NEWS
Shifting Ocean Current Made Earth Spin Faster?
A slower Antarctic current, possibly linked to El Niño, made our planet spin slightly faster in November 2009, a new study suggests.
Extreme Scientific Imaging: Best of 2011 Named
An underwater city in 3-D and the sharpest picture of an atom yet are among winners of the 2011 Australian Extreme Imaging competition.
32,000-Year-Old Plant Brought Back to Life?Oldest Yet
The oldest plant ever to be regenerated has beaten the previous recordholder by some 30,000 years, a new study says.
Pictures: New Amphibians Without Arms or Legs Discovered
They aren't worms or even snakes. They're burrowing, limbless amphibians, and they're completely new to science, a new study suggests.
New Scars Found on Moon, Hint at Relatively Recent Activity
Long trenches spotted on lunar highlands suggest that the moon has been recently active, geologically speaking.
Uganda's Power Drive Stills the Headwaters of the Nile
Uganda, where 90 percent of the people lack electricity, taps deeper into waterpower, by eliminating cascading rapids on the Victoria Nile.
Pictures: See and Hear Last Speakers of Dying Languages
Faces and recorded voices tell the stories of endangered languages, thanks to new "talking dictionaries."
Why Some Poison Frogs Taste Bittersweet When Licked
It's a discovery perhaps only a frog-licking scientist could make: Toxic frogs secrete sugars and bile acids in addition to their poisons.
Space Pictures This Week: Rocket Launch, Saturn "Snowman"
Nebulae punctuate the sky, Europe lifts up a new lightweight, Saturn moons get stacked, and more in the week's best space pictures.
Mummy Pictures: Secrets of Stunning 19th-Century Heads Revealed
Their heads may be peeled like onions, and they may be 150 years old, but these Italian mummies are oddly lifelike. Now we know why.
Echoes of Monster Star's "Great Eruption" Found?A First
For the first time, astronomers have glimpsed reflections of light from a "supernova impostor"?the 19th-century eruption of Eta Carinae.
Pictures: Miniature Chameleons Discovered?Fit on Match Tip
Four new chameleon species found in Madagascar?some tiny enough to fit on a match tip?are among the smallest known reptiles.
Is Dark Energy Really "Repulsive Gravity"?
"Repulsive gravity"?a powerful repulsion between matter and antimatter?could explain the force known as dark energy, a new theory claims.
Best News Pictures of 2011: World Press Winners
See the painterly picture that won this year's World Press Photo Contest?plus a cliff-climbing polar bear, a record-breaking cave, and more.
Pictures: A Rare Look Inside China's Energy Machine
A photographer gains an inside look at China?s massive power complex, and at efforts by the world?s largest energy consumer to spur cleaner future growth.
Venus Spinning Even Slower Than Thought?What It Means
Planet lovers take note: Venus is rotating 6.5 minutes slower than it did 16 years ago?and scientists are stumped.
Artificial Glaciers Water Crops in Indian Highlands
Villagers discover that it is easier to store water in ice than in a reservoir, and less is lost to evaporation.
Pictures: Shark Swallows Another Shark Whole
Divers on Australia's Great Barrier Reef recently snapped rare pictures of a wobbegong, or carpet shark, swallowing a bamboo shark whole.
Valentine's Day: Why Do We Celebrate It? (Hint: Naked Romans)
Where did Valentine's Day come from? (Think naked Romans, paganism, and whips.) What does it cost? And why do we fall for it, year after year?
Life on Earth Began on Land, Not in Sea?
The first cellular life on Earth probably arose in a vat of volcanic mud akin to Darwin's idea of a "warm little pond," a new study says.
Amid U.S.-China Energy Tension, "Clean Coal" Spurs Teamwork
China's next president visits the White House amid tension on energy. But U.S.-China collaboration is emerging on projects to clean up coal.
Shark-Attack Deaths Highest in 19 Years?Travel Trends to Blame?
Though down in the U.S., shark-attack deaths rose worldwide, perhaps due to increased tourism on far-flung shores, experts say.
Italian "Disco Ball" Probe to Test Einstein's Relativity
Italy's LARES spacecraft, launched today, will test an effect of general relativity with unprecedented accuracy, mission managers say.
Dwarf Galaxy Found Secretly Feasting on Smaller Dwarf
For the first time astronomers have captured highly detailed pictures of a dwarf galaxy consuming a smaller companion, a new study says.
Space Pictures This Week: Sun Storm, Mars Lander, More
A star nursery shines, a sun storm erupts, a Mars orbiter spies its cousin, and more in the week's best space pictures.
