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New Russian spacecraft reusable for up to five flights

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:00:01 -0400

Russia's new reusable spacecraft being developed by the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation will be able to make up to five space flights, the rocket maker said. The spacecraft's technical design has been finalised but is yet to be officially approved, Energia deputy general designer Alexander Chernyavsky said. The new reusable craft is to replace the Soyuz carrier rocket and is expected to ...

UAE issues stamp to commemorate satellite

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:30:02 -0400

Emirates Post has issued a stamp to showcase the UAE's achievement in the field of science and technology, and to commemorate the "Y1A", the first multipurpose satellite by Yahsat. The satellite, a milestone for the nation, is designed to provide advanced satellite services to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Central and South West Asia. The stamp is available in a denomination of four dirhams, ...

Find how fit you are for your age

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:30:05 -0400

A researcher at New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine has demonstrated a technique to measure the health of human genetic material in relation to a patient's age. Dr. Gil Atzmon hopes that the dissemination of this technique that measures telomere length will lead to the development of a "genetic thermometer" to assess a patient's health in relation to other individuals of the same ...

Russian rocket wreckage threatens Ecuador satellite

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:10:01 -0400

The Ecuadorian Civil Space Agency issued an alert Wednesday about a possible collision of its Pegaso satellite, launched last month, with the wreckage of a Russian rocket. "ALERT: Possible collision of NEE-01 PEGASO and remains of Russian rocket," appeared Wednesday on the Twitter account of the space agency known as EXA. EXA's director, astronaut Ronnie Nader, published a notice from the Joint ...

Over 10 new oil fields found in Siberia

Wed, 22 May 2013 23:00:01 -0400

Space imaging studies have revealed over 10 new oil deposits in Krasnoyarsk territory in Siberia, a scientist said. "The method of space imaging quantum-optical filtration allows us to identify the boundaries of deposits," said Valery Rostovtsev, associate professor of Tomsk Polytechnic University's geology and prospecting department. "We can see four deposits near Bely Yar in the Tomsk Region, ...

UN urges collective efforts to achieve water secure world on Day for Biological Diversity

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:17:08 -0400

22 May 2013 150 Unless greater efforts are made to reverse current trends, the world will run out of freshwater, the United Nations said today marking the International Day for Biological Diversity and urging stronger scientific alliances to understand and protect natural resources. "We live in an increasingly water insecure world where demand often outstrips supply and where water quality ...

New Visual IQ Test Eliminates Cultural Bias Of Intelligence

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:59:46 -0400

Testing for intelligence can be a tricky proposition, with the tests themselves often being the product of cultural or intellectual biases. Researchers from the University at Rochester believe they have found a simple, context-free visual test that can determine a ...

Archaeologists Discover Several Thousand Ancient Cave Paintings In Mexico

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:59:45 -0400

Image Caption: Specialists of the NIAH located the cave paintings in the Sierra de San Carlos, Tamaulipas. Credit: Mexican National Institute of Anthropology ...

NASA unveils winners in space apps contest

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:57:43 -0400

Officials collected 770 entries between April 20-21 from more than 9,000 people in 83 cities around the world for this year's International Space Apps ...

Father of Chechen shot by FBI says he thinks son was tortured

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:43:41 -0400

Ibragim Todashev is pictured in this undated booking photo courtesy of the Orange County Corrections Department. An FBI agent shot and killed a Florida man with suspected links to the Boston Marathon bombings early on May 22, 2013, NBC News reported. The Orlando Sentinel said a friend had identified the dead man as 27-year-old Ibragim Todashev of Orlando. REUTERS/Orange County Corrections ...

Pictures Top 10 Newly Discovered Species of 2012

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:41:08 -0400

Opala (map) . The teacher had received the monkey from a family member who had killed the youngster's mother. The lesula monkey is one of ten newly described species from the past year that researchers at Arizona State University (ASU) hope will help raise awareness of biodiversity on Earth. On Thursday, the ASU researchers released their list of what they say are the top 10 newly discovered ...

Cannes auction of space trip with DiCaprio raises 1.2 million euros for charity

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:38:06 -0400

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio attends the 'The Great Gatsby' world premiere at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York May 1, ...

Space Station captures dramatic image of erupting Alaska volcano

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:24:31 -0400

NASA released a dramatic and revealing image of an erupting Alaskan volcano Thursday taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The photograph is of the Pavlof Volcano, located in the Aleutian Arc about 625 miles southwest of Anchorage, the space agency said. The oblique perspective of the photo taken from the ISS when it was about 475 miles south-southeast of the volcano ...

Conservatives accused of covering for Sen. Mike Duffy

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:17:38 -0400

Senator Mike Duffy arrives on Parliament Hill in Ottawa May 23, 2013. Duffy resigned from the Conservative caucus last week amid an expenses scandal. REUTERS/Chris ...

After Months in Space Gravitys a Drag for Astronauts

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:48:48 -0400

'); Astronauts (L to R) Kevin Ford, Tom Marshburn and Chris Hadfield take part in an online chat on the social media platform Google+, May 23, ...

Parents sue Pittsburgh Zoo over toddlers mauling death

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:22:06 -0400

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - The parents of a 2-year-old boy mauled to death by African wild dogs at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing the zoo of failing to protect visitors from dangerous ...

Cloned stem-cell study under fire for sloppy errors

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:13:23 -0400

announced their success in achieving the feat . It was the culmination of a quest that had frustrated the field since 2005, when a previous claim to have produced cloned human stem cells, made by a team led by Woo Suk Hwang of Seoul National University in South ...

WHO Scientific red tape mars efforts vs. virus

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:06:35 -0400

GENEVA (AP) -- International efforts to combat a new pneumonia-like virus that has now killed 22 people are being slowed by unclear rules and competition for the potentially profitable rights to disease samples, the head of the World Health Organization warned ...

Oklahoma U. offers space for donations to tornado victims

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:39:35 -0400

It's a problem one would imagine is a good one to have -- so many donated items coming in to help tornado ravaged Moore and Oklahoma City they don't have any place to put it all.But actually, it's been a logistical nightmare, according to officials with the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, as well as government entities which truly appreciate the help, but don't know where to ...

Astronaut Packs Crafts for Creative Space Station Trip

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:35:22 -0400

Karen Nyberg , the European Space Agency's Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin officially launch on board a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station on May 28, the American astronaut will bring a few key creative items with ...

NASA Crowns Space Apps Challenge Winners

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:28:31 -0400

(click image for slideshow) NASA has announced five winners of its second International Space Apps Challenge, a competition that aims to solve challenges on Earth and in space through software, hardware, data visualization and mobile apps. During the event, 770 apps were submitted and 133 were nominated for judging. ...

Read Todd VanDerWerff On What Makes Ray Bradbury’s Science Fiction So Distinct And Wonderful

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:20:58 -0400

As part of his Nerd Curious series, in which he goes back and explores artifacts of culture he missed in his youth, my friend and the AV Club’s television editor Todd VanDerWerff took a deep dive into Ray Bradbury’s short stories and emerges with what I think is one of the best summaries of what makes Bradbury’s work distinct, the element of nostalgia and emotional irrationality ...

