breast, thyroid, prostate, kidney, and skin.

Target That Could Ease Spinal Muscular Atrophy Symptoms Discovered: There is no cure for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic disorder that causes the weakening of muscles and is the leading genetic cause of infant death, but researchers have discovered a new therapeutic target that improves deteriorating skeletal muscle

Computer Businesses Could Gain Advantage Over Competitors By Adopting Reverse Logistics In Downturn: During an economic downturn companies, particularly in the computer sector, could gain an advantage of their competitors by adopting reverse logistics, according to researchers.

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New Scientist

Black holes grew up before galaxies: A study of four distant quasars suggests that supermassive black holes may have matured long before the galaxies that surround them

Runaway stars carve eerie cosmic sculptures: Hubble has found 14 stars that are shooting through interstellar gas, creating bow shocks that resemble the waves at the bow of a boat

Cool your brain, save your mind: Techniques that rapidly chill the brain could prevent damage and even aid resuscitation after a heart attack

Should nuclear fuels be taken out of national hands?: To discourage proliferation, calls are growing to establish a system where nuclear materials are managed under international auspices

Danger ahead as the Sun goes quiet: The Sun is about to go into a period of low sunspot activity and could let more harmful cosmic rays enter the solar system

A good night out began at home in ancient Greece: Some ancient Greek houses had a secret double life – they were also used as drinking taverns and brothels, suggests an archaeological analysis

Ten extinct beasts that could walk the Earth again: Theres no hope for the dinosaurs, but other long-dead creatures really could be brought back to life. looks at the most likely candidates

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BBC

Poetry or science?: Is romantic love just a chemical cocktail?

Black holes 'preceded galaxies': Astronomers solve a cosmic chicken-and-egg question: what came first - black holes or galaxies?

'Spookfish' has mirrors for eyes: A deep-sea fish caught in the Pacific has eyes which use mirrors instead of lenses, scientists discover.

First 3D image of exploding star: Astronomers reconstruct the first three-dimensional image of an exploding star, 11,000 light years away.

Concern for California's pelicans: Wildlife experts in US state of California are concerned about a mysterious illness affecting pelicans from San Diego to San Francisco.

Brains wanted: Tom Feilden on the shortage of brains donated to science

Appeal for research brain donors: More people need to donate their brains to medical research if cures for diseases like dementia are to be found, scientists say.

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CNN

Mars Science Lab launch delayed two years: NASAs launch of the Mars Science Laboratory -- hampered by technical difficulties and cost overruns -- has been delayed until the fall of 2011, NASA officials said at a news conference Thursday in Washington.

Mars Science Lab launch delayed two years: NASAs launch of the Mars Science Laboratory -- hampered by technical difficulties and cost overruns -- has been delayed until the fall of 2011, NASA officials said at a news conference Thursday in Washington.

Shuttle lands at California air base: NASA officials Sunday waved off the first opportunity for space shuttle Endeavour to return to Earth, citing poor weather conditions.

iReporters watch planets, moon align

Inspiration for 'Contact' still listening: From a remote valley in Northern California, Jill Tarter is listening to the universe.

Shuttle lands at California air base: NASA officials Sunday waved off the first opportunity for space shuttle Endeavour to return to Earth, citing poor weather conditions.

iReporters watch planets, moon align

Inspiration for 'Contact' still listening: From a remote valley in Northern California, Jill Tarter is listening to the universe.

Hints of water found on Saturn moon: Read full story for latest details.

Indian lunar orbiter hit by heat rise: Scientists have switched off several on-board instruments to halt rising temperatures inside Indias first unmanned lunar spacecraft.

India launch aims to map the moon: Read full story for latest details.

Astronauts complete third spacewalk: Astronauts from the shuttle Endeavour completed their third spacewalk Saturday evening after spending nearly seven hours cleaning and lubricating a major joint on the international space station.

Astronaut loses tool bag during spacewalk: Things didnt go quite according to plan for astronaut Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper during her spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Tuesday.

Endeavour docks with space station: Space shuttle Endeavour docked Sunday with the international space station, where the shuttle crew will help install more living space.

India probe crash-lands on moon: A TV-sized probe adorned with a painted Indian flag is set to crash on the moon Friday as part of New Delhis first unmanned lunar mission, Indian space officials said.

