Science News

UN eyes global warming pact by 2009

AP - 20 minutes ago

BALI, Indonesia - In a dramatic finish to a U.N. climate conference, world leaders adopted a plan Saturday for negotiating a new global warming pact by 2009, after the United States backed down in a battle over wording supported by developing nations and Europe.

The Week in Photos

Bombings in Algiers, the 'O' factor, an ice storm, and more.

GENETICS

The tiny stickleback fish could shed light on skin color changes in humans.

Astronomy & Space

Saturn's shimmering rings may be as old as the solar system.

Science

The cats glow red when exposed to ultraviolet rays.

Weather News

  • Strong undersea quake hits eastern Indonesia AFP - 1 hour, 52 minutes ago

    JAKARTA (AFP) - A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's eastern Moluccas on Saturday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, but Indonesian authorities and residents said no damage occurred.

  • The Nation's Weather AP - Sat Dec 15, 5:05 AM ET

    A strong storm will move through the Plains and Mississippi Valley on Saturday, dumping over 6 inches of snow in parts of the winter-weary region and drawing much needed moisture eastward to drought-stricken parts of the Southeast.

  • Major winter storm weather.com - Fri Dec 14, 9:50 PM ET

  • Razing of New Orleans housing halted AP - Fri Dec 14, 5:26 PM ET

    NEW ORLEANS - Demolition of three public housing complexes, slated to start this weekend, was halted Friday amid complaints about the scarcity of housing for the poor after Hurricane Katrina.

  • A new storm approaches weather.com - Fri Dec 14, 3:49 PM ET

Space & Astronomy News

  • NASA releases e-mails in Nowak case AP - Fri Dec 14, 9:27 PM ET

    MIAMI - Newly released NASA e-mails hint at something more than a professional relationship between former astronaut Lisa Nowak and a space shuttle pilot.

  • Canadian Earth-Watching Satellite Finally Reaches Orbit SPACE.com - Fri Dec 14, 1:30 PM ET

    PARIS - Canada's Radarsat-2 Earth observation satellite, which has been almost a decade in design and construction, launched successfully Friday aboard a Russian Soyuz-Fregat rocket from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, according to launch-services provider Starsem S.A. of France.

  • NASA puts off shuttle launch to Jan 10 AFP - Thu Dec 13, 10:38 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - NASA Thursday postponed yet again the launch date for its Atlantis shuttle mission to deliver a European space laboratory to an orbiting station, pushing it back by a week to January 10.

  • NASA Names Next Generation Moon Lander 'Altair' SPACE.com - Thu Dec 13, 8:15 PM ET

    NASA today introduced a new name and logo for its next generation lunar lander, which was previously referred to as the Lunar Surface Access Module, or LSAM for short.

  • NASA delays Atlantis launch to Jan. 10 AP - Thu Dec 13, 7:01 PM ET

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA on Thursday delayed the launch of space shuttle Atlantis to Jan. 10 to give workers time off at Christmas.

Animals/Pets News

  • Luxury firms slammed for lacklustre moves to save planet AFP - Fri Dec 14, 3:37 PM ET

    PARIS (AFP) - The luxury industry is not doing its bit to save the planet, according to a World Wildlife Fund study of the world's 10 largest publicly-traded luxury firms.

  • Australia may launch whaling crackdown AP - Fri Dec 14, 10:51 AM ET

    CANBERRA, Australia - Using the military to track Japanese whalers as part of Australia's anti-whaling campaign could cause a diplomatic rift with Tokyo, an opposition politician warned Friday.

  • Australia whaling stance could hurt Japan ties: opposition AFP - Fri Dec 14, 2:24 AM ET

    SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's newly-elected government risks damaging political and trade ties with Tokyo if it uses the military to monitor Japanese whaling in Antarctic, the opposition said Friday.

  • Cities to turn out the lights for climate change: WWF AFP - Thu Dec 13, 9:12 PM ET

    NUSA DUA, Indonesia (AFP) - Major cities around the world will plunge into darkness for an hour in March 2008 to mark their commitment to battling climate change, conservation group WWF said Friday.

  • Israeli army spotters count wild animals AP - Wed Dec 12, 3:44 PM ET

    JERUSALEM - Israeli army spotters have a new job: counting wild animals on both sides of the West Bank separation barrier to help naturalists assess the problems caused by the huge structure, an army publication reported.

Dinosaurs & Fossils News

  • Canadian museum unveils long, long-lost dinosaur Reuters - Wed Dec 12, 5:02 PM ET

    TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's Royal Ontario Museum unveiled the skeleton of a massive dinosaur on Wednesday that had been lost for decades -- in its own collection.

  • Fossils of ancient tank-like mammal found in Andes Reuters - Wed Dec 12, 4:37 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists searching for fossils high in the Andes mountains in Chile have unearthed the remains of a tank-like mammal related to armadillos that grazed 18 million years ago.