Inquiry hears of car bombing and safe bursting with cash kickbacks

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:17:15 -0400

Gilles Theberge testifies at the Charbonneau inquiry, May 23, 2013. (TVA SCREENSHOT) MONTREAL -- A car bombing and a safe bursting with cash kickbacks made for dramatic testimony at the Charbonneau commission on Thursday. Retired road-paving executive Gilles Theberge admitted to creating a cartel of firms that split contracts in the Montreal suburb of Laval in early 2000. He said bid-rigging ...

Taking Cover A Guide to Tornado Shelters

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:14:48 -0400

tornado safety guide recommends going into an enclosed basement or underground shelter if a tornado is imminent. But many suburban homes built in so-called Tornado Alley don't have basements due to rocky soil conditions and high water tables, which often make building basements impossible. An interior room or closet--often recommended for those without basements--may not be effective when ...

Cannes Bidder Pays $1.5 Million for Trip to Space with Leonardo DiCaprio

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:08:41 -0400

A trip to the stars -- with one of the world's biggest -- has sold at a Cannes charity auction for 1.2 million euros ($1.5 million US). The winning bidder at the AmFAR Cinema Against AIDS charity dinner held on Thursday night the Hotel du Cap won an unforgettable journey into orbit on Virgin Galactic, seated next ...

Ecuadors only satellite may have been damaged in space collision

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:58:23 -0400

Ecuador's first satellite, launched last month, has collided with debris from an old Russian rocket but it is unclear if it has been damaged, officials say. The Pegasus nanosatellite, designed and built in Ecuador, was launched into orbit April 25 by China. The Joint Space Operations Center in the United States, which monitors all artificial Earth-orbiting objects, said there had been no ...

Branson announces plans for Christmas launch of Virgin into space

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:57:11 -0400

Sir Richard Branson and New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez are seen in front of WhiteKnightTwo, which carries SpaceShipTwo, at Spaceport America, northeast of Truth Or Consequences, on October 17, 2011 in New Mexico. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images) (FREDERIC J. BROWN) LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Virgin Group billionaire Sir Richard Branson may be dreaming not of a white Christmas, but a space-y one. ...

Critics slam labour relations section in budget bill

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:51:46 -0400

OTTAWA - Union reps and CBC allies say the feds are sticking their fingers in the collective bargaining pie of Crown corporations, threatening their independence. Appearing before a House finance committee Thursday, they argued against a small section of the Conservatives' more than 100-page budget bill that would let the Treasury Board set limits on what Crown corporations could agree to ...

NASA puts shuttle launch pad in Florida up for lease

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:40:54 -0400

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. | Thu May 23, 2013 4:40pm EDT CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. May 23 (Reuters) - Nearly two years after space shuttle Atlantis blasted off for the last time, NASA on Thursday put out a "For Lease" notice for one of its shuttle launch pads in Florida. In a notice posted on its procurement website, the U.S. space agency said it was looking for one or more companies to ...

Telescopes Spot Colliding Galaxies

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:25:01 -0400

Several telescopes have teamed up to discover a rare and massive merging of two galaxies that took place when the universe was just 3 billion years old (its current age is about 14 billion years). (Photo: ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech/UC ...

Volcano Monitoring Program Searches Iceland For Early Signs Of Eruptions

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:19:31 -0400

FutureVolc is aimed at trying to improve monitoring of Iceland’s volcanoes. FutureVolc started October 1, 2012 and is funded by the Environmental/FP7 program of the European Commission. The project says its main objectives are to establish an integrated volcano monitoring system through European collaboration, develop new methods to evaluate volcanic crises, increase scientific ...

During video hangout astronauts reflect on star-studded space mission

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:17:02 -0400

Google+ Hangout with his NASA colleagues, Tom Marshburn and Kevin Ford.All three astronauts are back in Houston and undergoing rehabilitation after working for months aboard the International Space Station, 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth. The video hangout, presented by NASA from 3 to 4 p.m. ET Thursday, gives the astronauts' fans an opportunity to ask questions about life in space. ...

Far Above The World Chris Hadfields Awesome Bowie Cover From Space

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:12:34 -0400

I'm sure everyone's seen this and that, as usual, I'm the last person to pick up on a new cultural meme. (What's this 'Gangnam Style' thing anyway?). But if not, this video is totally awesome. At least for space cadets and Bowie fans like me. It's not too shabby a cover but he made it in space. IN SPACE. If I had $40m, I'd go to the International Space ...

Ecuador Pegasus Satellite Crashes in Space

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:07:50 -0400

Share/Bookmark Ecuador’s first and only satellite, Pegasus, has collided with a Russian space rocket, casting doubts over whether the portal is still in ...

Fall River Students Chat With Astronaut In Space

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:06:42 -0400

FALL RIVER (CBS) – It’s not everyday you can talk to an astronaut – especially one still in space. Some students at the Talbot Innovation Middle School got that rare chance Thursday, when they interviewed ...

Florida Honor Student Arrested For Science Experiment Cleared of Charges Going To Space Camp

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:06:00 -0400

A Florida honor student who was expelled and faced possible felony charges for a science experiment gone awry has not only been cleared of charges, ...

Cleveland hero Charles Ramsey gets hamburgers for life

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:02:12 -0400

Heroic Charles Ramsey could be in line for reward CLEVELAND - The man made famous for putting down his Big Mac to help free three women held captive for about a decade in a Cleveland house will never have to buy a hamburger in his hometown again. More than two weeks after Charles Ramsey became an instant folk hero after telling his story to television reporters, Cleveland food blogger Michelle ...

Utah teen arrested in slayings of younger brothers

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:02:12 -0400

(Fotolia) Police in Utah have arrested a 15-year-old boy after his two brothers, four and 10 years old, were found stabbed to death Wednesday. The teen was in charge of watching the younger boys, while their mother and three sisters were at a dance recital, ...

What Makes Us Feel an Itch Answer Surprises Scientists

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:59:13 -0400

Mark Hoon , a molecular geneticist at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research in Bethesda, Maryland, said in a statement. And because mice and people share similar biology, the scientists suspect that people also have this circuit. The discovery could also someday identify a way to block the molecule from producing itching--a potentially life-changing intervention for millions ...

Turbine business snags new space

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:48:13 -0400

A company that services turbines, primarily those made by General Electric Co., has leased new space in the Glenville Business and Technology Park. PAL Turbine Services LLC has its headquarters in Clifton Park. That will remain. The 14-year-old business is now also taking 60,000 square feet in the Glenville park, where employees will upgrade and modernize gas and steam turbines, as well as ...

Hydropower megaproject to dam River Congo

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:43:13 -0400

Africa's greatest river is about to be tamed. The River Congo is set to succumb to a series of giant hydroelectric dams with twice the generating capacity of the world's most powerful hydro-plant, ...

Girl expelled from school for exploding experiment going to space camp

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:42:17 -0400

A Florida girl expelled from school after her science experiment exploded will be going to space camp with the help of a former NASA manager, officials said. Kiera Wilmot, 16, was accused in April of igniting a chemical explosion at her high school, leading to her arrest and suspension from school, but authorities dropped criminal charges last week. News of the incident reached 18-year NASA ...

