Science News
Rover Curiosity eats first Martian dirt
- NASA's Mars rover Curiosity tasted Martian dirt for the first time on Thursday, testing equipment needed to assess if the planet most like Earth in the solar system has or ever had the ingredients for microbial life.
British engineers create petrol from air and water
LONDON - A small British company has developed a way to create petrol from air and water, technology it hopes may one day contribute to large-scale production of green fuels.
"Genius" inventor Stanford Ovshinsky dies
- Stanford R. Ovshinsky, the Michigan-based inventor whose development of the nickel-metal hydride battery helped the Toyota Prius become the world's first successful hybrid car, died on Wednesday evening, aged 89.
Search for alien life about to step up a gear
LONDON - It remains in the realm of science fiction for now but the discovery of a new planet just four light years away will reignite a race to find a twin of planet Earth that may host extraterrestrial life.
Harvard scientists suggest Moon made from Earth
- A new theory put forward by Harvard scientists suggests the Moon was once part of the Earth that spun off after a giant collision with another body.
Barley genome breakthrough may lead to better beer
LONDON - An international consortium of scientists has published a high resolution draft of the barley genome in a move that could not only improve yields and disease resistance but may also hold the key to better beer.
New planet discovered in Earth's back yard
LONDON/CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - Astronomers have found a new planet, the closest yet outside our solar system and just an astronomical stone's throw away at four light years, raising the chances of finding a habitable planet in Earth's neighborhood.
Computer models of Earth's climate change confirmed on Mars
WASHINGTON - Computer models have accurately forecast conditions on Mars and are valid predictors of climate change on Earth, U.S. and French astronomers said on Tuesday.
Skydiver safely jumps from stratosphere over New Mexico
ROSWELL, New Mexico - An Austrian daredevil leapt into the stratosphere from a balloon near the edge of space 24 miles above Earth on Sunday and safely landed, setting a record for the highest skydive and breaking the sound barrier in the process.
"Sponging" dolphins pass fishing trick from mother to daughter: study
SYDNEY - A small population of dolphins in Western Australia state not only use sponges to help catch fish but the rare hunting technique has been passed from mother to daughter for generations, Australian researchers said.
Meningitis suit seeks freeze of pharmacy owners' assets
BOSTON - The officers behind New England Compounding Center have been targeted in a lawsuit that seeks to freeze their personal assets, the latest fallout for the pharmacy linked to the deadly meningitis outbreak.