Yahoo! News: Science News

• Ancient city by the sea rises amid Egypt's resorts (AP)
(Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:31:33 GMT)

AP - Today, it's a sprawl of luxury vacation homes where Egypt's wealthy play on the white beaches of the Mediterranean coast. But 2,000 years ago, this was a thriving Greco-Roman port city, boasting villas of merchants grown rich on the wheat and olive trade. ... Read

• Japanese stem cell researcher wins Balzan prize (AP)
(Mon, 06 Sep 2010 15:39:30 GMT)

AP - A Japanese researcher who found a way to give adults cells certain characteristics of embryonic stem cells, a process scientists say could eventually lead to cures for spinal cord injuries and other ailments, has been awarded the Balzan Prize for biology. ... Read

• Clams befouling Tahoe invade Adirondack lake in NY (AP)
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:12:28 GMT)

AP - A thumbnail-sized clam blamed for clouding the azure bays of Lake Tahoe high in the Sierra Nevada has now turned up in a mountain-ringed Adirondack lake renowned for its limpid, spring-fed waters.


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• Men More Susceptible to Memory Decline (LiveScience.com)
(Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:20:58 GMT)

LiveScience.com - Men are more susceptible than women to memory problems in old age, according to a new study. ... Read

• Erratic global weather threatens food security (AFP)
(Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:30:52 GMT)

AFP - The drought in Russia and floods in Pakistan are part of a global trend of unpredictable weather patterns and rainfall that threaten food security, experts gathered in Stockholm said.


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• The glittering Gulf states' dark labor secret (The Christian Science Monitor)
(Mon, 06 Sep 2010 19:25:00 GMT)

The Christian Science Monitor - The rise of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf is a now-familiar tale. Tiny societies of pearl divers, coastal merchants, and nomadic Bedouin were transformed in the last half of the 20th century by oil and natural-gas wealth. Sparkling office towers and hotels sprang into the muggy air, the monarchs that rule these tiny emirates became bywords for financial excess, and newspapers described the region's economic "miracle." ... Read

• As a Hurricane, Earl Looked Like 'Magnificent Chaos' From Space (SPACE.com)
(Sun, 05 Sep 2010 05:34:00 GMT)

SPACE.com - The former Hurricane Earl put on a striking weather display for astronauts on the International Space Station, impressing the crew with its strength even as it weakened to a tropical storm. ... Read

• EU summons BASF over 'illegal' potatoes in Swedish field (AFP)
(Mon, 06 Sep 2010 19:09:55 GMT)

AFP - Europe slapped a summons on German chemical giant BASF on Monday after a "blunder" allowed seed from a new genetically modified potato to remain in a field in Sweden.


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• Earl's path along northeast is not well-worn (AP)
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:48:04 GMT)

AP - Pushed by an ill-timed trough of low pressure, Hurricane Earl is heading uncomfortably close to an area relatively few hurricanes tend to go: the Northeast coastline.


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• Greenpeace urges Japan to probe whaling graft (AFP)
(Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:14:43 GMT)

AFP - Greenpeace urged Japan on Tuesday to probe graft claims in its state-funded whaling programme, a day after two of its activists received suspended jail terms for committing theft during an investigation.


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• Mass Extinction Threat: Earth on Verge of Huge Reset Button? (LiveScience.com)
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:30:25 GMT)

LiveScience.com - Mass extinctions have served as huge reset buttons that dramatically changed the diversity of species found in oceans all over the world, according to a comprehensive study of fossil records. The findings suggest humans will live in a very different future if they drive animals to extinction, because the loss of each species can alter entire ecosystems. ... Read

• US won't say if blowout preventer on way to shore (AP)
(Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:24:33 GMT)

AP - The Justice Department won't say if the blowout preventer that failed to stop oil from gushing from BP's undersea well into the Gulf of Mexico is on its way to shore.


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• The nation's weather (AP)
(Tue, 07 Sep 2010 08:43:20 GMT)

AP - Tropical Storm Hermine was forecast to continue losing strength as it moved over southern Texas and northeastern Mexico on Tuesday.


