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NASA puts shuttle launch pad in Florida up for lease

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:26:00 -0400

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Nearly two years after space shuttle Atlantis blasted off for the last time, NASA on Thursday put out a "For Lease" notice for one of its shuttle launch pads in Florida. In a notice posted on its procurement website, the U.S. space agency said it was looking for one or more companies to take over operations and maintenance of Launch Complex 39A. The facility is one of two launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center built in the 1960s to support the Apollo moon program. Both were later modified for the space shuttles, which began flying in 1981. ...

Solar plane completes second leg of cross-country flight in Texas

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:43:16 -0400

DALLAS (Reuters) - A solar airplane that developers hope to eventually pilot around the globe landed safely on Thursday in Texas, completing the second and longest leg of an attempt to fly across the United States powered only by the sun. The spindly experimental aircraft, dubbed Solar Impulse, touched down at Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport shortly after 1 a.m. local time, logging 18 hours and 21 minutes in the air to cover 823 nautical miles from Arizona. The flight set a new absolute world distance record in solar aviation, organizers said. ...

U.S. industry touts 'drone' promise as public debate flares

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:02:14 -0400

By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Public backlash against deadly overseas drone strikes may undermine promising uses of such technology for anything from disaster response to mail delivery, a top U.S. industry group said as it launched a lobbying effort to "demystify" unmanned planes. The Aerospace Industries Association wants to prevent misperceptions and regulatory roadblocks from cutting into a market it says could be worth $89 billion over the next decade, according to a report the trade group will release on Thursday. ...

NASA investing in 3-D food printer for astronauts

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:02:03 -0400

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - In a scene right out of Star Trek, a Texas company is developing a 3-D food printer for astronauts to create custom meals on the fly. With support from NASA, the firm, Systems and Materials Research Corp of Austin, intends to design, build and test a food printer that can work in space. "This project is to demonstrate we can create and change the nutrition of the food and be able to print it in a low-gravity environment," the company's research director and lead chemist, David Irvin, told Reuters. ...

Meteoroid impact triggers bright flash on the moon

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:49:35 -0400

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An automated telescope monitoring the moon has captured images of an 88-pound (40 kg) rock slamming into the lunar surface, creating a bright flash of light, NASA scientists said on Friday. The explosion on March 17 was the biggest seen since NASA began watching the moon for meteoroid impacts about eight years ago. So far, more than 300 strikes have been recorded. ...

Active Hurricane Season Expected, US Forecasters Say

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:45:05 -0400

Get ready for a busy and possibly "extremely active" hurricane season, said forecasters who today (May 23) unveiled their predictions of the number and intensity of storms expected in the Atlantic Ocean basin during the 2013 hurricane season.

Captive-Bred Wallabies May Spread Antibiotic Resistance

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:14:09 -0400

Wallabies in captivity carry antibiotic-resistant gut bacteria, which they could potentially transmit to wild populations, a new study finds.

Amazing Ash Cloud Spied from Space Station

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:06:56 -0400

Clear skies and a passing space station combined for an extraordinary view of Alaska's erupting Pavlof volcano on May 18.

China Media Claim Private Mars Colony Mission Is a Scam

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:17:04 -0400

Some people may find it hard to believe that a private mission will succeed in landing four astronauts on Mars in 2023, but several state-run media outlets in China are targeting the project with even harsher terms like "hoax" and "hype."

Hubble Telescope Reveals True 3D Shape of Ring Nebula (Photos)

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:10:49 -0400

The iconic Ring Nebula may seem like just a stunning circle of wispy interstellar gas, but new images from the Hubble Space Telescope reveal it to be more like a deep-space jelly doughnut, scientists say.

The Art and Science of the Diagram: Communicating the Knowledge of the Heavens, the Earth and the Arcane, Final Part

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:23:00 -0400

The Art and Science of the Diagram: Communicating the Knowledge of the Heavens, the Earth and the Arcane, Final Part

Could Science Hatch the Perfect Fake Egg?

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:09:10 -0400

SAN MATEO, Calif. — Fake eggs made from plant materials could one day replace chicken eggs, one researcher says.

Genomics Reveals Great Famine Culprit

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:09:08 -0400

Genome analysis of stored potato leaf samples identified exactly what strain of blight ravaged potatoes in the Irish famine. Sophie Bushwick reports

More tornadoes from global warming? Nobody knows

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:15:27 -0400

A deadly tornado hit suburban Oklahoma City on Monday. A quick look at some basic facts:

Brilliant Science Blunders: Astrophysicist Mario Livio Speaks Out

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:17:05 -0400

Everyone makes mistakes — even Einstein. The truth is, many of the world's greatest scientists made significant blunders along the path toward genius, which should be comforting news for the rest of us.

Sharing Science Research in the Age of Social Media

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:12:00 -0400

Sharing Science Research in the Age of Social Media

Who's Paying the Price for Global Warming?

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:08 -0400

U.S. taxpayers have so far borne the brunt of climate change costs. David Biello reports

Scientists say united on global warming, at odds with public view

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:07:26 -0400

By Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - Ninety-seven percent of scientists say global warming is mainly man-made but a wide public belief that experts are divided is making it harder to gain support for policies to curb climate change, an international study showed on Thursday. The report found an overwhelming view among scientists that human activity, led by the use of fossil fuels, was the main cause of rising temperatures in recent decades. ...

Does 'Failure to Replicate' Mean Failed Science? (Op-Ed)

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:27:53 -0400

Scientists create human stem cells through cloning

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:56:12 -0400

By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) - After more than 15 years of failures by scientists around the world and one outright fraud, biologists have finally created human stem cells by the same technique that produced Dolly the cloned sheep in 1996: They transplanted genetic material from an adult cell into an egg whose own DNA had been removed. The result is a harvest of human embryonic stem cells, the seemingly magic cells capable of morphing into any of the 200-plus kinds that make up a person. ...

