All Science
NASA's big decision: Build a moon base or lasso an asteroid?NASA and lawmakers disagree over the future of human spaceflight. NASA has its sights set on an asteroid landing, while legislators want a permanent moon base.
- Why Joe Barton's biblical flood comment is so illogical
It's not that Texas congressman Joe Barton cited the Biblical great flood as an example of natural climate change. It's that he misrepresented the arguments of those who say that human activity is changing the climate.
Komodo dragon attack repelled by woman with a broomKomodo dragon attack handled by 83-year-old Indonesian woman with a broom. The Komodo dragon is the largest living species of lizard. Attacks by Komodo dragons are rare, but growing.
Fast-growing dinosaurs kicked inside eggs, say scientistsResearchers used new ancient fossil finds to learn about dinosaurs' early development. The evidence suggests dinosaurs wiggled inside their eggs and grew faster than any birds or mammals living today.
Primitive fish with 'butt fins' reveals evolution's quirky pathAn evolutionarily unique "paired anal fin" suggests that evolution experimented with various wacky body plans, only some of which survived.
- Supersized crabs: Bad news for seafood lovers?
Supersized crabs, caused by increasing carbon dioxide levels in the air and oceans, are gobbling up oyster beds and growing giant, lean bodies with little crab meat.
Poop in paradise: The smell of (environmental) success?A swanky beach enclave seeks relief from the stench of bird poop, but environmentalists say the guano shows local birds have been brought back from the brink of extinction.
Spaceflight conference: No NASA reps, but Sigourney Weaver is thereNASA banned employees from attending the annual National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. But 'Alien' star Sigourney Weaver will be there.
Antarctic ice samples: What do they say about global warming?Antarctic ice core samples, up to 150,000 years old, may help scientists estimate whether it will take 50 years - or 500 years - for the Ross Ice Shelf to collapse at the current rate of climate change.
Sen. Bill Nelson announces NASA's plan to capture asteroidNASA will use a robotic spaceship to capture an asteroid and bring it closer to the moon. Astronauts will then explore the asteroid in the hopes of developing technology to nudge dangerous asteroids away from Earth.
Cthulhu fhtagn! Indescribably terrifying microbes named for Lovecraft monsters.Eldritch scientists at the University of British Columbia have named Cthulhu macrofasciculumque and Cthylla microfasciculumque, a pair of sightless, writhing, unfathomable horrors twisting and groping through the ensanguined interiors of half-mad termites, for the unspeakably hideous abominations of the adjective-crazed pulp writer.
- Face-sized tarantula lives in trees in Sri Lanka
Face-sized tarantula: With a leg span of up to 8 inches across, the Poecilotheria rajaei, is one of the larger species of tarantula.
Home of Abraham, Ur, unearthed by archaeologists in IraqHome of Abraham: A sprawling structure, thought to be about 4,000 years old, probably served as an administrative center for Ur, around the time Abraham would have lived there before leaving for Canaan, according to the Bible.
Clouds blamed for record ice melt in GreenlandThe 2012 summer witnessed the largest ice loss ever in Greenland since scientists started recording melt rates there in 1979, and new research indicates that clouds might be the cause.
Did orbiting antimatter detecter spot signs of dark matter?Mounted on the outside of the International Space Station since 2011, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer has detected antimatter within the stream of cosmic rays that appear consistent with our models of dark matter.
First glimpse of deadly sinkhole in FloridaMore than one month after a sinkhole opened up and swallowed a sleeping man in Florida, local authorities show what the deadly pit looks like inside.
- Sea lion boogies down, overturns theory
Ronan, a California sea lion with a knack for keeping a beat, challenges theories about the nature of rhythmic ability.
Why was March so cold? Blame Greenland.You're not imagining it: March 2013 was chilly — the second-coldest March since 2000. The culprit is a stubborn mass of warm air over Greenland that blocked the jet stream.
NASA climate scientist James Hansen retires to join global warming fight full timeJames Hansen, a devoted activist against climate change, announced his retirement from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and plans to challenge federal and state governments over carbon dioxide emissions.
- 'Gate to Hell' unearthed among Turkey's ancient ruins
'Gate to Hell' unearthed in Turkey: Italian archaeologists have discovered what they believed to be the remains of an ancient cave that was the entrance to the underworld in Greek and Roman legends.