A slower Antarctic current, possibly linked to El Niño, made our planet spin slightly faster in November 2009, a new study suggests.
Extreme Scientific Imaging: Best of 2011 Named
An underwater city in 3-D and the sharpest picture of an atom yet are among winners of the 2011 Australian Extreme Imaging competition.
32,000-Year-Old Plant Brought Back to Life?Oldest Yet
The oldest plant ever to be regenerated has beaten the previous recordholder by some 30,000 years, a new study says.
Pictures: New Amphibians Without Arms or Legs Discovered
They aren't worms or even snakes. They're burrowing, limbless amphibians, and they're completely new to science, a new study suggests.
New Scars Found on Moon, Hint at Relatively Recent Activity
Long trenches spotted on lunar highlands suggest that the moon has been recently active, geologically speaking.
Uganda's Power Drive Stills the Headwaters of the Nile
Uganda, where 90 percent of the people lack electricity, taps deeper into waterpower, by eliminating cascading rapids on the Victoria Nile.
Pictures: See and Hear Last Speakers of Dying Languages
Faces and recorded voices tell the stories of endangered languages, thanks to new "talking dictionaries."
Why Some Poison Frogs Taste Bittersweet When Licked
It's a discovery perhaps only a frog-licking scientist could make: Toxic frogs secrete sugars and bile acids in addition to their poisons.
Space Pictures This Week: Rocket Launch, Saturn "Snowman"
Nebulae punctuate the sky, Europe lifts up a new lightweight, Saturn moons get stacked, and more in the week's best space pictures.
Mummy Pictures: Secrets of Stunning 19th-Century Heads Revealed
Their heads may be peeled like onions, and they may be 150 years old, but these Italian mummies are oddly lifelike. Now we know why.
Echoes of Monster Star's "Great Eruption" Found?A First
For the first time, astronomers have glimpsed reflections of light from a "supernova impostor"?the 19th-century eruption of Eta Carinae.
Pictures: Miniature Chameleons Discovered?Fit on Match Tip
Four new chameleon species found in Madagascar?some tiny enough to fit on a match tip?are among the smallest known reptiles.
Is Dark Energy Really "Repulsive Gravity"?
"Repulsive gravity"?a powerful repulsion between matter and antimatter?could explain the force known as dark energy, a new theory claims.
Best News Pictures of 2011: World Press Winners
See the painterly picture that won this year's World Press Photo Contest?plus a cliff-climbing polar bear, a record-breaking cave, and more.
Pictures: A Rare Look Inside China's Energy Machine
A photographer gains an inside look at China?s massive power complex, and at efforts by the world?s largest energy consumer to spur cleaner future growth.
Venus Spinning Even Slower Than Thought?What It Means
Planet lovers take note: Venus is rotating 6.5 minutes slower than it did 16 years ago?and scientists are stumped.
Artificial Glaciers Water Crops in Indian Highlands
Villagers discover that it is easier to store water in ice than in a reservoir, and less is lost to evaporation.
Pictures: Shark Swallows Another Shark Whole
Divers on Australia's Great Barrier Reef recently snapped rare pictures of a wobbegong, or carpet shark, swallowing a bamboo shark whole.
Valentine's Day: Why Do We Celebrate It? (Hint: Naked Romans)
Where did Valentine's Day come from? (Think naked Romans, paganism, and whips.) What does it cost? And why do we fall for it, year after year?
Life on Earth Began on Land, Not in Sea?
The first cellular life on Earth probably arose in a vat of volcanic mud akin to Darwin's idea of a "warm little pond," a new study says.
Amid U.S.-China Energy Tension, "Clean Coal" Spurs Teamwork
China's next president visits the White House amid tension on energy. But U.S.-China collaboration is emerging on projects to clean up coal.
Shark-Attack Deaths Highest in 19 Years?Travel Trends to Blame?
Though down in the U.S., shark-attack deaths rose worldwide, perhaps due to increased tourism on far-flung shores, experts say.
Italian "Disco Ball" Probe to Test Einstein's Relativity
Italy's LARES spacecraft, launched today, will test an effect of general relativity with unprecedented accuracy, mission managers say.
Dwarf Galaxy Found Secretly Feasting on Smaller Dwarf
For the first time astronomers have captured highly detailed pictures of a dwarf galaxy consuming a smaller companion, a new study says.
Space Pictures This Week: Sun Storm, Mars Lander, More
A star nursery shines, a sun storm erupts, a Mars orbiter spies its cousin, and more in the week's best space pictures.