Today's Reuters Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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Space shuttle Discovery makes final flight to museum
Thu,19 Apr 2012 02:43 PM PDT
Reuters -  CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The space shuttle Discovery made its final voyage on Tuesday: a piggyback jet ride to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum annex in Virginia. The United States retired its space shuttles last year after finishing construction of the $100 billion International Space Station, a project of 15 countries, to begin work on a new generation of spaceships that can carry astronauts to destinations beyond the station's 240-mile-high (384-km-high) orbit. ...
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"Bumblebee" gecko discovered in Papua New Guinea: USGS
Thu,19 Apr 2012 02:02 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - A new species of gecko with black and gold bands like a bumblebee and slender toes termed a "striking surprise" has been discovered deep in the tropical forests of Papua New Guinea, the U.S. Geological survey said. The lizard, which measures about 13 cm (5 inches) from head to tail and is covered with rows of skin nodules that make it easier for it to conceal itself on the forest floor, was collected on Manus Island in March, 2010 and described in a report published in the journal "Zootaxa" in April. ...
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Polar bears are no new kids on the block
Thu,19 Apr 2012 11:29 AM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Polar bears evolved as a separate species far earlier than previously thought, according to a new genetic study, which adds to worries about their ability to adapt in a rapidly warming world. Research published on Thursday found the Arctic's top predators split off from brown bears, their closest relatives, around 600,000 years ago - five times earlier than scientists had generally assumed. ...
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Poland says ETS reform could bankrupt its industry
Thu,19 Apr 2012 09:54 AM PDT
Reuters - COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A European Commission plan to boost the carbon market is unfeasible and could bankrupt Polish companies, Poland's environment minister said on Thursday. European Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard announced a review of the auctioning profile for the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which could limit the number of allowances available and help tackle a glut that has kicked the market to record lows. ... Full Story | Top |
Ford to take slow road on electric trucks: CEO
Tue,17 Apr 2012 08:32 PM PDT
Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co will be slower to build electric-powered pickups and other larger vehicles because the batteries to power them are still extremely costly, Ford CEO Alan Mulally said on Tuesday. The second-largest U.S. automaker is now electrifying the platforms used to build compact cars and mid-size sedans, a move that allows Ford to curb costs by building electric, hybrid and gas-powered versions of the same car on a single assembly line. ... Full Story | Top |
Is humanity quietly abandoning a future in space?
Tue,17 Apr 2012 10:30 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON, April 17 - As astronaut Leroy Chiao watches the space shuttles he crewed make their final journeys to become museum pieces, he worries humankind is unthinkingly ditching space exploration and a future beyond Earth. After flying its last mission into space last year, the shuttle Discovery arrived Tuesday at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., atop a NASA 747 to enter the National Air and Space Museum at its giant Udvar-Hazy facility in suburban Virginia. ...
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Space shuttle Discovery makes final flight to museum
Tue,17 Apr 2012 09:12 AM PDT
Reuters -  CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The space shuttle Discovery made its final voyage on Tuesday: a piggyback jet ride to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum annex in Virginia. The United States retired its space shuttles last year after finishing construction of the $100 billion International Space Station, a project of 15 countries, to begin work on a new generation of spaceships that can carry astronauts to destinations beyond the station's 240-mile-high (384-km-high) orbit. ...
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Dinosaur eggs said found in Russia's Chechnya
Tue,17 Apr 2012 08:37 AM PDT
Reuters -  GROZNY, Russia (Reuters) - Geologists in Russia's volatile Chechnya region have discovered what they believe to be fossilized dinosaur eggs laid by one of the huge extinct reptiles that roamed the Earth more than 60 million years ago. "We've found about 40 eggs so far, the exact number has not been established," said Said-Emin Dzhabrailov, a geologist at the Chechen State University. "There could be many more laying under the ground. ...
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NASA clears SpaceX for cargo run to space station
Mon,16 Apr 2012 04:08 PM PDT
Reuters -  CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA on Monday cleared a cargo ship owned by Space Exploration Technologies for a test flight to the International Space Station that is scheduled to launch on April 30, NASA officials said. The Dragon mission would be the first time a privately owned and operated vessel visits the space station, a $100 billion research laboratory owned by the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada that orbits about 240 miles above Earth. NASA is counting on Space Exploration Technologies, also known as SpaceX, and a second company, Orbital Sciences Corp. ...
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Turmeric extract may protect heart after surgery
Fri,13 Apr 2012 03:19 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study from Thailand suggests that extracts from turmeric spice, known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, may help ward off heart attacks in people who've had recent bypass surgery. During bypass surgery the heart muscle can be damaged from prolonged lack of blood flow, increasing patients' risk of heart attack. The new findings suggest that curcumins -- the yellow pigment in turmeric -- may be able to ease those risks when added to traditional drug treatment. ... Full Story | Top |
Scientist beams up a real "Star Trek" tricorder
Fri,13 Apr 2012 02:12 PM PDT
Reuters -  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Starships, warp speed, transporters, phasers. Think "Star Trek" technology is only the stuff of fiction? Think again. Dr. Peter Jansen, a PhD graduate of the Cognitive Science Laboratory at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, has developed a scientific measurement device based on the tricorders used by Captain Kirk, Spock, Dr. McCoy and other space adventurers on the classic TV series that has spawned numerous spin-offs in more than 45 years. ...
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Space pictures pick up lots more penguins
Fri,13 Apr 2012 02:08 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists counting emperor penguins from space have found twice as many of the birds in Antarctica as expected. The discovery is reassuring for a species seen as under threat from global warming and will provide researchers with a benchmark for monitoring the giants of the penguin world in years to come. Using high-resolution satellite images to study each of 44 colonies around the coastline of Antarctica, experts said on Friday they put the total emperor penguin population at 595,000, or roughly double previous estimates of 270,000 to 350,000. ...
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Scientists examine a hot epoch to forecast climate future
Fri,13 Apr 2012 11:31 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - To figure out what is likely to happen to Earth's climate this century, scientists are looking 3 million years into the past. They have concluded that the most revealing slice of time is the Pliocene Epoch, a warm, wet period between 3.15 million and 2.85 million years ago, when the world probably looked and felt much as it does now. Global temperatures and the amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere were similar to today's climate, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. ...
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Tennessee teacher law could boost creationism, climate denial
Fri,13 Apr 2012 09:53 AM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - A new Tennessee law protects teachers who explore the "scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses" of evolution and climate change, a move science education advocates say could make it easier for creationism and global warming denial to enter U.S. classrooms. The measure, which became law Tuesday, made Tennessee the second state, after Louisiana, to enable teachers to more easily teach alternative theories to the widely accepted scientific concepts of evolution and human-caused climate change. At least five other states considered similar legislation this year. ...
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Satellite mapping pinpoints penguin population
Thu,12 Apr 2012 11:11 PM PDT
Reuters -  SYDNEY (Reuters) - Counting emperor penguins in their icy Antarctic habitat was not easy until researchers used new technology to map the birds from space, and they received a pleasant penguin surprise for their efforts. Using satellite mapping with resolution high enough to distinguish ice shadows from penguin poo, an international team has carried out what they say is an unprecedented penguin census from the heavens over the past three years. The good news was that the team found the Antarctic emperor penguin population numbered about 595,000, nearly double previous estimates. ...
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