Astronomers capture images of new planets: The first-ever pictures of planets outside our solar system were released today in two studies.

Phoenix Lander silent, Mars mission over: A dust storm and the onset of Martian winter have brought the Phoenix Mars Landers mission to an end, NASA announced Monday.

Mission to fix Hubble Telescope postponed: NASAs plans to fly a fifth and final space shuttle mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope have suffered another set-back.

Hints of water found on Saturn moon: Read full story for latest details.

Indian lunar orbiter hit by heat rise: Scientists have switched off several on-board instruments to halt rising temperatures inside Indias first unmanned lunar spacecraft.

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Discovery

Space Is Closer Than You Think: The fuzzy border between Earths atmosphere and space gets a new map.

Grand Canyon, Loch Ness Vie for 'Wonder' Status: Two hundred spectacular sites compete for the new 7 Wonders of Nature.

Continental to Make Algae Biofuel Test Flight: A Continental jet takes off from Houston with a special fuel blend -- half algae.

Deadly Spider Thriving in Australia's Humid Summer: The funnel-web spider, whose bite can kill within 76 minutes, is thriving this season.

Stonehenge Acoustics Ideal for Trance-Like Tunes: Was Stonehenge the it venue for Neolithic-era ravers?

Brown Pelicans Turning Up Injured and Confused: Brown pelicans are turning up on California shores bruised and confused.

Electric Cars Get a Makeover: Electric car makers polish the image of what could be a hard sell in the current recession.

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Science/AAAS

The Pit in a Galaxy's Peach: Astronomers argue that galaxies grow around black holes, like a ripening fruit

When a Building Is Like a Pond: Polarized light pollution causes some animals to mistake humanmade objects for water

Haven't I Seen You Before?: Brain hormone helps us recognize a familiar face

Tougher Than a Black Hole: Dense clouds shrug off cosmic monsters violent tug

Bush Creates World's Largest Set of Marine Sanctuaries: Waters around 11 Pacific islands will be off-limits to commercial fishing

How Twisters Get Their Spin: Simulations show tornadoes must have large water droplets to form

The Top 10 ScienceNOWs of 2008: A selection of our favorite and most read stories

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USATODAY

Study: Black holes seem to form before galaxies: When galaxies initially formed, they werent the first in the cosmic neighborhood. The supermassive black holes, which reside at the center of galaxies, probably moved in first, a new astronomy study suggests.

Bush to make Pacific's Mariana Trench a national monument: President Bush will establish the largest marine reserve ever created today when he designates three remote Pacific Ocean regions as national monuments.

Milky Way is bigger than thought, study says: Take that, Andromeda! For decades, astronomers thought when it came to the major galaxies in Earths cosmic neighborhood, our Milky Way was a weak sister to the larger Andromeda. Not anymore.

Mars rover mission reaches 5th anniversary: Five years after the NASA rover Spirit landed on Mars, the six-wheel robotic geologist and its twin Opportunity are still on the job.

Will brain waves help pilot future space ships?: NASAs plans to ship people to the moon and some day Mars are very much up in the air these days, with debate over Barack Obamas plans for the space agency a hot water cooler topic in the aerospace industry.

Study links mammoth extinction, comets: A swarm of comets that smacked North America 12,900 years ago wiped out the wooly mammoth and early Native American cultures, according to a new soil study.

Shhh! Gadget racket threatens pulsar research: Of all the threats to scientific research Wesley Sizemore has stymied over the years, satellites and cellphone towers dont stick in his memory quite like the possessive old hound and its treasured heating pad.

Exploiting nature to cut mosquitoes' life short: Old mosquitoes usually spread disease, so Australian researchers figured out a way to make the pests die younger naturally, not poisoned.

Comet swarm led to the demise of wolly mammoth: A swarm of comets that smacked North America 12,900 years ago wiped out the wooly mammoth and early Native American cultures, according to a new soil study.

NASA chief's wife to Obama: Don't fire my husband: Late on Christmas Eve, one last wish was sent, by e-mail: Please let NASA Administrator Michael Griffin keep his job. It was from his wife.