Mayor Rob Ford fires his chief of staff Mark Towhey

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:06:30 -0400

Mark Towhey former Chief of Staff for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford leaves the City Hall after being fired in Toronto May May 23 2013. (Fernando Morales/The Globe and ...

Haynes Furniture Leases Distribution Space in Illinois

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:58:52 -0400

has signed a new long-term lease with American Realty Advisors, which was acting on behalf of its clients, for 215,400 square feet of industrial space in Addison, Ill.Haynes Furniture, a Virginia-based retailer, is expanding into the Chicago-area market, choosing this distribution facility to service their forthcoming Lombard retail store.The leased space is located in a 265,068 square foot ...

Russian Spacecraft Manufacturer to Make 4 Launches in 2014

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:47:09 -0400

MOSCOW, May 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Energia Rocket and Space Corporation will make four launches next year from the Pacific Ocean-based Odyssey platform under the Sea Launch program, corporation president Vitaly Lopota said on Thursday. After 2014, Energia will be able to make five or more launches a year, he said, adding that "a great deal here will depend on our ...

Accused Via terror plotters make video appearance in court

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:45:32 -0400

A man charged in an alleged plot to bomb a Via Rail passenger train says he wants to be represented by a lawyer who agrees the Qur'an should be used as a "reference" in his case. Chiheb Esseghaier appeared in a Toronto court by video link this morning. He said he is seeking a legal aid lawyer to defend him against several terrorism-related charges in what the RCMP has called the ...

Barack Obama sets limits on drone use steps for closing Guantanamo

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:45:19 -0400

An X-47B pilot-less drone combat aircraft is pictured as it flies over the aircraft carrier, the USS George H. W. Bush, after being launched from the ship in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Virginia, May 14, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will lay out a new U.S. policy on Thursday that limits the use of armed drones to times when Americans face an ...

Students strip-searched during math exam

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:45:15 -0400

Cap-Jeunesse high school in Saint-Jerome, Que. (CLAUDE CORMIER/QMI Agency) SAINT-JEROME, Que. - A school board north of Montreal has launched an internal investigation after school staff strip-searched 28 high school students to find a cellphone during a year-end exam. The board admits that staff at Cap-Jeunesse high school in Saint-Jerome, Que., "lacked judgment" for asking 28 Grade ...

Four Quebec cops accused of trafficking drugs

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:45:14 -0400

A police vehicle is seen outside of a house in Montreal on May 23, 2013. (SYLVAIN DENIS/QMI Agency) MONTREAL - Two Montreal police officers and two other cops from a nearby suburb have been arrested on drug-trafficking charges. In addition to trafficking, Montreal constables Charles Lavallee and Amir El Alfy are accused of importing narcotics. Also charged are Maxime Marcotte and Olivier Roy, ...

Wired Space Photo of the Day Ligeia Mare

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:40:27 -0400

In today's business world, disruption is a constant force that never lets up. At the annual WIRED Business Conference: Disruptive by Design, we celebrate the creative power of bold new ideas and the people that make them happen. See the event ...

Sally Ride 1st US Woman in Space to Be Awarded Medal of Freedom Posthumously

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:40:26 -0400

'); Astronaut Sally Ride, the United States' first woman in space, will be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony at the White House in ...

British police arrest two more over London attack

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:40:14 -0400

1 of 18. A man with bloodied hands and knives speaks to a camera, in a still image from amateur video that shows the immediate aftermath of an attack in which a man was killed in southeast London May 22, ...

Fitch Shareholder Activism Ups Tail Risk Across Energy Space

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:35:08 -0400

Fitch: Sub-Saharan Africa Has Gradual Upgrade Potential Fitch Ratings says in a newly-published report that targeted reforms and policy initiatives could see Sub-Saharan Africa's (SSA) sub-investment grade ratings gradually upgraded, despite per capita income falling well short of peers. The challenge for Africa from a rating perspective is the low level of GDP per capita - most SSA ...

Biogen Idec names chief scientific officer

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:34:23 -0400

Weston-based Biogen Idec said today it has named Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas as the company’s chief scientific officer.Artavanis-Tsakonas has served as interim CSO while on sabbatical from Harvard Medical School, officials said. He will now continue in this role in a permanent capacity, and will also lead the company’s research strategy, capabilities and discovery ...

AccuWeather Chief Tornado Warning Science Is Not There

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:30:30 -0400

May 23, 2013 1:19pm As the people of Moore, Okla., grapple to recover following the devastating tornado that hit its community earlier this week, the head of a major weather forecasting service told a congressional subcommittee Thursday that the technology doesn’t yet exist to provide warning times of an hour or more before a tornado strikes. ';We expect people to ride out the storms ...

Evolving H7N9 bird flu could close poultry markets

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:25:45 -0400

Flu: there's good news and bad news. On the one hand, there have been no new human cases of H7N9 bird flu in China since 8 May. But we can't celebrate yet. Virologists report today that H7N9 spreads through the air between ferrets, just like the experimental H5N1 bird flu that caused an outcry in 2012. The outcry came after the virus was ...

Itch protein may hold key to cure for skin conditions

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:25:44 -0400

It makes you scratch just thinking about it. Sunburn and insect bites add up to a typical summer holiday cocktail of sensations, but how we distinguish between heat, pain and itching has remained a mystery. Now a protein has been found that seems to play a central role in itching. The discovery could shed light on all three sensations, as well as providing new treatments for chronic skin ...

Woman run over 3 times by own car

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:17:40 -0400

(Fotolia.com) TROIS-RIVIERES, Que. - A newspaper deliverywoman was somehow run over three times by her own car during a botched parking job Wednesday morning. It happened in Trois-Rivieres, Que., about halfway between Montreal and Quebec City, her newspaper said on its website. The woman confused "park" and "reverse" on her gear shifter prior to exiting the car, according to ...

Chained teen promised painting job court hears

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:17:39 -0400

David James Leblanc, 47. (Police handout) BRIDGEWATER, N.S. - A 16-year-old boy said he was promised a painting job by David James Leblanc. Instead, the 48-year-old child sex offender drove the boy to a remote Nova Scotia shack, chained him in a room and repeatedly raped him - with his partner - for 10 days. Leblanc pleaded guilty Thursday morning to most of the charges, including kidnapping, ...

What Does A Flight Engineer Do In Space | Video

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:46:21 -0400

ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano will fill the role for Expedition 36 and 27 aboard the International Space Station. He explains what his position is tasked ...

Ants Benefit Pitcher Plant Hosts By Hunting Nutrient Stealing Parasites

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:45:12 -0400

Image Caption: The carnivorous pitcher plant Nepenthes bicalcarata (A) and the ant Camponotus schmitzi (B) team up to fight fly larvae (C) that steal the plant's prey. Credit: Scharmann M, Thornham DG, Grafe TU, Federle W (2013) A Novel Type of Nutritional Ant-Plant Interaction: Ant Partners of Carnivorous Pitcher Plants Prevent Nutrient Export by Dipteran Pitcher Infauna. PLoS ONE 8(5): ...

Dog Owner Homes Are Bacteria-Ridden – And That’s Not Necessarily A Bad Thing

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:45:12 -0400

. Or maybe not. According to a recently published study from researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Colorado, Boulder, people who live with a pet dog harbor more types of bacteria in their homes than those who do not - and that includes species of bacteria that are rarely found in dog-free households. ';We wanted to know what variables influence the microbial ...