Scientists Report First Success in Cloning Human Stem Cells

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:11 -0400

It’s been 17 years since Dolly the sheep was cloned from a mammary cell. And now scientists applied the same technique to make the first embryonic-stem-cell lines from human skin cells.

Teenager Designs Safer Nuclear Power Plants

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:06:44 -0400

Do nuclear power plants need a redesign? Critics of nuclear energy seem to think so, and so does nuclear energy advocate, Taylor Wilson. A physics wunderkind, Wilson became the youngest person to ever create fusion at age 14. And since graduating from high school last year, he's devoted himself to finding innovative solutions to the world's biggest problems.

What If There Is No Happy Ending? Science Communication as a Path to Change

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:18:00 -0400

What If There Is No Happy Ending? Science Communication as a Path to Change

China missile hit highest suborbital level since 1976 - scientist

Wed, 15 May 2013 01:42:30 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China launched a large missile on Monday that reached 6,200 miles (10,000 km) above the earth, its highest suborbital launch since 1976, according to a U.S. scientist at Harvard University. Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said the rocket was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in western China, and China said the rocket carried a science payload which studied the earth's magnetosphere. ...

Scientists Use Radar to Locate Clandestine Graves

Mon, 13 May 2013 21:57:40 -0400

It's hard to convict someone of murder if their victim's body is never found. And it's hard to find a body once it's underground.

Quick updates: Science Studio, travel and quotes.

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:49:00 -0400

Quick updates: Science Studio, travel and quotes.

Move Over, Space Shuttle: There's a New Science Giant Cruising the U.S. This Summer

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:16:00 -0400

Move Over, Space Shuttle: There's a New Science Giant Cruising the U.S. This Summer

Science Advisor Gives Hopeful Progress Report on Obama s Achievements

Fri, 10 May 2013 10:50:00 -0400

Science Advisor Gives Hopeful Progress Report on Obama s Achievements

French Muslims look to science to determine start of Ramadan

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:18:03 -0400

By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor PARIS (Reuters) - France's Muslim leaders have agreed to end almost 1,400 years of Islamic tradition and use modern astronomy to determine the start of the holy month of Ramadan and other Islamic holidays. The French Muslim Council (CFCM) voted on Thursday to start using astronomical calculations to set the date rather than relying on the naked eye to sight the new crescent moon. Ramadan traditionally begins the morning after the sighting, which has in the past been delayed by a day or even two by weather. ...

Physics Gets Frothy as Mathematicians Dissect Mister Bubble [Video]

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:00:00 -0400

Physics Gets Frothy as Mathematicians Dissect Mister Bubble [Video]

Mystery Popped: Science of Bubbles Decoded

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:15:20 -0400

Anyone who has lathered up soap or seen frothy suds form on top of freshly poured soda has witnessed the delicate science of bubbles in action. But while bubbles and foamy materials are common in everyday life, scientists have struggled to model suds’ complicated behavior — the way clusters of bubbles grow, change shape and ultimately pop.

'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse: The Science of Today's Strange Celestial Event

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:03:33 -0400

Update: See the first photos of the solar eclipse here. An initial video of the 'ring of fire' eclipse is here.

Wanted: Citizen Scientists to Hunt 'Space Warp' Galaxies

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:54:04 -0400

Astronomers are calling for volunteers to help them search for "space warps," rare and distant galaxies that bend light around them like enormous lenses.

Prominent British scientist boycotts top Israeli conference

Wed, 08 May 2013 05:41:12 -0400

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - British cosmologist Stephen Hawking has pulled out of an Israeli conference, joining an academic boycott of Israel to protest against its occupation of Palestinian lands, Cambridge University said on Wednesday. The wheelchair-bound Hawking, who has won international recognition for his work on black holes, had been due to speak at a prestigious conference in June organized by Israeli President Shimon Peres that draws hundreds of leading world figures. ...

NY group buys Tesla property, plans science center

Tue, 07 May 2013 17:35:39 -0400

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — A New York community group that raised $1.3 million in a six-week online fundraising effort has purchased a laboratory once used by visionary scientist Nikola Tesla.

'Space Hackers' Take On Citizen Science for Suborbital Spaceflight

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:14:43 -0400

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — The increasing demand for flying experiments in space was clearly in evidence over the weekend as a standing room only crowd of 100 people packed into a room here at the Hacker Dojo to hear about a new era of citizen science.

Science Tackles Twitter Talents

Mon, 06 May 2013 20:28:08 -0400

Researchers offer tips to racking up Twitter followers, based on an analysis of over 500 active tweeters and their half million tweets during a 15-month stretch. Christopher Intagliata reports

Has Science Cured Gray Hair?

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:10:41 -0400

Gray hair — one of the classic signs of aging that can lead to a midlife crisis for some — may some day be a thing of the past, much to the chagrin of hair-dye manufacturers and Corvette salesmen.

Grocery Shopping While Hungry Not Good Idea, Science Confirms

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:12:06 -0400

If you've ever gone grocery shopping while you're hungry, you know the task can be a challenge: Everything looks good.

Manned Missions to Mars: Scientists Discuss Red Planet Exploration This Week

Mon, 06 May 2013 07:13:10 -0400

What will it take to get humans to Mars? That's the question on tap for hundreds of scientists, entrepreneurs, astronauts and government officials descending on Washington, D.C. this week for a summit on manned travel to the Red Planet.