Boston.com -- Science news

Rat pack: Scientists warming up to African rodent

Paul J. Weber, Associated Press Writer — 2009-11-28T18:21:30Z

Naked mole rats don't get cancer. They shrug off brushes with acid and age so well, some are older than the college-aged researchers handling them.

NASA: Floating 'junk' no threat to space station

Marcia Dunn, AP Aerospace Writer — 2009-11-28T14:01:23Z

NASA says a piece of old space junk that it's been tracking for a few days is no threat to the International Space Station.

Astronauts have plenty to celebrate as space shuttle Atlantis returns to Earth

Associated Press — 2009-11-28T04:51:55Z

Space shuttle Atlantis and its seven astronauts returned to Earth with a smooth touchdown yesterday to end an amazing flight that resupplied the International Space Station.

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2009-11-28T04:51:55Z

Patrick, Kirk at odds over wind farm

Michael Levenson, Globe Staff — 2009-11-28T04:37:08Z

The administration of Governor Deval Patrick, in a sharp disagreement with Patrick’s handpicked Senate appointee, said yesterday that it would be a mistake for President Obama to grant US Senator Paul G. Kirk Jr.’s request to delay federal approval of the Cape Wind project.

Japan launches 5th spy satellite

2009-11-28T04:32:29Z

Japan launched its fifth spy satellite into orbit Saturday in a bid to boost its ability to independently gather intelligence, the government said.

Jobs, economics complicate Brazil's Amazon fight

Bradley Brooks, Associated Press Writer — 2009-11-27T15:01:42Z

Drawing his .40-caliber pistol, Severiano Pontes dashes across the steaming, muddy jungle floor, a hunch telling him what he would find around a bend.

Britain, France back global fund for climate ills

Ben Fox, Associated Press Writer — 2009-11-27T14:01:34Z

The leaders of Britain and France gave their backing Friday to a global fund that would provide billions of dollars to poor countries to help them reduce the output of greenhouse gases linked to climate change.

In Greenland, warming fuels dream of hidden wealth

Karl Ritter, Associated Press Writer — 2009-11-27T11:01:21Z

Gert Ignatiussen returns to this fjord-front Inuit town with the spoils of his hunting trip. Six seals, all killed with a single shot to the head.

Space shuttle Atlantis, 7 astronauts back on Earth

Marcia Dunn, AP Aerospace Writer — 2009-11-27T08:11:32Z

Space shuttle Atlantis and its seven astronauts returned to Earth with a smooth touchdown Friday to end an "amazing" flight that resupplied the International Space Station.

Into the wild, once again

Andrew Higgins, Washington Post — 2009-11-27T05:53:21Z

PALANGKA RAYA, Indonesia - Over the past decade, Lone Droscher-Nielsen, a former flight attendant, has saved nearly 600 orphaned orangutans in Borneo from almost certain death. Funded by donations from abroad, she’s given the apes food, shelter, and better health care than many humans in these parts get.

China to launch second lunar probe next October

Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press Writer — 2009-11-27T04:41:22Z

China is set to launch its second lunar probe next October in preparation for an unmanned moon landing by the end of 2012, space program officials were quoted Friday as saying.

State lab still behind on DNA testing

Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff — 2009-11-27T03:55:56Z

Thirteen years after Manson Brown allegedly pushed through a window of a home on Franklin Street in Cambridge, raped a woman, and disappeared into the night, he was indicted last week for the crime.

County asks help in reclaiming nuclear test sites and vast amount of water

Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times — 2009-11-27T01:57:20Z

YUCCA FLAT, Nev. - A sea of ancient water tainted by the Cold War is creeping deep under the volcanic peaks, dry lake beds, and pinyon pine forests covering a vast tract of Nevada.

Astronauts get surprise holiday meal

Associated Press — 2009-11-27T01:48:21Z

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis’ astronauts thought they were going to give thanks with pantry leftovers yesterday as their mission drew to a close, but found turkey dinners awaiting them.

Russia: No space for space tourists

2009-11-26T11:01:33Z

There is no space for tourists wishing to fly to the International Space Station, a top Russian space official said Thursday.

Astronauts surprised by holiday turkey dinners

Marcia Dunn, AP Aerospace Writer — 2009-11-26T08:21:38Z

Space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts thought they were going to give thanks with pantry leftovers Thursday as their mission drew to a close, but found turkey dinners awaiting them.

Touch may influence what we are hearing

Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Staff — 2009-11-26T05:27:45Z

Listening is more than a matter of being “all ears.’’ People can also hear with their skin, according to new research that deepens our understanding of the senses, showing they can work together but also override one another.