It’s World Turtle Day

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:45:11 -0400

turtle crossing a busy road - pick it up and send it in the direction it was originally going on the other side of the road, advises the advocacy group American Tortoise Rescue (ATR), which is celebrating their 13thannualWorld Turtle Day2013 today.Picking up the tortoise and turning it around will only cause the slow moving animal to try crossing the road again, according to ...

Seeing the larger picture Inspiring images of space

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:39:17 -0400

They are images which have the capacity to make us feel insignificant and empowered in equal measure: from startling close-ups which reveal the malevolent fury of the Sun, to the serene majesty of the Earth viewed from the International Space Station. Since the advent of photography in the mid-19th century, the medium has forged a unique alliance with astronomy, not only enabling us to peer into ...

Space Telescopes Capture Rare Birth of Mega-Galaxy

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:29:38 -0400

WASHINGTON, May 23 (RIA Novosti) - US researchers have captured rare images of the creation of a massive galaxy about 10 times the size of the Milky Way that was formed when two young galaxies collided 11 billion years ago, a study published this week says."Capturing the creation of this type of large, short-lived star body is extremely rare - the equivalent of discovering a missing link ...

Man poses naked on Craigslist with keyboard

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:28:20 -0400

(Craigslist) How to make a Craigslist advert standout? One San Antonio musician decided to let his suave Rock 'n Roll credibility rub off on his Nord Lead keyboard, by posing nude with the instrument for ...

Girl 5 killed by suicide jumper in South Korea

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:28:20 -0400

Busan, South Korea. (Google Maps) A five-year-old South Korean girl died Wednesday night after a suicidal man jumped from the 11th floor of an apartment building and crushed ...

Two girls die at same hospital after tonsillectomies

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:28:18 -0400

Laurie Boulanger. (Submitted photo) MONTREAL - Two young girls have died following tonsillectomies performed by the same surgeon at the same hospital south of Quebec City, QMI Agency has learned. A third girl is in serious condition but it's not clear if she was treated by the surgeon at the Centre hospitalier de Beauce-Etchemins in Saint-Georges, about 100 km south of Quebec City. ...

Ex Lt.-Gov. of Quebec will face trial for fraud

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:28:16 -0400

Lise Thibault. (STEVENS LEBLANC/QMI Agency) OTTAWA - It appears that former Quebec lieutenant-governor Lise Thibault isn't above the law after all. The Supreme Court refused Thursday to hear Thibault's petition to avoid trial for allegedly defrauding taxpayers of $700,000 through double-billing and lavish spending. Thibault, 73, said because she was the Queen's representative, ...

Egg Nebulas Rainbow Reverie | Space Wallpaper

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:24:10 -0400

An onionskin-like structure of concentric dust shells surround a central, aging star as seen in this cool space wallpaper. Twin beams of light radiate from the star and illuminate the usually invisible dust. Artificial colors show how light reflects off the particles and heads toward ...

Solar plane completes second leg of cross-country flight in Texas

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:15:27 -0400

DALLAS | Thu May 23, 2013 1:15pm EDT DALLAS May 23 (Reuters) - A solar airplane that developers hope to eventually pilot around the globe landed safely on Thursday in Texas, completing the second and longest leg of an attempt to fly across the United States powered only by the sun. The spindly experimental aircraft, dubbed Solar Impulse, touched down at Dallas/Forth Worth International ...

Play your way to work with interactive games

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:09:33 -0400

Chad Toprak of the Exertion Games Lab at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues have developed a game called Cart-Load-o-Fun that can be installed on buses, trains or trams. "Back in the 70s we had games arcades," he says. "People would gather and a community would build up." But today people play games either at home or in a private bubble on their phones. ...

Cummiskey economic development incentives more art than science.

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:40:38 -0400

When it comes to luring corporate relocations and expansions, economic incentives are more the icing than the cake. The Peach State, armed with a roughly $100 million "deal closing" fund, hands out discretionary incentives to just 7.25 percent of all prospects, Chris Cummiskey, Georgia's economic development commissioner said at a meeting Thursday. Which companies get the money, is ...

Amazing Ash Cloud Spied from Space Station

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:30:27 -0400

Clear skies and a passing space station combined for an extraordinary view of Alaska's erupting Pavlof volcano on May 18. An astronaut aboard the International Space Station snapped a photo of ash streaming from the fiery peak in the Aleutian Islands, about 625 miles (1,000 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage. Before Mount Pavlof started erupting on May 13, ...

Chinas space program continues to grow and improve

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:26:37 -0400

A Chinese Long March 2F rocket launches on the Shenzhou 9 mission, China's first manned space docking flight and first flight of a female astronaut, on June 16, 2012 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch ...

Mes Aynak highlights Afghanistans dilemma over protecting heritage

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:22:30 -0400

Artefacts such as a Buddhist sculpture have been extracted from the Mes Aynak archaeology site where miners want to extract rich deposits of copper. Photograph: Jay Price/Getty ...

Ecuador satellite collides with Russian space junk

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:18:55 -0400

A small Ecuadoran satellite collided in orbit with the remains of a Russian rocket, but it is too soon to know how much damage it might have sustained, Quito's space agency said ...

Private Spaceships for Space Tourists to Launch Big Test Flights

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:07:00 -0400

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Private suborbital space planes built by two space tourism companies will likely launch some major test flights before this year is out, their builders say. The commercial spaceflight company Virgin Galactic plans to launch ...

Researchers Map Genome Of Two Important Spruce Tree Species

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:15:16 -0400

The genomes of two of the most economically important forest trees in the world were released by Canadian and Swedish scientists. In Canada, the conifers supply raw materials for the forest industry, accounting for $23.7 billion of the nation's economy in 2011, while the gross output of the Swedish forest industry was $29.7 billion in 2009. Between them, the ...

Across America 2013 Solar Impulse Sets World Record For Longest Zero-Fuel Flight

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:15:16 -0400

Image Caption: Across America 2013 - 2nd leg from Phoenix Sky Harbor to Dallas Forth Worth. B. Piccard and A. Borschberg after the landing. Credit: Solar Impulse |Revillard| ...

Small Plant-Eating Dino Sheds Light On Ancient Ecosystem

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:15:16 -0400

Image Caption: This is a life reconstruction of the new small-bodied, plant-eating dinosaur Albertadromeus syntarsus. Credit: Art by Julius T. ...

NASA Hosts Google+ Hangout Today With Space Station Astronauts

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:09:46 -0400

with the three recently returned International Space Station astronauts from 3-4 p.m. EDT on Thursday, May 23. This event will connect the ...

Rules for writing block that metaphor

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:08:57 -0400

New Yorker , usually culled from the pages of lesser publications, under the heading: "Block That Metaphor!" It's sound advice, on the whole. There's nothing necessarily wrong with mixed metaphors, if they are well mixed: by flooding his china shop, Foulkes almost comes up with an evocative image, though he rather spoils it with the flat-hooved bull. But they are usually the ...