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• Galactic 'Supervolcano' Seen Erupting With X-Rays (SPACE.com)
(Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:15:08 GMT)

SPACE.com - A galactic "supervolcano" in the massive galaxy M87 is erupting, blasting gas outwards. The cosmic volcano — driven by a giant black hole in M87's center — is preventing hundreds of millions of new stars from forming. ... Read

• NGOs call for Romanian minister to be sacked for GM links (AFP)
(Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:01:26 GMT)

AFP - Over 70 environmental NGOs including the WWF called Monday for the sacking of Romania's new agriculture minister for his links to the genetically modified crop industry.


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• Focus of Gulf oil disaster shifts to finding the culprit (AFP)
(Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:41:19 GMT)

AFP - With a key piece of evidence raised from the depths of the Gulf of Mexico and BP's Macondo well ruled a threat no longer, the focus shifts to what went wrong and who is to blame.


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• Tropical Storm Hermine crosses into Texas (AP)
(Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:05:43 GMT)

AP - Forecasters say Tropical Storm Hermine (hur-MEEN') has crossed into Texas.


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BBC News - Science & Environment

• 'No climate link' to African wars
(Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:47:23 GMT)

A study suggests climate change is not responsible for civil wars in Africa, challenging widely held assumptions. ... Read

• Inbred bees 'facing extinction'
(Mon, 06 Sep 2010 23:19:38 GMT)

Some of the UK's rarest bumblebees are at risk of becoming extinct as a result of inbreeding, research suggests. ... Read

• Red Planet 'may not be lifeless'
(Mon, 06 Sep 2010 12:18:12 GMT)

Carbon-rich organic molecules, which serve as the building blocks of life, may be present on Mars after all, say scientists. ... Read

• Insect brains to fight MRSA
(Mon, 06 Sep 2010 11:08:39 GMT)

Cockroach and locust brains are a rich source of antibiotics powerful enough to tackle MRSA, researchers say. ... Read

• ME 'virus link' found in children
(Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:07:34 GMT)

ME, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, in children could be caused by a virus, scientists say. ... Read

• Blair in climate inaction warning
(Sun, 05 Sep 2010 23:09:15 GMT)

Former UK Prime Minster Tony Blair warns world leaders they may pay a heavy price in history if they fail to tackle global warming. ... Read

• Danish rocketeers postpone launch
(Sun, 05 Sep 2010 13:43:48 GMT)

A group of Danish rocket enthusiasts trying to launch a dummy 30km into the sky abort the mission when a valve on their rocket freezes up. ... Read

• Reading Arabic 'hard for brain'
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:56:38 GMT)

Israeli scientists believe they have identified why Arabic is particularly hard to learn to read. ... Read

• Island 'super-sized' mice studied
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:59:14 GMT)

Researchers begin a study of the "super-sized" mice found on a tiny Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides. ... Read

• Miracle free-kick 'was no fluke'
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:15:06 GMT)

Physicists explain one of football's most spectacular free-kicks, showing that Roberto Carlos's 1997 "impossible goal" was not a fluke. ... Read

• Tiny solar cells fix themselves
(Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:20:42 GMT)

A mix of chemicals borrowed from plants with tiny tubes of carbon can spontaneously create tiny, self-repairing solar cells. ... Read

• Nasa plans for solar 'close encounter'
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:44:59 GMT)

Nasa is aiming to get closer to the Sun than ever before, with plans to plunge a car-sized unmanned spacecraft into the star's outer atmosphere. ... Read

• Technique to trace persistent CFCs
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:49:58 GMT)

Ultrafine measurements of atmospheric gases could help scientists track down the last sources of CFCs thought to be slowing the recovery of the ozone layer. ... Read

• Creation was Godless says Hawking
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:25:32 GMT)

There is no place for God in theories on the creation of the Universe, Professor Stephen Hawking concludes in a new book. ... Read

• Memristor revolution backed by HP
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:33:44 GMT)

A potentially revolutionary circuit component, once a laboratory curiosity, is to be mass-produced for the first time. ... Read

• Old star wallows in 'steam bath'
(Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:46:11 GMT)

Europe's Herschel space telescope spies an aging star that has surrounded itself in hot water vapour. ... Read

• Ancient reef uncovered in Pacific
(Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:58:41 GMT)

