Science News

Big Bang atom smasher starts speeding proton beams

Scientists gather at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) data quality satellite control center of the ATLAS detectors during the restart of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Meyrin, near Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Nov. 23, 2009. Scientists turned on the Large Hadron Collider on Friday night, Nov. 20, 2009, for the first time since the machine suffered a failure more than a year ago and had to be shut down shortly after the start. (AP Photo/Keystone, Laurent Gillieron)
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AP
AP - 2 minutes ago

GENEVA - Scientists running the world's largest atom smasher used the $10 billion machine's accelerator to speed up proton beams for the first time Tuesday, in a step toward experiments about the makeup of the universe.

Weather News

  • Emergency rescue workers float past a 'Merry Christmas' sign as they look to rescue residents stranded by floods in Cockermouth, Cumbria. Residents of the flood-hit northwest have began returning to their homes but police are warning it could take years to recover from the devastation left by the heaviest rainfall on record.(AFP/Andrew Yates)
    Residents return to survey cost of devastating floods AFP - Mon Nov 23, 4:25 PM ET

    LONDON (AFP) - Residents in the flood-hit northwest began returning to their homes Monday but police warned it could take years to recover from the devastation left by the heaviest rainfall on record.

  • File photo shows people evacuating a village close to Havana following Hurrican Ike. Flooding in the world's major port cities caused by melting icecaps could cause up to 28 trillion dollars (18 trillion euros) in damage in 2050, environmental group WWF said in a report Monday.(AFP/File/Adalberto Roque)
    Melting icecaps to damage major port cities: WWF AFP - Mon Nov 23, 1:56 AM ET

    GENEVA (AFP) - Flooding in the world's major port cities caused by melting icecaps could cause up to 28 trillion dollars (18 trillion euros) in damage in 2050, environmental group WWF said in a report Monday.

  • An aerial view of the destroyed Northside bridge, in Workington England Friday Nov. 20, 2009 as floods submerge large parts of Cumbria. Military helicopters winched dozens of people to safety and emergency workers in inflatable boats rescued scores more as floods on Friday swamped northern England's picturesque Lake District. (AP Photo/ Peter Byrne/PA)
    UK checks safety of 1,800 bridges after storms AP - Sun Nov 22, 4:48 PM ET

    LONDON - Police and army experts say they're urgently checking the safety of about 1,800 bridges in northern England amid some of the worst storms ever recorded in Britain.

Space & Astronomy News

  • Astronauts to Spend Last Day At Space Station SPACE.com - 16 minutes ago

    The crew of the shuttle Atlantis plans to spend today wrapping up work at the International Space Station (ISS) in preparation for departure tomorrow.

  • This NASA picture shows US astronaut Randy Bresnik at the International Space Station. Astronauts from the US space shuttle Atlantis ventured into open space on the third and final spacewalk of their mission to maintain and install more high-tech equipment on the International Space Station.(AFP/NASA)
    Astronauts rest up after 3 spacewalks AP - Tue Nov 24, 3:00 AM ET

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The astronauts aboard the orbiting shuttle-station complex are resting after their three successful spacewalks.

  • US astronauts Robert Satcher installs the high pressure gas tank as astronauts from the US space shuttle Atlantis begin the third and final spacewalk of their mission aimed at building the International Space Station.(AFP/HO)
    Atlantis astronauts end final mission spacewalk AFP - Mon Nov 23, 4:19 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - Astronauts from the US shuttle Atlantis Monday concluded the third and final spacewalk of their mission to maintain and install more high-tech equipment on the International Space Station.

Animals/Pets News

  • China to send two pandas to Australia AP - Mon Nov 23, 10:55 PM ET

    BEIJING - China will send two giant pandas to an Australian zoo this Friday as part of a joint research program.

  • Teensy Chameleon Is New Species LiveScience.com - Mon Nov 23, 6:46 PM ET

    A tiny chameleon species with a scaly horn atop its snout and blue dots on its limbs has been discovered in Tanzanian forests.

  • A handout photo from the Census of Marine Life shows a "bush" of a tube worm in the Gulf of Mexico. Thousands of animal species thrive in the ocean depths beyond the reach of sunlight, between 200 to 5,000 meters below the surface, an international team of scientists has reported after nearly 10 years of research.(AFP/HO/File/CENSUS OF MARINE LIFE)
    Murky ocean depths hide abundance of life AFP - Mon Nov 23, 6:09 AM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - Thousands of animal species thrive in the ocean depths beyond the reach of sunlight, between 200 to 5,000 meters below the surface, an international team of scientists has reported after nearly 10 years of research.

Dinosaurs & Fossils News

  • New fossils reveal a world full of crocodiles Reuters - Thu Nov 19, 4:21 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New fossils unearthed in what is now the Sahara desert reveal a once-swampy world

  • In this image released by National Geographic, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Paul Sereno, enveloped by the jaws of SuperCroc, holds the fossil head of DogCroc. DogCroc, along with four other newly described crocs, lived in the Sahara when the 8-ton SuperCroc did, at a time when dinosaurs ruled. (AP Photo/National Geographic, Mike Hettwer)
    3 new ancient crocodile species fossils found AP - Thu Nov 19, 3:25 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - A 20-foot-long crocodile with three sets of fangs — like wild boar tusks — roamed parts of northern Africa millions of years ago, researchers reported Thursday. While this fearsome creature hunted meat, not far away another newly found type of croc with a wide, flat snout like a pancake was fishing for food.