Russia Set to Evacuate Drifting Polar Research Station SP-40

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:59:41 -0400

MOSCOW, May 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Natural Resources Minister Sergei Donskoi ordered preparation of an evacuation plan on Thursday for the country’s North Pole 40 (SP-40) drifting polar research station, due to the break-up of the ice floe it is located on. The break-up of the ice floe poses a threat not only to the station itself and the 16 scientists working there, but could also ...

Second accused charged with murder in Tim Bosma case

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:58:10 -0400

Police investigate incinerator's role in Tim Bosma slaying HAMILTON, ...

Ex Revenue Canada officials arrested in bribery scam

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:58:09 -0400

The headquarters of the Canada Revenue Agency is photographed in Ottawa, November 4, 2011. (Chris Roussakis/QMI Agency) ...

Leblanc pleads guilty in chained teen case

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:58:09 -0400

David James Leblanc, 47. (Police handout) BRIDGEWATER, N.S. - A man accused of kidnapping and raping a teen boy in a remote Nova Scotia cabin for more than a week has pleaded guilty to five of seven charges. David James Leblanc pleaded guilty Thursday morning to kidnapping, forcible confinement, sexual assault, uttering threats and breaching probation. Two other charges were dropped after a plea ...

80-year-old Japanese man Yuichiro Miura becomes oldest to conquer Mount Everest

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:55:55 -0400

An 80-year-old Japanese mountaineer has become the oldest person to reach the top of Mount Everest - although his record may last only a few days. An 81-year-old Nepalese man, who held the previous record, plans his own ascent next ...

QA Last Survivor of a Dramatic World War II Rescue

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:55:50 -0400

For the most part, we got along pretty well, but there were a few people who rubbed each other the wrong way. When you're hungry, cold, and tired, you forget about almost everything else and are only thinking about surviving. Watson, one of the nurses, said, "Anything a medic can do, I can do," and that's exactly what she did. That's how most of the nurses were. They ...

Space History Photo Gemini 12 Splashdown

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:53:38 -0400

In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, as a helicopter hovers above, the Gemini-12 spacecraft with parachute open descends to the Atlantic on Nov. 15, 1966, with astronauts Jim Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin ...

The Dance of the Planets Is an Actual Thing and Its Happening Now

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:49:41 -0400

Prom night! In 2009, in the night sky over the Very Large Telescope observatory at Paranal, Chile, the moon "danced" with Venus and Jupiter. (ESO/Wikimedia Commons) It's prom season -- for the planets. Every couple of years, give or take, planets get together in the night sky in such a way that they seem to be aligned with each other. They seem to be, really -- from Earth's ...

London attackers known to British security services

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:49:26 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - Two British men of Nigerian descent accused of hacking a soldier to death on a London street in revenge for wars in Muslim countries were known to security services, a source close to the investigation said ...

Eric Weinstein might just have found the answer to physics problems | Marcus du Sautoy

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:56:24 -0400

A physicist claims to have formulated a mathematical theory that explains why the universe works the way it does - and it feels like 'the ...

Roll over Einstein meet Weinstein

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:56:22 -0400

Albert Einstein 's general theory of relativity, not agree with each other?Solving these problems, the last one in particular, has been the goal of many generations of scientists. A final theory of nature would have to explain all of the outstanding questions and, though many (including Albert Einstein himself) have tried, no one has come close to an answer.At 4pm on Thursday at the ...

Russia to Launch South Korean Satellite in August

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:46:42 -0400

TOKYO, May 23 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian rocket will launch South Korea’s latest multipurpose Arirang-5 satellite on August 22, Seoul's science ministry said on Thursday. The rocket will blast off from the Yasny launch center in the Orenburg Region in the south Urals. A backup launch date has been set for August 23, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said, without ...

James Holmes lawyers to challenge insanity defence law

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:45:19 -0400

Colorado shooting suspect James Eagan Holmes makes his first court appearance in Aurora, Colo., in this July 23, 2012, file photo. (REUTERS/RJ Sangosti/Pool/Files) DENVER - Public defenders representing James Holmes, accused of killing 12 moviegoers in Colorado last summer, will return to court on Thursday to challenge the state’s insanity defence law in a bid to try to avoid the death ...

Pussy Riot member refused parole by Russian court

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:36:22 -0400

Jailed Pussy Riot punk rock group member Maria Alyokhina is pictured on a monitor, as she takes part in a video conference from the penal colony, inside the courtroom during a hearing in the town of Berezniki May 22, ...

Israel and Britain signed Today MOU on Science Cooperation

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:21:05 -0400

Israel and Britain signed Today Memorandum of Understanding on Science Cooperation Ministry for Science, Technology and Space May 23, 2013 Foreign Secretary William Hague and ...

London attack suspect British of Nigerian origin says source

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:33:11 -0400

A police forensics officer investigates a crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called a meeting of his government's emergency Cobra security committee after the killing of a man in south London, his office said on Wednesday REUTERS/Stefan ...

What we can learn from Ingrid Loyau-Kennets grace under pressure | Anouchka Grose

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:25:08 -0400

Ingrid Loyau-Kennet, right, who talked to attackers in Woolwich before police arrived on the scene, during a television interview. Photograph: Ken McKay / Rex ...

Mindscapes First interview with a dead man

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:16:17 -0400

2 Mindscapes is our new column on brain science with a difference: we meet people who live with the world's most mysterious neurological ...

Why Dont We Have Space Elevators Yet

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:40:57 -0400

With his 1979 novel "The Fountains of Paradise," science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke introduced the idea of space elevators to the mainstream scientific community and the general public. The fundamental principle hasn't changed much in more than 40 years: A space elevator would consist of a powerful cable, or tether, anchored on one end to the Earth and on the other to a ...

Climate Changes Effects In Species Interaction

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:39:50 -0400

study , titled "Temperature dependence of trophic interactions are driven by asymmetry of species responses and foraging strategy" and published in ...

Russians find oil evidence with space imaging

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:03:55 -0400

Russian scientists using special space imaging techniques said they found evidence of 10 new oil deposits in eastern Siberia. Researchers from the Tomsk Polytechnic University told state news agency RIA Novosti they used a special optics system to reveal boundaries for 10 oil deposits in parts of Krasnoyarsk Territory. Geology Associate Professor Valery Rostovtsev told the news agency there is ...

One child dead another missing following Minnesota landslide

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:12:15 -0400

Lilydale Park. (Screenshot from stpaul.gov) MINNEAPOLIS - One child was killed and another is missing after students on an elementary school fossil-hunting field trip were swept into a water-filled pit when part of a hillside gave way at a park in St. Paul, Minn., authorities said. Two other children were injured as were two firefighters responding to the incident on Wednesday involving fourth ...

Putin finds it very important to pool efforts to ensure equal security in Euro-Atlantic space

Thu, 23 May 2013 05:16:17 -0400

MOSCOW, May 23 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Vladimir Putin finds it very important to pool efforts of all countries and the expert community to ensure equal security and a joint strategy of the struggle against the threats and challenges emerging in the Euro-Atlantic ...

Buzzing by Anneliese Emmans Dean | Book Review | GrrlScientist

Thu, 23 May 2013 05:14:40 -0400

A delightful partnership of science, poetry, photography and insects, this informative and witty book is an excellent introduction to common British minibeasts, intended especially for young ...

