All Science
- Parts of East Antarctic ice sheet have melted before and could again
Researchers have found that the East Antarctic ice sheet melted in at least one region about three million years ago, when climate conditions were similar to where global warming seems to be taking us.
- Dolphins actually pretty eloquent, say scientists
Researchers at the University of St Andrews have found that dolphins call each other by a signature whistle that functions much like a human name, a rare linguistic feat among nonhuman animals.
- Portrait of Earth from Saturn a reminder of just how amazing we are
NASA has released a picture of Earth taken by the Cassini spacecraft, which is currently orbiting Saturn. Guess what? We're a tiny blue dot engulfed in the vastness of space. Pretty cool.
- Cassini Saturn photo: A view of Earth from 900 million miles away
Cassini Saturn photo: The images, from probes orbiting Mercury and Saturn, show Earth as a pale blue dot.
- Glowing robots: New skin lights up when touched
Scientists have created an interface much like a smartphone touchscreen, but pliable.
- Titan conditions cry 'Surf's up!' So why can't scientists catch a wave?
The dense atmosphere on Saturn's moon Titan can generate winds that have raised 300-foot-tall dunes near the equator. The lack of observed waves on its hydrocarbon seas and lakes has been a puzzle.
- Foul-smelling plant blooms near US Capitol
A titan arum, a huge plant native to Indonesia, went into full malodorous bloom on Sunday evening at the US Botanic Garden conservatory, drawing thousands of visitors seeking to inhale its putrid stench.
- Could you be a Hotshot? Take our quiz!
Hotshots are elite firefighters who are specially trained in wildfire suppression. They are the nation’s “first line and our elite line in dealing with fires,” said Tom Nichols, division chief for fire and aviation management of the National Park Service.
Hotshots are highly trained and qualified to ensure the safety of the public and of firefighters.
“Safety is stressed and woven into every aspect of the fire community, from basic to advanced training, from daily work to incident operations,” said Randy Eardley, deputy chief of external affairs for the Bureau of Land Management.
Because safety is the top priority, hotshots must pass difficult fitness tests and undergo intense training. Do you have the knowledge and skills to battle the nation’s worst fires?
- Iberian lynx faces extinction in just 50 years, say scientists
The predator could go extinct if conservation efforts are not remodeled to take into account the effects of climate change, says new research.
- Water on Mars? Ancient Red Planet had humongous ocean, say scientists.
Water on Mars: Images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter suggests that billions of years ago, as much as a third of the Red Planet's surface could have been covered with liquid water.
- Mars heist: Red Planet was robbed of most of its atmosphere billions of years ago
Two papers report that Mars’s atmosphere was lost in cataclysmic events some 4 billion years ago, leaving the planet with too thin an atmosphere to support life.
- Humongous viruses could be new form of life, say scientists
The discovery of a pair of huge viruses with large genomes suggests the existence of another domain of life, which, if it exists, would raise the number of biology's most basic categories from three to four.
- Comet ISON: Will the 'Comet of the Century' live up to the hype?
Comet ISON will fly perilously close to the sun on Thanksgiving Day. If it survives, it will make a gorgeous display in late November and December, coming closest to Earth on December 26.
- Great white shark packs its lunch in its liver before a big trip
A new study has looked at a shark's changing buoyancy over time to track the depletion of its fat reserves during its long migration.
- Giant gas cloud 'resembles spaghetti' as it plunges toward a black hole
A giant gas cloud is on a suicide mission to the black hole at the center of our galaxy. As the cloud spirals into oblivion, the black hole's extreme gravity is stretching it thinner and thinner.
- King Midas in space? Rare star collision produces gold.
Scientists from Harvard University have for the first time found concrete evidence that gold is produced in the collision of two extremely rare stars.
- Strange new dinosaur discovered in Utah
A new, unusual-looking dinosaur, Nasutoceratops, offers evidence of how horned dinosaurs might have evolved in North America.
- Scientists use sound waves to levitate, manipulate matter
A team of scientists in Zurich, Switzerland, have developed a method of acoustic levitation that allows them to float objects next to each other and bring them into contact.
- NASA terminates spacewalk following leak into astronaut's helmet
NASA aborted the walk about an hour into what was supposed to be a six-hour mission outside the International Space Station.
- Neptune moon: Tiny, dark, whizzing space ball captured on film (barely)
Neptune moon: Astronomer Mark Showalter used over 150 pictures of Neptune to find an almost-invisible moon of Neptune, bringing the total number of Neptune moons to 14.