Science News

Icebergs head from Antarctica for New Zealand

In this Nov. 16, 2009 photo released by the Australian Antarctic Division, an iceberg is seen at Sandy Bay on Macquarie Island's east coast, in the Southern Ocean 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) southeast of Tasmania, Australia. It is very rare to see icebergs from Macquarie Island and is uncommon to find icebergs in this general region. (AP Photo/Australian Antarctic Division, Eve Merfield)
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AP
AP - 37 minutes ago

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Ships are on alert and maritime authorities are monitoring the movements of hundreds of menacing icebergs drifting toward New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean, officials said.

Weather News

  • This NOAA satellite image taken Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009 at 12:45 a.m. EST shows a patch of clouds with embedded showers in the Mid-U.S. due to a trough of low pressure moving through the Central Plains and the Mid-Mississippi Valley. Additional areas of precipitation develop along the coasts of southern New England and the Mid-Atlantic. (AP PHOTO/WEATHER UNDERGROUND)
    The nation's weather AP - Tue Nov 24, 5:49 AM ET

    Two main weather features were expected to bring active weather to the U.S. on Tuesday.

  • Emergency rescue workers float past a 'Merry Christmas' sign as they look to rescue residents stranded by floods in Cockermouth, Cumbria. Residents of the flood-hit northwest have began returning to their homes but police are warning it could take years to recover from the devastation left by the heaviest rainfall on record.(AFP/Andrew Yates)
    Residents return to survey cost of devastating floods AFP - Mon Nov 23, 4:25 PM ET

    LONDON (AFP) - Residents in the flood-hit northwest began returning to their homes Monday but police warned it could take years to recover from the devastation left by the heaviest rainfall on record.

  • File photo shows people evacuating a village close to Havana following Hurrican Ike. Flooding in the world's major port cities caused by melting icecaps could cause up to 28 trillion dollars (18 trillion euros) in damage in 2050, environmental group WWF said in a report Monday.(AFP/File/Adalberto Roque)
    Melting icecaps to damage major port cities: WWF AFP - Mon Nov 23, 1:56 AM ET

    GENEVA (AFP) - Flooding in the world's major port cities caused by melting icecaps could cause up to 28 trillion dollars (18 trillion euros) in damage in 2050, environmental group WWF said in a report Monday.

Space & Astronomy News

Animals/Pets News

  • In this photo provided the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium female lion cub Adia, left, and male cub Kitambi, right, are shown Monday, Nov. 23, 2009 in Columbus, Ohio. The two cubs and a sister, all born Sept. 22, were allowed outdoors in view of zoo visitors for the first time on Tuesday, Nov. 24. (AP Photo/Columbus Zoo and Aquarium)
    Ohio's zoo's lion cubs make debut AP - Tue Nov 24, 3:56 PM ET

    COLUMBUS, Ohio - An Ohio zoo is ready to show off its newest additions — a trio of lion cubs.

  • China moves to protect pandas from swine flu AP - Tue Nov 24, 7:03 AM ET

    BEIJING - A panda research center in northwestern China has been closed to visitors as a precaution to protect the endangered species from catching swine flu, state media reported on Tuesday.

  • China to send two pandas to Australia AP - Mon Nov 23, 10:55 PM ET

    BEIJING - China will send two giant pandas to an Australian zoo this Friday as part of a joint research program.

Dinosaurs & Fossils News

  • New fossils reveal a world full of crocodiles Reuters - Thu Nov 19, 4:21 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New fossils unearthed in what is now the Sahara desert reveal a once-swampy world

  • In this image released by National Geographic, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Paul Sereno, enveloped by the jaws of SuperCroc, holds the fossil head of DogCroc. DogCroc, along with four other newly described crocs, lived in the Sahara when the 8-ton SuperCroc did, at a time when dinosaurs ruled. (AP Photo/National Geographic, Mike Hettwer)
    3 new ancient crocodile species fossils found AP - Thu Nov 19, 3:25 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - A 20-foot-long crocodile with three sets of fangs — like wild boar tusks — roamed parts of northern Africa millions of years ago, researchers reported Thursday. While this fearsome creature hunted meat, not far away another newly found type of croc with a wide, flat snout like a pancake was fishing for food.

  • A woman inspects a crocodile display in 2001 in Mexico. The fossils of five hitherto unknown bizarre-looking crocodiles which roamed the world 100 million years ago have been unearthed in the Sahara desert, US scientists revealed Thursday.(AFP/File/Jorge Uzon)
    Five strange ancient crocs found in Sahara desert AFP - Thu Nov 19, 12:48 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - The fossils of five hitherto unknown bizarre-looking crocodiles which roamed the world 100 million years ago have been unearthed in the Sahara desert, US scientists revealed Thursday.

