Most Emailed - Science

Australia shipping alert over massive iceberg
AFP – Fri Dec 11, 2:34 am ET Sent 3,042 times

AFP/Australian Antarctic Division/Ho

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian authorities Friday issued a shipping alert over a gigantic iceberg that is gradually approaching the country's southwest coast. Full Story »
New Russian missile failure sparks UFO frenzy
AFP – Thu Dec 10, 12:14 pm ET Sent 1,982 times

AFP/SCANPIX

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia's new nuclear-capable missile suffered another failed test launch, the defence ministry said Thursday, solving the mystery of a spectacular plume of white light that appeared over Norway. Full Story »
Scientists find way to block fearful memories
Reuters – Wed Dec 9, 6:35 pm ET Sent 638 times

Reuters

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have found a drug-free way to block fearful memories, opening up the possibility of new treatment approaches for problems such as post traumatic stress disorder, they reported on Wednesday. Full Story »
Real Christmas Trees 'Greener' than Fake
LiveScience.com – Thu Dec 10, 1:16 pm ET Sent 595 times

AFP/Getty Images/File

It may not sound like "tree-hugging," but cutting down a real tree for Christmas is actually greener than going with the artificial kind, one scientist says. Full Story »
Snow at Highest Elevations No Longer Pure
LiveScience.com – Thu Dec 10, 9:41 am ET Sent 462 times

Reuters

The pure white snow atop the Andes Mountains may not be so pure after all. Scientists have found traces of toxic pollutants called PCBs in snow samples taken from Aconcagua Mountain, the highest peak in the Americas. Full Story »
New Star Found in Big Dipper
SPACE.com – Thu Dec 10, 10:15 am ET Sent 362 times

One of the stars that makes the bend in the ladle's handle, Alcor, has a smaller red dwarf companion, new observations have revealed. Full Story »
UN talks: Rich nations must make big emission cuts
AP – 44 mins ago Sent 225 times

AP

COPENHAGEN - Wealthy nations would commit to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade, and the world should strive to nearly eliminate them — or at least cut them in half — by 2050 under a draft agreement circulated Friday at the U.N. climate talks. Full Story »
Did Ancient Sicilians Build Temples to 'Fit In?'
LiveScience.com – Fri Dec 11, 9:46 am ET Sent 190 times

Ancient Greeks living in Sicily built their sacred temples to face the rising sun, new research suggests. Full Story »
Atom smasher catches 1st high-energy collisions
AP – Wed Dec 9, 11:50 pm ET Sent 89 times

AFP/File

GENEVA - The world's largest atom smasher has recorded its first high-energy collisions of protons, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. Full Story »
New fossils shed light on evolution of dinosaurs
AP – Thu Dec 10, 5:21 pm ET Sent 82 times

AP

WASHINGTON - Newly described dinosaur fossils from New Mexico are helping scientists better understand the early development of these ancient creatures. The 6-to-12 foot-long, meat-eating creature, Tawa hallae, is described in Friday's edition of the journal Science. Full Story »
'Gem' of a Meteor Shower Underway
SPACE.com – Thu Dec 10, 2:15 pm ET Sent 80 times

If you missed out on last month's Leonid Meteor Shower, don't fret. What potentially will be the best meteor display of the year is just around the corner, scheduled to reach its peak during the overnight hours of Dec. 13-14. The Geminid Meteor Shower, in fact, is already underway. Full Story »
Stolen e-mails embolden climate change skeptics
AP – Fri Dec 11, 12:20 am ET Sent 70 times

AP

WASHINGTON - At a critical time, the uproar over stolen e-mails suggesting scientists suppressed contrary views about climate change has emboldened skeptics — including congressional Republicans looking to scuttle President Barack Obama's push for mandatory reductions in greenhouse gases. Full Story »
Saturn's Weird Hexagon Seen in New Images
SPACE.com – Wed Dec 9, 6:15 pm ET Sent 46 times

Cameras aboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft have captured images of a mysterious hexagon-shaped cloud formation that is likely formed by the path of a jet stream flowing around the planet's north pole. Full Story »
More than 1,000 Catfish Species Are Venomous
LiveScience.com – Fri Dec 11, 8:32 am ET Sent 31 times

At least 1,250 species of catfish are venomous, a new study finds. Full Story »
Hurdles remain even if climate deal is reached
AP – Fri Dec 11, 9:25 am ET Sent 28 times

AP

JAKARTA, Indonesia - For Indonesian farmers, burning down rain forests is the cheapest and fastest way to clear land for palm oil and pulp and paper plantations. Full Story »
Colossal Flood Created the Mediterranean Sea
LiveScience.com – Wed Dec 9, 1:11 pm ET Sent 20 times

AFP/File

The Mediterranean Sea as we know it today formed about 5.3 million years ago when Atlantic Ocean waters breached the strait of Gibraltar, sending a massive flood into the basin. Full Story »
Nobel Prizes honor a record 5 women in 2009
AP – Thu Dec 10, 6:48 pm ET Sent 19 times

AP

STOCKHOLM - A record five women were among the 13 people awarded Nobel Prizes on Thursday, including a writer who depicted life behind the Iron Curtain and two American researchers who showed how chromosomes protect themselves from degrading. Full Story »
Texting a Pain in the Neck, Study Suggests
LiveScience.com – Mon Nov 16, 12:02 pm ET Sent 19 times

Texting long messages can be a pain in the neck - literally. Full Story »