British Prime Minister seeks answers after soldier hacked to death

Thu, 23 May 2013 04:53:58 -0400

Prime Minister David Cameron convened an emergency meeting of his intelligence chiefs on Thursday after two Islamists hacked a soldier to death with meat cleavers on a south London street. A dramatic clip filmed by an onlooker just minutes after Wednesday's killing showed a man with hands covered in blood shouting Islamic slogans and promising revenge on Britain for its participation in wars ...

Space tourism wont hurt environment Branson

Thu, 23 May 2013 04:39:16 -0400

Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson and pilot Mark Stucky celebrating the successful flight of SpaceShip2 under rocket power. (AFP PHOTO / Handout / Mark Greenberg) British billionaire Richard Branson said Monday that rocket-powered space tourism flights by his firm Virgin Galactic would have only a minor impact on climate change. More than 500 people have already reserved seats -- and paid ...

Govt to announce €7m science research investment

Thu, 23 May 2013 03:00:36 -0400

Almost €7 million in funding for 62 early stage scientific research projects is to be announced by the Government. The funding is being targeted at projects which may have a commercial benefit with further development. The investment is being made as part of Science Foundation Ireland's Technology Innovation Development Award programme. It is also being carried out in collaboration ...

The Apprentice a psychological assessment | Dean Burnett

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:53:27 -0400

The Apprentice is a very popular TV show despite everyone seeming to hate it. There are interesting psychological reasons for why this is the ...

China growth to increase demand for office space in 2013

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:51:03 -0400

/enpproperty--> The Knight Frank Asia-Pacific Prime Office Index rose for the twelfth successive quarter, boosted by the Chinese economy and the knock-on effects from Japan's stimulus measures, the real estate service provider said in a report. The index increased 1.7 percent in the first quarter of 2013 and 5.6 percent over the last 12 months, as the still robust economy in China is ...

Former Science and Technology minister warns of low added value trap

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:50:21 -0400

Xu Guanhua, former minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology and academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, warned of the low added value trap in the development of China's emerging industries during the "2013 China's Strategic Emerging Industries Development Forum" held in Beijing on May ...

Man charged with mailing ricin letter to judge in Washington state

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:37:42 -0400

OLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) - Federal authorities on Wednesday arrested a man charged with mailing a letter containing the deadly poison ricin to a U.S. district judge in Spokane, Washington, the FBI ...

More students less space in Webster Groves schools

Thu, 23 May 2013 01:53:24 -0400

John Rowe's kindergarten classroom this year at Edgar Road Elementary was not traditional.Surrounded by two walls built in the corner of the school library, the makeshift classroom could at times be a challenge."When there is a library class, the louder they get, the louder we get," said Rowe, the school's longtime half-day kindergarten teacher. "We've learned to ...

Dix to stay on as party leader defends positive politics

Thu, 23 May 2013 01:10:56 -0400

British Columbia NDP Leader Adrian Dix reacts after losing the election to Liberal party Leader Christy Clark on Tuesday. Columnist Anthony Furey says Dix's loss is not only bad for the B.C. NDP party, but for all NDP parties. (Ben Nelms, Reuters) BC NDP Leader Adrian Dix says he’ll be staying at the helm of the party ship after it crashed into a hidden reef made of rogue polling ...

Meet the woman who says shes too pretty to work

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:33:27 -0400

Laura Fernee, who lives in Notting Hill, says her good looks are so powerful they are ruining her life and have forced her to quit her job because of sleazy men and jealous ...

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford sacked as football coach

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:26:33 -0400

Rob Ford coaches the Don Bosco football team. (CRAIG ROBERTSON/Toronto Sun files) Players on the Don Bosco Eagles football team are backing now ex-coach Mayor Rob Ford, who was dumped Wednesday by the Toronto Catholic District School Board. A statement from the TCDSB Wednesday says Ford was notified of the boardâs decision to âpursue a different directionâ with a ...

U.S. industry touts drone promise as public debate flares

Wed, 22 May 2013 23:12:21 -0400

An X-47B pilot-less drone combat aircraft is launched for the first time off an aircraft carrier, the USS George H. W. Bush, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Virginia, May 14, ...

Europa Report packs realistic chills into trailer for science-fiction thriller

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:20:49 -0400

By Tariq Malik, Space.com The first trailer for the science-fiction film "Europa Report" has been launched onto the Internet, and it just might be the most realistic - and harrowing - depiction of space travel on the big screen in years.In ...

U.S. Army sergeant accused of videotaping showering female cadets

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:06:13 -0400

WASHINGTON - An Army sergeant at the U.S. Military Academy has been accused of videotaping female cadets in the showers a West Point, a defence official said on Wednesday, the latest in a series of sex-related incidents that has rocked the armed forces. Sergeant First Class Michael McClendon was charged last week with four violations of U.S. military law in connection with the incident and has ...

Jose Canseco Denies Accusation of Sexual Assault in Las Vegas

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:07:51 -0400

Former Major League Baseball player Jose Canseco has been accused of sexual assault, Las Vegas police said Wednesday. Police said they contacted Canseco during the morning and he had agreed to be interviewed, the Las Vegas Sun reported. The questioning had yet to take place. Canseco, 48, who lives in Las Vegas, clubbed 462 home runs, was a six-time all-star and won two World Series ...

Warp Drive and Star Trek Physics of Future Space Travel

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:52:29 -0400

. Another "Star Trek" film just hit the screen - featuring the venerable Starship Enterprise. To enable such fantastical star flight, we need faster-than-light (FTL) flight, control over inertial and gravitational forces, extreme energy prowess, and the societal discipline to harness that much power safely. Between the sensationalistic hype and pedantic disdain, how much progress is ...

Meteoroid impact triggers bright flash on the moon

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:31:34 -0400

Hundreds of meteoroid impacts on the moon, detected by NASA's lunar monitoring program, are pictured in this undated NASA handout photo. The brightest, detected on March 17, 2013, in Mare Imbrium, is marked by the red square. The explosion on March 17 was the biggest seen since NASA began watching the moon for meteoroid impacts about eight years ago. So far, more than 300 strikes have been ...

Gigya grows after space grab

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:58:17 -0400

Gigya just grabbed more space for growth. The company is adding 6,000 square feet to its existing home at 2513 East Charleston Road in Mountain View, pumping the company's space up to 18,500 square feet. Just nine months ago, the company was sitting in 5,500 square feet at 1973 Landings Drive in Mountain View. Gigya is a social infrastructure provider -- essentially, it helps businesses ...

UPDATE 1-U.S. House votes to force approval of Keystone pipeline

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:53:06 -0400

Wed May 22, 2013 7:53pm EDT By Ros Krasny WASHINGTON May 22 (Reuters) - The House of Representatives approved a bill as expected on Wednesday declaring that a presidential permit was not needed to approve the Canada-to-Nebraska leg of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a move that would take a decision on the project away from the Obama administration. The Republican-controlled House voted 241-175 ...

Victim of savage face-eating attack still recovering

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:48:04 -0400

Miami cannibal may have been high on 'bath salts' The Miami man who nearly had his face chewed off in a gruesome attack last May has a message for the public: "Just generally thanks for contributing and helping out. People in my predicament need to be helped out," Ronald Poppo says in a video posted by Jackson Memorial Perdue Medical Center. Poppo, 65, has been in hospital ...