NASA reports more details on Columbia: The astronauts on the space shuttle Columbia knew for no more than a minute, if at all, that they were in grave danger before they blacked out, according to a report NASA released Tuesday nearly six years after Columbia broke

Scientists eye unusual swarm of Yellowstone quakes: Yellowstone National Park was jostled by a host of small earthquakes for a third straight day Monday, and scientists watched closely to see whether the more than 250 tremors were a sign of something bigger to come. Swarms of small

Year in science: Dig into DNA, out-of-this-world discoveries: Distant worlds envisioned. Cellular secrets revealed. The subatomic world cracked open. Science hinted at a tantalizing future in 2008 with pictures of planets circling nearby stars, skin cells remade into embryonic tissues and the inauguration of the worlds largest science

Amateurs are trying genetic engineering at home: The Apple computer was invented in a garage. Same with the Google search engine. Now, tinkerers are working at home with the basic building blocks of life itself.

U.S., Russian space station crew conduct spacewalk: American and Russian crewmen installed a probe Tuesday aimed at tracking down problems with a Russian module attached to the international space station and conducted an array of other maintenance and scientific work during a six-hour spacewalk.

Israelis strike gold in Jerusalem parking lot: Israeli archaeologists say they have unearthed more than 250 gold coins from the seventh century on the edge of Jerusalems walled Old City.

Two 4,300-year-old tombs unveiled near Cairo: A pair of 4,300-year-old pharaonic tombs discovered at Saqqara indicate that the sprawling necropolis south of Cairo is even larger than previously thought, Egypts top archaeologist said Monday.

Study: Give or take $5, people respond differently: In the holiday season, some folks might quibble with the notion that it is better to give than receive. But what about taking? Nobody likes that, says psychologist Boaz Keysar of the University of Chicago. In experiments described in the

Science picks signal global warming policy shift: U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday named Harvard physicist John Holdren and marine biologist Jane Lubchenco to top science posts, signaling a change from Bush administration policies on global warming that were criticized for putting politics over science.

NASA: Global warming to increase severe storms, rainfall: The frequency of extremely high clouds in Earths tropics the type associated with severe storms and rainfall is increasing as a result of global warming, according to a study by scientists at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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Digg Science

Black holes lead galaxy growth, new research shows: Peek into early universe sheds light on cosmic chicken-and-egg problem Astronomers may have solved a cosmic chicken-and-egg problem -- the question of which formed first in the early Universe -- galaxies or the supermassive black holes seen at their cores.

How Flying Reptiles Rose: How did a giant flying reptile get off the ground? Its not a simple question: A computerized analysis of pterosaur fossils and modern-day bird bones shows that the biggest pterosaurs couldnt simply lift off into the air like a bird,

Scientists Discover Why People Better With Faces Than Names: The reason why some people are better with faces than names has been identified by scientists and it appears to be due to their higher levels of a special socialising hormone called Oxytocin.

Jay Leno's Wind Turbine (Video): This video is from Ed Begley and from Jay Leno about a new wind turbine called the MagWind from Enviro-Energies that they will be installing soon. As many of you have asked about vertical axis wind turbines, I thought youd

Broken 'Big Bang' collider to be restarted in June: Broken Big Bang collider to be restarted in June

Milky Way and Andromeda will collide sooner than expected: The Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies are on a collision course and will hit one another earlier than scientists had previously predicted.

Whalers Refuse Help from Sea Shepherd to Find Man Overboard: After a man fell from a Japanese whaling ship into the freezing arctic waters, the whalers have called off all operations while in search for the man’s body. Sea Shepherd offered to help find the body with their two small

Brazil Sending 30,000 Troops to Protect Rainforest: Brazil’s government has announced plans to increase their soldiers in the Amazon Rainforest from 17,000 to 30,000 over the next 9 years, as well as build new forts and improve others. Why have they chosen to invest $488.6 million in

Dino 'graveyard' reveals first Asian triceratops: The first big discovery has already emerged from Chinas huge new fossil site. In Chinas Shandong province, the 2-metre-long skull of a close relative of the famed horned dinosaur triceratops has been unearthed. It marks the first evidence that the

A device that mimics one of nature's key transport machines.: To help protect its genes, a cell is highly selective about what it allows to move in and out of its nucleus. Yet that choosiness is regulated by just a thin barrier, perforated with tiny transport machines called nuclear pore

Scientists See Brain Aging Before Symptoms Appear: UCLA scientists have used innovative brain-scan technology developed at UCLA, along with patient-specific information on Alzheimers disease risk, to help diagnose brain aging, often before symptoms appear. Published in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, their study may

Did Earth's Twin Cores Spark Plate Tectonics?: The driving mechanism for plate tectonics has long been a mystery to geologists. Now a new theory purports to have the answer: Our planet has two inner cores.