Biotechnology News

  • Belgian patient Rom Houben, seen here using a specially-adapted computer to type messages at the Weyerke institute near Liege. Houben, who was wrongly diagnosed as being in a coma for 23 years, has revived the debate on care for those considered in a vegetative state, with the astonishing case far from unique according to a recent study.(AFP/Stringer)
    Comatose for 23 years Belgian feels reborn AP - Tue Nov 24, 6:18 PM ET

    BRUSSELS - With a caretaker holding his hand, a Belgian man who was diagnosed as comatose for 23 years typed out a message Tuesday that he felt reborn after decades of loneliness and frustration. A leading bioethicist, however, expressed skepticism that the man was truly communicating on his own.

  • Asthma Combo Seems Less Influenced by Genes HealthDay - Mon Nov 23, 1:38 AM ET

    THURSDAY, Nov. 19 (HealthDay News) -- People's genetic makeup has been shown to affect how they respond to asthma medications, but a new study finds that many people respond well to a particular combination treatment regardless of their genes.

  • NU Board of Regent Jim McClurg of Lincoln, left, takes notes during public testimony Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, at the regent's monthly meeting in Lincoln, Neb., regarding the expansion or restriction of embryonic stem cell research as Regent Brad Bohn looks on. The University of Nebraska's governing board on Friday voted down a proposal to restrict the school's rules governing embryonic stem-cell research beyond what the federal government allows. (AP Photo/Bill Wolf)
    Measure to change U. of Neb. stem-cell rule fails AP - Fri Nov 20, 6:07 PM ET

    LINCOLN, Neb. - The University of Nebraska's governing board on Friday voted not to place tighter restrictions on embryonic stem cell research than those outlined under federal guidelines, which were expanded after President Barack Obama took office.

Energy News

  • An Indian-made Reva electric car during a rally in New Delhi on November 22. Chetan Maini, the man behind Reva Electric Car Co., is building in southern India what he says will be the world's biggest factory making battery-powered city commuter cars.(AFP/File/Prakash Singh)
    India electric car pioneer plans biggest plug-in plant AFP - 1 hour, 8 minutes ago

    NEW DELHI (AFP) - Chetan Maini, the engineer who pioneered India's first electric car, had his eureka moment two decades ago when he drove a vehicle fuelled by solar power across the blazing Australian outback.

  • US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, pictured in September 2009, blasted big oil trade groups Tuesday, accusing them of barring the way to a balanced US energy system that would create thousands of jobs.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Mark Wilson)
    US official blasts big oil over Obama energy program AFP - Tue Nov 24, 7:21 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar blasted big oil trade groups Tuesday, accusing them of barring the way to a balanced US energy system that would create thousands of jobs.

  • Salazar blasts critics of U.S. energy policy Reuters - Tue Nov 24, 5:03 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday fired back at critics who claim he's not supportive enough of domestic energy production, saying their accusations have the same "poison and substance of election-year politics."

Most Popular Science News

  • Why Kids Ask Why LiveScience.com - Mon Nov 23, 11:46 AM ET

    A child's never-ending "why's" aren't meant to exasperate parents, scientists say. Rather, the kiddy queries are genuine attempts at getting at the truth, and tots respond better to some answers than others.

  • Scientists gather at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) data quality satellite control center of the ATLAS detectors during the restart of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Meyrin, near Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Nov. 23, 2009. Scientists turned on the Large Hadron Collider on Friday night, Nov. 20, 2009, for the first time since the machine suffered a failure more than a year ago and had to be shut down shortly after the start. (AP Photo/Keystone, Laurent Gillieron)
    Big Bang atom smasher starts speeding proton beams AP - Tue Nov 24, 11:56 AM ET

    GENEVA - The world's largest atom smasher used its accelerator Tuesday to speed up proton beams for the first time as scientists moved ahead in efforts to learn more about the universe.

  • This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows Mars in 2005. A new detailed map of Mars shows what was likely a vast ocean in the north and valleys around the equator, suggesting that the planet once had a humid, rainy climate, according to research published Monday.(AFP/NASA-HO/File)
    New Map Bolsters Case for Ancient Ocean on Mars SPACE.com - Mon Nov 23, 5:30 PM ET

    Several lines of evidence point to the possibility of a past ocean on Mars, from apparent ancient shorelines to chemicals in the soil.