Rare butterfly species rediscovered in Maine

Clarke Canfield, Associated Press — 2009-11-26T05:15:25Z

PORTLAND, Maine - A species of butterfly has been rediscovered in Maine 75 years after it was last reported seen in the state.

Scientists get funds to crack the genetic code of turkeys

Daniel de Vise, Washington Post — 2009-11-26T02:50:38Z

WASHINGTON - If ever there were a candidate for genetic engineering, surely it is the pale, flavor-challenged bird that will adorn millions of American dinner tables as a matter of Thanksgiving ritual.

Shuttle Atlantis, with crew of seven, leaves space station and heads for home

Associated Press — 2009-11-26T02:49:26Z

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station early yesterday and headed home, with one astronaut eager to hold his newborn daughter for the first time and another who has been away from her young son since the summer.

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2009-11-26T02:49:26Z

Hope (and skepticism) as man’s 23-year coma ends

Raf Casert, Associated Press — 2009-11-25T19:22:08Z

With a caretaker holding his hand, a Belgian man who was diagnosed as comatose for 23 years typed out a message yesterday that he felt reborn after decades of loneliness and frustration.

Curbing global warming saves lives, studies say

Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer — 2009-11-25T12:21:40Z

Cutting global warming pollution would not only make the planet healthier, it would make people healthier too, new research suggests.

Shuttle Atlantis leaves space station, headed home

Marcia Dunn, AP Aerospace Writer — 2009-11-25T09:11:34Z

Shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station early Wednesday and headed home with one astronaut eager to hold his newborn daughter for the first time and another who's been away from her young son since the summer.

Icebergs head from Antarctica for New Zealand

Ray Lilley, Associated Press Writer — 2009-11-25T07:41:35Z

Ships are on alert and maritime authorities are monitoring the movements of hundreds of menacing icebergs drifting toward New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean, officials said.

Nepal temple slaughtering 200,000 animals

Associated Press — 2009-11-25T04:41:32Z

Hundreds of thousands of Hindus gathered at a temple in southern Nepal yesterday for a ceremony involving the slaughter of more than 200,000 animals, a festival that has drawn the ire of animal-welfare protesters.

Hundreds of icebergs drift from Antarctica into shipping lanes near Australia

Associated Press — 2009-11-25T04:39:16Z

A flotilla of hundreds of icebergs that split off Antarctic ice shelves is drifting toward New Zealand and could pose a risk to ships in the south Pacific Ocean, officials said yesterday.

Shuttle, space station crews part ways

Associated Press — 2009-11-25T04:21:58Z

After nearly a week together, the crews of shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station said goodbye yesterday and closed the hatches between them.

Energy-efficiency projects get $39m

Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff — 2009-11-25T03:57:28Z

The US Department of Energy awarded $39 million for four Massachusetts projects that will demonstrate technologies and systems to make the electrical grid more efficient and reliable. The money is part of $620 million in matching stimulus funds being doled out for similar projects across the country.

GOP opens probe into climate science e-mails

AP — 2009-11-24T22:50:39Z

Congressional Republicans are investigating e-mails stolen from a British climate change research center that they say show scientists attempting to suppress data that does not support man-made global warming.

Research: Giving thanks brings health, happiness

Matt Sedensky, Associated Press Writer — 2009-11-24T18:12:14Z

Bill Golden survived more than 20 years in the Army and another 30 in law enforcement. He fell sick with colon cancer, and at 86, he has an artificial hip and arthritis in his knees.

Maine utility regulators dismiss solar firm's plan

2009-11-24T15:55:52Z

Maine utility regulators have dismissed a petition by a solar-power firm to become an electric transmission utility.

Lights that are better for the environment

2009-11-23T03:40:45Z

In incandescent lamps, an electric current heats up a wire filament until it glows. The filament is typically tungsten, which has a high melting point - you don’t want bits of filament boiling off!

Shedding light on how the brain works

By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Staff — 2009-11-23T03:07:38Z

More than two centuries ago, the Italian scientist Luigi Galvani found that electricity could make a dead frog’s leg kick, as if it were alive. Today, using the same basic principle but new tools, scientists are employing light to trigger brain cells - looking not for a kick, but for the origins of emotions, behaviors, and diseases in the brain.

How high can a mountain be before it collapses?

2009-11-16T03:21:24Z

What is the highest a mountain could be before it would collapse? The highest mountain is Mount Everest in the Himalayas, at 29,035 feet. The 14 highest are all more than 26,000 feet, so one might guess that some number about this large might be some sort of upper limit. All mountains wear down, eroded by the elements, so one ...

What purpose does the computer power cord ‘lump’ serve?

2009-11-09T03:29:09Z

On many adapters, particularly the ones that power my home computer and laptop, there’s a “lump’’ in the cord close to the end that supplies power to the computer. What’s the lump’s purpose?