RCMP has toxic work environment Ex Mountie

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:48:02 -0400

RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson made an announcement concerning the RCMP at a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, June 20, 2012. (Chris Roussakis/QMI ...

Thief stole purse from dead woman Cops

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:48:01 -0400

Toronto Police released this image of a suspect wanted in connection with the theft of a purse from a dead woman at a subway station. TORONTO -- Toronto Police believe they know the identity of a female who stole a dead woman's purse at a subway station during Wednesday morning's rush-hour. Police investigating the theft at College Station have a suspect "identified but not ...

NASA investing in 3-D food printer for astronauts

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:46:37 -0400

View Photo Reuters/Reuters - Tourists take pictures of a NASA sign at the Kennedy Space Center visitors complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida April 14, 2010. REUTERS/Carlos ...

Carnivorous Plant Keeps House With Ants

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:45:28 -0400

Mutualistic relationships between insects and plants are nothing new: Some insects guard their plant hosts against herbivores, while others bring in nutrients that would otherwise be unavailable to the plant. The insects get a ready source of nectar and a place to live. ...

McCandless sixth-grader earns science accolades a family tradition

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:39:32 -0400

Lyta Nicoll, 11, a sixth-grader at Montessori Centre Academy, in Shaler Township, received second place in the Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineering Fair for her project that studied the electromagnetic field waves of cell ...

Mulcair would appear at Charbonneau inquiry if asked

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:23:14 -0400

Mulcair aided Quebec corruption probe OTTAWA - NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair would be willing to appear before the Charbonneau Commission about his meeting with former Laval, Que., mayor Gilles Vaillancourt if he gets an invite. "I was very proud to be able to help police in that matter and I continue to help in any way I possibly can," he said Wednesday. Mulcair is under fire for taking ...

Tory MP concerned over weakened CBC transparency bill

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:23:14 -0400

CBC headquarters in downtown Toronto. (File photo) OTTAWA - A Tory backbencher is pushing back against what he claims are his own party's attempts to fiddle with his private member's bill on public service and CBC disclosure. On Wednesday, MP Brent Rathgeber told a House of Commons ethics committee studying his proposed legislation the government was trying to gut Bill C-461. "I ...

New blood-donation rules put damage control ahead of sound science

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:58:01 -0400

Video: Negative stigma still haunts HIV/AIDS patients Sublimely ridiculous would be more accurate.This decision is not going to increase blood donations and it's not going to make the blood system any safer (or less safe). So what's the point?It's not so much a step in the right direction as it is shuffling forward reluctantly for damage-control purposes. Nor is it a decision ...

After science bomb student wants back

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:43:55 -0400

LAKELAND, Fla. - Standing hand-in-hand with her twin sister, Kiera Wilmot took to the podium. "I made the mistake of performing my experiment outside of the classroom, however, that is the only mistake I believe I made," she said. Wilmot, 16, generated global attention after she was arrested on two felony charges for what her family calls "a science project gone wrong." ...

Dallas reportedly will shop pick save cap space

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:40:15 -0400

Could Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Paul be the next duo in the West? The Mavs will trade their 13th pick to make it happen. (Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images) The NBA Draft is still more than a month away and free agency doesn’t begin until July, but the Dallas Mavericks are wasting no time in the offseason to return to title contention next year with an aging leader in Dirk Nowitzki, who turns ...

NASA Unveils Space Apps Contest Champions

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:35:06 -0400

An interplanetary weather app, a spot-the-space-station tool, and a Mars greenhouse concept are among the winners of the 2013 International Space Apps Challenge. The contest solicited mobile apps and technologies that aid space exploration and enrich life here on Earth. Today (May 22), a panel of judges from NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and partners announced the winners of the ...

Massive Galactic Merger Scoped By Several Space Observatories | Time-Lapsed Simulation

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:35:05 -0400

The Herschel Space Observatory captured imagery of colliding galaxies, called HXMM01 (~ 11 billion light-years from Earth and when our universe was about 3 billion years old.) A merger of galaxies is ...

Mile End green space gets protected status

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:29:09 -0400

Montreal's Plateau-Mont-Royal borough is turning an abandoned rail yard into a new protected green space that will be managed by a citizens' group that for years had lobbied for the land to be kept green.The land -- about the size of two soccer fields -- is in the Mile End neighbourhood, south of the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks between Henri-Julien and de Gasp Aves.Dubbed the Champ ...

Atomic weights revision changes periodic table

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:22:09 -0400

A magnificent period piece from mid-19th-century Russia has just received a bit of a renovation. Five elements at the heart of the periodic table will never look the same again, following an update to their atomic ...

Stephen Harper says sorry for Senate scandal

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:14:57 -0400

NDP wants RCMP to probe Senate expense scandal LIMA, Peru - Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized Wednesday and said he was in the dark when his chief of staff gave $90,000 to Sen. Mike Duffy - a gift opposition MPs want investigated by the RCMP and probed by Parliament. "I'm very sorry that this has occurred," Harper said from Lima where he was on a trade mission. ...

Pizza printout NASA funds effort to make space meals on 3-D printer

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:44:04 -0400

NASA won't be printing out pizzas on Mars anytime soon, but the space agency is paying out $125,000 to study the use of 3-D printing technology for food preparation in space."We will be building the components for a prototype" over the grant's six-month period, David Irwin, principal investigator for the project at ...

Jodi Arias death penalty jury in deadlock

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:30:20 -0400

Jodi Arias looks at her family during the penalty phase of her murder trial at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix, Arizona May 20, 2013. REUTERS/Rob Schumacher/Arizona ...

Cottage where killer ex-colonel Russell Williams murdered woman is sold

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:30:16 -0400

Canadian network nixes Russell Williams movie BELLEVILLE, Ont. -- A Tweed, Ont., couple who live next door to the house convicted sex killer Russell Williams once called home -- and where he murdered one of his victims -- have bought the small bungalow. The land deal, selling the property for $165,000 to Ron and Monique Murdoch, was finalized Tuesday. The deal was made through lawyers with ...

All the Buzz About the 2013 Geographic Bee

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:27:40 -0400

After many grueling rounds that tested geographic knowledge of lions in Botswana, mountain ranges in Asia, and port cities in England, 12-year-old Sathwik Karnik from Norfolk, Massachusetts, was named the winner of the 25th ...

Tornadoes and Global Warming Is There a Connection

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:27:40 -0400

Linking any particular weather event to climate change is always tricky, because weather is inherently random. But weather patterns can speak to a warming planet. Scientists can detect that extreme rain events, for instance, are already happening more often than they used to, and that a warmer atmosphere with more water vapor in it is making such events more ...

European center to coordinate hunt for asteroids near Earth

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:12:04 -0400

The European Space Agency says a new research hub will strengthen Europe's contribution to the global hunt for asteroids that may strike Earth. Located at the European Space Research Institute near Rome, the center will take part in the search for Near-Earth Objects, or NEOs, asteroids or comets that orbit the sun and whose orbits come close to that of Earth. The NEO Coordination Center ...