An ancient reef may provide scientists with clues about what will happen to coral when sea temperatures rise. ... Read

• Rare Roman lantern found in field
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:20:11 GMT)

A metal detecting enthusiast finds what is believed to be the only intact Roman lantern made out of bronze ever discovered in Britain. ... Read

• Wolves fail to halt aspen decline
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:20:39 GMT)

The re-introduction of wolves to a US National Park has not helped re-establish quaking aspens, as many researchers had hoped. ... Read

• Openness urged on UK's emissions
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:49:34 GMT)

The government's chief environment scientist calls for more openness in admitting the UK's cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are an illusion. ... Read

• 'Lights out' help migratory birds
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:52:21 GMT)

A growing number of New York sky-scrapers switch off their lights at night to help reduce the number of migratory birds hitting the buildings. ... Read

• Ants protect trees from elephants
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:34:46 GMT)

A species of acacia tree found in Eastern Africa seems to be protected from elephant damage - by the ants that live on it. ... Read

• Floods swamp south Sudan region
(Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:53:14 GMT)

Some 57,000 people have been forced from their homes because of dramatic floods in south-western Sudan over the past month, officials say. ... Read

• Earthquake recorded in North Sea
(Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:31:19 GMT)

An earthquake is recorded in the North Sea about 155 miles east of Aberdeen. ... Read

• Gorillas 'play tag like humans'
(Wed, 14 Jul 2010 04:00:38 GMT)

Great apes play tag in similar way to humans, an international team of scientists finds. ... Read

• Panda twins delight Japanese zoo
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:47:29 GMT)

New-born twin giant pandas made their first public appearance at a zoo in Japan on Friday in Shirahama. ... Read

• Mighty mouse study on St Kilda
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:08:23 GMT)

Researchers begin a three-year study to uncover the secrets of St Kilda's super-sized field mice. ... Read

• Sharks swarm off Australian coast
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:07:49 GMT)

Hundreds of sharks have been spotted off the Queensland coast. ... Read

• Did the Universe need a creator?
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:27:04 GMT)

There is no place for God in theories on the creation of the Universe, the physicist and mathematician Professor Stephen Hawking has said. ... Read

• Rare tree flowers after 23 years
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:29:30 GMT)

A rare Chinese tree has flowered for the first time in 23 years at Kew's country estate in West Sussex. ... Read

• Nasa booster rocket passes test
(Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:52:58 GMT)

One of the giant booster rockets intended to power the first stage of flight on Nasa's next rocket has been tested in the US. ... Read

• GM potatoes beating killer blight
(Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:27:52 GMT)

Researchers working on trials of genetically modified crops in Norfolk have grown potatoes which resist disease. ... Read

• Free kick study boost for footballers
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:25:05 GMT)

Dr Andy Harland of Loughborough University analyses what new free-kick trajectory findings mean for footballers. ... Read

• Brilliant ideas
(Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:23:00 GMT)

The secrets behind some of the UK’s newest inventions ... Read

• Century man
(Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:52:24 GMT)

How likely is it that you'll live to be 100 years old? ... Read

• Death of a star
(Sun, 05 Sep 2010 08:03:14 GMT)

The Hubble telescope re-images supernova first seen in 1987 ... Read

• Now you see it...
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:45:03 GMT)

Inside the Royal Navy's powerful and stealthy attack submarine ... Read

• Let it snow
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:34:00 GMT)

Rare weather events caused last winter's freak snow storms ... Read

CNN.com - Science & Space

• Mars Science Lab launch delayed two years
(Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:34:54 EST)

NASA's 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.


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• Shuttle lands at California air base
(Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:17:51 EST)

NASA officials Sunday waved off the first opportunity for space shuttle Endeavour to return to Earth, citing poor weather conditions.


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• iReporters watch planets, moon align
(Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:52:24 EST)

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• Inspiration for 'Contact' still listening
(Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:02:33 EST)

From a remote valley in Northern California, Jill Tarter is listening to the universe.


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• Indian lunar orbiter hit by heat rise
(Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:26:44 EST)

Scientists have switched off several on-board instruments to halt rising temperatures inside India's first unmanned lunar spacecraft.


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