Five Ways the World Can End: Five Ways the World Can End, Asteroid impact? Massive volcanoes? How about a passing black hole? Theres lots of ways to destroy the Earth.

Mars Orbiter, Offers a Peak at Mars' Wrinkles: Last month, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter wrapped up its two-year primary science phase, and Mars geologists are wallowing in a bounty of data.Images taken by the camera, able to see features down to about a yard in size, have revealed

Strange,Weird And Mysterious Sounds That Come From The Earth: The earth is full of sounds ... Here is a list of weird “sonic mysteries” that come from our Earth.(includes some audio)

Is It Possible For DNA To Have Telepathic Properties?: Scientists are reporting evidence that contrary to our current beliefs about what is possible, intact double-stranded DNA has the “amazing” ability to recognize similarities in other DNA strands from a distance. Somehow they are able to identify one another, and

Pink Iguana That Darwin Missed Holds Evolutionary Surprise: For iguanas, it turns out that its not easy being pink, either.Biologists report that a rare type of pink iguana found on a single volcano in the Galapagos Islands is a genetically-distinct species from its green cousins — and that

Faster than the Speed of Light? A New Theory Says, "Yes": Magueijo, a 40-year old native of Portugal, puts forth the heretical idea that in the very early days of the universe light traveled faster—an idea that if proven could dethrone Einstein and forever change our understanding of the universe.

Our Galaxy Is Bigger Than Once Thought: Take that, Andromeda! For decades, astronomers thought when it came to the major galaxies in Earths cosmic neighborhood, our Milky Way was a weak sister to the larger Andromeda. Not anymore.

President Bush to protect ocean reefs, fish and volcanoes: George W. Bush is planning to create the worlds largest oceanic protected area in the Pacific as part of a bid to improve his record on the environment before leaving office.

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Science News Online

Early C-sections pose risks: Women choosing elective cesarean section births would do well to wait the whole nine months, a new study shows.

In early universe, black holes formed first: Findings pose a possible answer to long-standing question of when the black holes at galactic centers formed.

Early asteroids unexpectedly crusty: Mineralogy of two meteorites chronicles formation of crust on an ancient asteroid

FOR KIDS: Longer lives for wild elephants: A surprising new study shows that female elephants in the wild might live up to three times longer than those born in zoos

FOR KIDS: Body clocks: Scientists are finding that when you sleep is just as important as how much you sleep

FOR KIDS: Mood-boosting drugs make unhappy fish: Drugs called antidepressants find their way into lakes and streams, affecting the behavior of fish living there in unexpected ways

Astronomers get burst of details from early universe: Unusually bright afterglow records what a galaxy was like soon after Big Bang

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NASA

Sixteen Tons of Moondust: Sledgehammer-toting scientists are "bustin rocks" to make the finest possible simulated lunar regolith (a.k.a. fake moondust) in support of NASAs return to the Moon.

NASA's Gift to Mr. Claus: True story: NASA technology saves Claus from a disaster at sea! Christmas (and the sport of fishing) may never be the same.

Saturn's Crazy Christmas Tilt: The planet Saturn is doing something rare and beautiful this holiday season. Find out what in todays story from Science@NASA.

Giant Breach in Earth's Magnetic Field Discovered: NASAs five THEMIS spacecraft have discovered a breach in Earths magnetic field ten times larger than anything previously thought to exist. The size of the opening and the strange way it forms could overturn long-held ideas of space physics.

Solar Flare Surprise: Solar flares are supposed to obliterate everything in their vicinity, yet one of the most powerful flares of the past 30 years has done just the opposite, emitting a beam of pure and unbroken hydrogen atoms. Researchers think this strange

The Incredible Journey of the JWST: From humble beginnings in a Utah beryllium mine to the most advanced laboratories in the world, the mirrors of NASAs next great observatory are taking an incredible journey to space.

Biggest Full Moon of the Year: This Fridays full Moon is the biggest full Moon of the year. It is a perigee Moon as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser full Moons weve seen earlier in 2008.

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