  • A woman inspects a crocodile display in 2001 in Mexico. The fossils of five hitherto unknown bizarre-looking crocodiles which roamed the world 100 million years ago have been unearthed in the Sahara desert, US scientists revealed Thursday.(AFP/File/Jorge Uzon)
    Five strange ancient crocs found in Sahara desert AFP - Thu Nov 19, 12:48 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - The fossils of five hitherto unknown bizarre-looking crocodiles which roamed the world 100 million years ago have been unearthed in the Sahara desert, US scientists revealed Thursday.

Biotechnology News

  • Asthma Combo Seems Less Influenced by Genes HealthDay - Mon Nov 23, 1:38 AM ET

    THURSDAY, Nov. 19 (HealthDay News) -- People's genetic makeup has been shown to affect how they respond to asthma medications, but a new study finds that many people respond well to a particular combination treatment regardless of their genes.

  • NU Board of Regent Jim McClurg of Lincoln, left, takes notes during public testimony Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, at the regent's monthly meeting in Lincoln, Neb., regarding the expansion or restriction of embryonic stem cell research as Regent Brad Bohn looks on. The University of Nebraska's governing board on Friday voted down a proposal to restrict the school's rules governing embryonic stem-cell research beyond what the federal government allows. (AP Photo/Bill Wolf)
    Measure to change U. of Neb. stem-cell rule fails AP - Fri Nov 20, 6:07 PM ET

    LINCOLN, Neb. - The University of Nebraska's governing board on Friday voted not to place tighter restrictions on embryonic stem cell research than those outlined under federal guidelines, which were expanded after President Barack Obama took office.

  • Stem cell cultures are held up at a lab. Embryonic stem cell therapy got a step closer to the clinic Thursday after US researchers said they filed a request for government approval of human trials.(AFP/Getty Images/File)
    Embryonic stem cell therapy closer to human trials AFP - Thu Nov 19, 1:13 PM ET

    CHICAGO (AFP) - Embryonic stem cell therapy got a step closer to the clinic Thursday after US researchers said they filed a request for government approval of human trials.

Energy News

  • Visitors stand beside the new protection gear for mine workers on display at a coal industry exhibition in Beijing. China is trying to modernize its coal industry by capturing the dangerous methane gaz in order to recycle it and use it as an energy source.(AFP/Liu Jin)
    Coal-burning China invests in methane capture AFP - Mon Nov 23, 11:21 PM ET

    BEIJING (AFP) - China, a massive consumer of fossil fuels and coal in particular, is trying to modernise its mines by containing emissions of methane and turning the toxic gas into a source of much-needed energy.

  • A labourer cleans solar cells placed on a window of a solar housing complex in Kolkata in this July 8, 2008 file photo. REUTERS/Parth Sanyal/Files
    India ties solar plans to global climate support Reuters - Mon Nov 23, 9:37 AM ET

    NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India issued solar power targets on Monday, with plans to boost ouptut from near zero to 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2022, but tied chances of the plan's success to availability of international finance and technology.

  • India's private sector energy giant Reliance Industries Limited has announced a cash bid to buy a controlling stake in bankrupt petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell Industries.(AFP/File/Sam Panthaky)
    India's Reliance announces bid for LyondellBasell AFP - Sun Nov 22, 2:36 AM ET

    MUMBAI (AFP) - India's private sector energy giant Reliance Industries Limited has announced a cash bid to buy a controlling stake in bankrupt petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell Industries.

Most Popular Science News

  • This undated photo released by Census of Marine Life and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution shows a transparent sea cucumber, Enypniastes, creeping forward on its many tentacles at about 2 cm per minute while sweeping detritus-rich sediment into its mouth at 2,750 meters in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Thousands of marine species eke out an existence in the ocean's pitch-black depths by feeding on the snowlike decaying matter that cascades down, and even sunken whale bones, according to a report released Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Larry Madin) NO SALES, MANDATORY CREDIT, EDITORIAL USE ONLY
    Thousands of strange creatures found deep in ocean AP - Sun Nov 22, 3:51 PM ET

    NEW ORLEANS - The creatures living in the depths of the ocean are as weird and outlandish as the creations in a Dr. Seuss book: tentacled transparent sea cucumbers, primitive "dumbos" that flap ear-like fins, and tubeworms that feed on oil deposits.

  • Why Kids Ask Why LiveScience.com - Mon Nov 23, 11:46 AM ET

    A child's never-ending "why's" aren't meant to exasperate parents, scientists say. Rather, the kiddy queries are genuine attempts at getting at the truth, and tots respond better to some answers than others.

  • Scientists gather at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) data quality satellite control center of the ATLAS detectors during the restart of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Meyrin, near Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Nov. 23, 2009. Scientists turned on the Large Hadron Collider on Friday night, Nov. 20, 2009, for the first time since the machine suffered a failure more than a year ago and had to be shut down shortly after the start. (AP Photo/Keystone, Laurent Gillieron)
    Big Bang atom smasher starts speeding proton beams AP - 2 minutes ago

    GENEVA - Scientists running the world's largest atom smasher used the $10 billion machine's accelerator to speed up proton beams for the first time Tuesday, in a step toward experiments about the makeup of the universe.