Injured snapping turtle airlifted to turtle hospital

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:04:53 -0400

Kate Siena handles Porter, an injured male snapping turtle, at the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre Tuesday. Porter and another injured female turtle were flown to the Peterborough trauma centre this past weekend. FILE PHOTO / THE OBSERVER Who says turtles can’t fly? Not a group of volunteers who went the distance to help a 13 lb. snapping turtle this weekend. When a driver found Porter the ...

Science and Technology Should Contribute More to Reducing Disaster Risk Say Experts

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:40:16 -0400

GENEVA, 22 May (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) ‑ Experts in disaster risk reduction today urged that science and technology be applied more effectively to disaster management policy and ...

Ancient Lunar Patterns | Space Wallpaper

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:37:31 -0400

This space wallpaper shows the ray pattern of dust that was ejected from the crater over a billion years ago, when an asteroid larger than a mile (1.6 km) across slammed into the ...

The Mad Science of the National Debt

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:36:30 -0400

W elcome back to the dumb season. It's debt-ceiling time again. We've been at this two years now. It was back in 2011 when the Republican Party, seized by anti-government furor, first locked on the lifting of the federal debt ceiling – an utterly routine governmental mechanism that allows the Treasury to borrow to pay for spending already approved by the entire Congress, ...

Humans Leave Significant Carbon Footprint With Running Shoes

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:36:21 -0400

While it is nearly impossible for a running shoe not to leave a footprint, new research suggests that a typical pair of running shoes could leave behind a ...

Cal State Could Offer Online Science Labs

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:30:30 -0400

California State University is moving aggressively to offer web-based science labs, a systemwide virtual campus and online advising as remedies for "bottlenecks" that impede student progress and graduation rates, officials said Tuesday. Some of these efforts will be ready to roll out this fall. The detailed strategies were presented in a meeting of the Cal State Board of Trustees ...

Letters Engineering can be as inspiring as space

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:29:57 -0400

To boldly go , G2, 21 May) has the potential to inspire young people and boost our economy. Space travel captures the imagination of budding young inventors and engineers - it is the stuff of childhood dreams. But there are other British industries at the forefront of technology that can inspire and propel young people towards careers in engineering and science. Without changing the way we teach, ...

Anthony Scott Science funding can help us reach for the stars

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:20:00 -0400

"By the end of this decade, we will land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth. " President John F Kennedy's challenge to his country in 1961 still thrills with its ambition and imagination. New Zealand's National Science Challenges do not have the same Kennedy-esque ring, but are as ambitious for New Zealand. Those who see the 10 as "business as usual" overlook the commitment and ...

Oklahoma tornado victims astounded at how they survived

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:14:21 -0400

1 of 21. An American flag flutters in the wind amid the debris of a neighbourhood destroyed by a tornado, near the Plaza Towers elementary school in Moore, Oklahoma May 22, ...

Man hacked to death in London street in suspected militant attack

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:10:17 -0400

1 of 2. Police officers guard a cordon set up around a crime scene where one man was killed was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, ...

Suicidal behaviour is a disease psychiatrists argue

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:01:54 -0400

climb steeply in the US a growing number of psychiatrists are arguing that suicidal behaviour should be considered as a disease in its own right, rather than as a behaviour resulting from a mood ...

Kiwis booked on worlds first commercial space flight

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:32:30 -0400

A number of Kiwis have already stumped up a total of more than $1.8 million to book a place on the world's first commercial space flight. Virgin Galactic hopes to be taking commercial flights outside of the earth's atmosphere by 2014. Eight New Zealanders have signed up with House of Travel already. Expert agent Stephen Parsons has visited the operating port of the ...

Braggs Pie Factory Transforms Its Gallery Space and Brings Back the Pie

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:24:40 -0400

At long last, there's pie again at Bragg's Pie Factory. A new vegan cafe has opened in the very spot out of which the Bragg family originally sold cakes and pies in the '40s and ...

Topless protest at church after historians suicide

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:07:22 -0400

Topless protest at church A Femen activist protested in Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral on Wednesday, one day after far-right historian Dominique Venner committed suicide inside. Venner shot himself at the altar in front of around 1,500 visitors. Venner condemned both same-sex marriage and Islamist influence in France in writings before his death. The now infamous topless protesters released ...

Harper denies prior knowledge of chief of staffs cheque for Sen. Mike Duffy

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:07:19 -0400

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (L) shakes hands with Peru's President Ollanta Humala upon his arrival to the government palace in Lima May 22, 2013. Prime Minister Harper is on a one day official visit to Peru. REUTERS/Mariana ...

Vancouver guitar maker ramps up after space station video

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:07:18 -0400

For Larrive Guitars, the publicity was quite literally out of this world, and the dollar value from it continues to add up.Images of Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield playing its Vancouver-made Parlor guitar sparked enough interest for the company to put the model back into production for a limited edition. The company has $100,000 in orders already for the commemorative model, which ...

Lessons From Joplin’s Tornado Recovery Effort

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:04:55 -0400

The Monday tornado that leveled a 20-mile stretch south of Oklahoma City, with winds exceeding 200 miles per hour, brings back harrowing memories of the deadly tornado that ripped apart Joplin, Missouri, exactly two years ago ...

Some 100 Species of Fungus Live on Our Feet

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:04:54 -0400

There's a fungus among us --a hundred different species in fact--and nearly all take up residence on our feet, according to a study that appears in the ...

Swarm of drones to give early warning of flash floods

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:01:02 -0400

Existing forecasting models are good at predicting roughly when an area might experience the right mix of conditions to create a flash flood, but they can't say precisely when or where a flood will strike. Christian Claudel at ...

Merger of ancient galaxies could explain the origin of today’s giants

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:54:03 -0400

The elliptical galaxy NGC 4150. Observation of a merger between two galaxies early in the life of the Universe could explain the origin of large elliptical ...

Russia’s New Reusable Spacecraft Good for up to 5 Flights

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:53:39 -0400

TOMSK, May 22 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s new reusable spacecraft that is being developed by the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation will be able to make up to five space flights, the rocket maker said on Wednesday. The spacecraft’s technical design has been finalized but is yet to be officially approved, Energia deputy general designer Alexander Chernyavsky said on the sidelines ...

Earths tides are shoving the moon away faster

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:49:50 -0400

EARTH is shoving the moon away faster now than it has done for most of the past 50 million years, says a new model for the way tides influence the lunar orbit. The result helps solve a mystery concerning the moon's age that has long vexed ...

String theory may limit space brain threat

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:49:49 -0400

LEGIONS of disembodied brains floating in deep space threaten to undermine our understanding of the universe. New mathematical modelling suggests string theory and its multiple universes may just provide our salvation - and that could win the controversial theory a few more ...

Thousands take to streets for Quebec daycare strike

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:42:45 -0400

Owners and teachers of the Association of Private daycares in Quebec (AGPQ), on strike Wednesday, May 22, 2013 in Montreal, Que. (MAXIME DELAND / QMI AGENCY) MONTREAL - Thousands of private daycare owners and workers flouted possible sanctions Wednesday and held a massive rally to protest provincial budget cuts. About 10,000 demonstrators gathered at a downtown park and marched through the ...

Study Allosaurus Ate Less Like A Crocodile More Like A Falcon