  • CORRECTED: Fossils of ancient tank-like mammal found in Andes Reuters - Wed Dec 12, 4:25 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists searching for fossils high in the Andes mountains in Chile have unearthed the remains of a tank-like mammal related to armadillos that grazed 18 million years ago.

  • New Dinosaur Discovered in Antarctica LiveScience.com - Tue Dec 11, 10:15 AM ET

    A hefty, long-necked dinosaur that lumbered across the Antarctic before meeting its demise 190 million years ago has been identified and named, more than a decade after intrepid paleontologists sawed and chiseled the remains of the primitive plant-eater from its icy grave.

  • Were Dinosaurs Colorful? LiveScience.com - Sat Dec 8, 3:25 PM ET

    Dinosaurs had bumpy skin, similar to the skin of an alligator or a flightless emu bird. But their skin color remains a mystery to paleontologists today.

Biotechnology News

  • SKorean scientists clone cats that glow AP - Fri Dec 14, 9:26 PM ET

    SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean scientists have cloned cats that glow red when exposed to ultraviolet rays, an achievement that could help develop cures for human genetic diseases, the Science and Technology Ministry said.

  • Japan scientists develop fearless mice AP - Thu Dec 13, 4:47 PM ET

    TOKYO - Cat and mouse may never be the same. Japanese scientists say they've used genetic engineering to create mice that show no fear of felines, a development that may shed new light on mammal behavior and the nature of fear itself.

  • Stem-cell patch may fix damaged hearts Reuters - Wed Dec 12, 7:21 PM ET

    LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have made two significant advances in developing a stem-cell patch to repair the damage caused to the heart after an attack.

  • Stem cell therapy counters muscular dystrophy in mice: study AFP - Wed Dec 12, 5:11 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - Scientists have demonstrated that a combination of stem cell and gene therapy can be used to correct the devastating hereditary disease of muscular dystrophy, according to a new study published Wednesday.

  • BASF calls for EU approval of biotech "hot potato" Reuters - Tue Dec 11, 10:45 AM ET

    BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German chemicals group BASF aims to secure European Union approval in the next few weeks for farmers to grow its genetically modified (GMO) potato in April, the first EU approval for GMO cultivation in a decade.

Energy News

  • Louisiana pipeline blast kills one Reuters - Fri Dec 14, 7:56 PM ET

    HOUSTON (Reuters) - A motorist was killed and another was injured when the Columbia Gulf natural gas pipeline in northeast Louisiana exploded on Friday afternoon near an interstate highway, said a Louisiana State Police spokeswoman.

  • Iraqi oil output rises AP - Fri Dec 14, 6:04 PM ET

    PARIS - Iraqi oil output has risen in a "dramatic" way in recent months, hitting its highest monthly level in about 3 1/2 years in November, the International Energy Agency said Friday.

  • US lawmakers back energy bill to reduce oil consumption AFP - Fri Dec 14, 12:54 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States was poised to adopt measures to reduce its dependence on foreign oil after the Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would raise fuel efficiency rules for vehicles and boost ethanol production.

  • IEA ups forecast for 2008 world oil demand by 115,000 bpd AFP - Fri Dec 14, 5:12 AM ET

    PARIS (AFP) - The International Energy Agency on Friday raised its forecast for world oil demand for next year by 115,000 barrels per day because of demand from emerging economies.

  • US Democrats compromise to get support for energy bill AFP - Thu Dec 13, 3:47 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - Senate Democrats stripped Thursday two key provisions from a sweeping energy bill aimed at reducing US reliance on foreign oil in order to gain support from the Republican minority.

Most Popular Science News

  • See Mars Now: Red Planet Shines Bright SPACE.com - Fri Dec 14, 6:15 AM ET

    Mars will be closer to Earth this month than any time until the year 2016.

  • Captain Kidd Ship Found LiveScience.com - Thu Dec 13, 4:50 PM ET

    The wreckage of a pirate ship abandoned by Captain Kidd in the 17th century has been found by divers in shallow waters off the Dominican Republic, a research team claims.

  • Why Time Seems to Slow Down in Emergencies LiveScience.com - Wed Dec 12, 7:20 AM ET

    In The Matrix, the hero Neo could dodge bullets because time moved in slow motion for him during battles. Indeed, in the real world, people in danger often feel as if time slowed down for them.

  • SKoreans clone cats that glow in the dark: officials AFP - Wed Dec 12, 4:00 PM ET

    SEOUL (AFP) - South Korean scientists have cloned cats by manipulating a fluorescent protein gene, a procedure which could help develop treatments for human genetic diseases, officials said Wednesday.

  • Japan scientists develop fearless mice AP - Thu Dec 13, 7:01 PM ET

    TOKYO - Cat and mouse may never be the same. Japanese scientists say they've used genetic engineering to create mice that show no fear of felines, a development that may shed new light on mammal behavior and the nature of fear itself.


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