Anthropologists to examine mummified body found in Detroit garage

DETROIT (Reuters) - A body that had decomposed to the point of mummification was found in a car in the garage of a Detroit home, and medical examiners have called for an anthropologist to conduct a special autopsy of the remains, authorities said on Friday.

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Bite the dust: meek dinosaur lost its teeth as it hit adulthood

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A modest little dinosaur that scampered across northwestern China 160 million years ago boasted a unique trait not seen in any other dinosaur or other prehistoric creature yet unearthed: it was born with teeth but became toothless by adulthood.

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Vera Rubin, pioneering U.S. dark matter astronomer, dies at 88

(Reuters) - Vera Rubin, a U.S. astronomer who pioneered work on invisible dark matter in the universe and who some colleagues felt was overlooked for a Nobel Prize, has died at 88, her son said on Monday.

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Artificial leaf copies nature to manufacture medicine

(Reuters) - Dutch scientists have developed an artificial leaf that can act as a mini-factory for producing drugs, an advance that could allow medicines to be produced anywhere there is sunlight.

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Swat team: scientists track humongous number of flying bugs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Counting the number of bugs whizzing high overhead annually may seem all but impossible, but researchers in Britain have completed the most comprehensive tally ever conducted. And the headcount they came up with was almost un-bee-lievable.

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China launches carbon-tracking satellite into space: Xinhua

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China launched a satellite to monitor its greenhouse gas emissions early on Thursday, the latest step in efforts to cut its carbon footprint, the official Xinhua news agency said.

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Japan successfully launches solid fuel rocket

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's space agency said on Tuesday it had successfully launched a solid fuel rocket named Epsilon-2, the latest in Tokyo's effort to stay competitive in an industry that has robust growth potential and strong security implications.

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Israel's Spacecom buys Boeing satellite for $161 million, to launch in 2019

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli satellite operator Space Communications said on Wednesday it would launch a new telecommunications satellite in 2019 after losing a prior one in an explosion.

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Undersea mystery: seahorse genetic secrets unveiled

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists have unlocked some of the genetic secrets of the weird and wondrous seahorse including its exotic eccentricity of male pregnancy.

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Dwarf planet Ceres is flush with ice, NASA studies show

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The dwarf planet Ceres, an enigmatic rocky body inhabiting the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is rich with ice just beneath its dark surface, scientists said on Thursday in research that may shed light on the early history of the solar system.

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Launch of mini-satellites gives forecasters eye into hurricanes

(Reuters) - Eight small satellites, designed to improve hurricane forecasts by detecting the wind speeds within storms, blasted off on Thursday aboard an air-launched Pegasus rocket, a NASA TV broadcast showed.

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Exclusive: If Trump skews science, researchers must raise the alarm - Obama official

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists must confront climate change deniers and speak up if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump tries to sideline climate research, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell is due to say on Wednesday.

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NASA troubleshooting problem with Mars rover drill

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has halted its trek up a mountain filled with potentially habitable niches for life while engineers troubleshoot a problem with one of its key instruments, scientists said on Tuesday.

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Remarkable feathered dinosaur tail found in chunk of amber

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some 99 million years ago, a juvenile dinosaur got its feathery tail stuck in tree resin, a death trap for the small creature. But its misfortune is now giving scientists unique insight into feathered dinosaurs that prospered during the Cretaceous Period.

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Japanese cargo ship blasts off for space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - An unmanned H-2B rocket blasted off from Tanegashima island in southern Japan on Friday to send a cargo ship to the International Space Station, a NASA TV broadcast showed.

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In fossil rarity, tumor found in 255-million-year-old beast

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists examining the jawbone of a saber-toothed, mammal-like beast that prowled Tanzania 255 million years ago have come across a remarkable fossil rarity: one of the oldest-known tumors.

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Inmarsat switches to Arianespace for satellite launch after SpaceX delays

LONDON (Reuters) - British satellite company Inmarsat will switch to using Arianespace from rival SpaceX to launch a new satellite to provide broadband connectivity to air passengers, it said on Thursday.

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Former U.S. astronaut, Senator John Glenn dies in Ohio at 95

(Reuters) - John Glenn, who became one of the 20th century's greatest explorers as the first American to orbit Earth and later as the world's oldest astronaut, in addition to a long career as a U.S. senator, died on Thursday at age of 95.

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Musk's SpaceX says rockets to remain grounded until January

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – - Elon Musk's SpaceX has been forced to delay the return of its rockets to flight until January as an investigation continues into a launch pad explosion earlier this year, the tech billionaire' s company said on Wednesday.

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Little African primate's talents inspire leaping robot

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Inspired by the remarkable jumping ability of an African primate called a galago, scientists have fashioned a small robot with unique leaping capabilities they hope can someday be used in tricky search-and-rescue situations.

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European Mars mission funding approved even after test lander's crash

LUCERNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - European space agency (ESA) member states have approved another 450 million euros ($479 million) in funding for the ExoMars mission to the Red Planet, even after a test lander that was part of the program crashed in October, ESA said on Friday.

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U.S. patent agency to weigh rival claims on gene-editing technology

(Reuters) - The U.S. patent agency on Tuesday will hear arguments in a heated dispute over who was first to invent a revolutionary gene-editing technology known as CRISPR.

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Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin recovering well after Antarctic evacuation

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Former U.S. astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, posted photos on Saturday of his recovery in a New Zealand hospital after he was evacuated from the South Pole due to illness.

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Facebook developing artificial intelligence to flag offensive live videos

MENLO PARK, Calif. (Reuters) - Facebook Inc is working on automatically flagging offensive material in live video streams, building on a growing effort to use artificial intelligence to monitor content, said Joaquin Candela, the company’s director of applied machine learning.

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Fate of Russian space cargo ship uncertain after launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Russian flight controllers were assessing whether a cargo ship that blasted off on Thursday with more than 2-1/2 tons of food and supplies for the International Space Station reached its intended orbit, NASA said.

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Human ancestor 'Lucy' adept at tree climbing as well as walking

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Scientists using sophisticated scanning technology on the fossil bones of the ancient human ancestor from Ethiopia dubbed "Lucy" have determined that she was adept at climbing trees as well as walking, an ability that in her case may have proven fatal.

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SpaceX aims for December 16 return to flight, customer Iridium says

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX hopes to return its Falcon 9 rocket to flight on Dec. 16, said Iridium Communications Inc, which plans to have 10 of its satellites on board for launching.

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Scientists record biggest ever coral die-off on Australia's Great Barrier Reef

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Warm seas around Australia's Great Barrier Reef have killed two-thirds of a 700-km (435 miles) stretch of coral in the past nine months, the worst die-off ever recorded on the World Heritage site, scientists who surveyed the reef said on Tuesday.

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Czech scientists develop human lung model to aid treatments

BRNO, Czech Republic (Reuters) - Czech scientists have developed a model of a functioning human lung that can be used to simulate problems like asthma or other chronic diseases and their treatments.

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Destination Moon? Belgium joins the space race

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian comic-strip hero Tintin helped popularize the 1950s Space Race with his iconic cartoon rocket; seven decades on from the boy reporter's "Destination Moon", his country is finally getting its own version of NASA.

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Astronauts enjoy a zero-gravity 'Spacegiving' dinner

(Reuters) - An international crew of astronauts celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday with a special 'spacegiving feast' of rehydrated foods on board the International Space Station.

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Navigation system failure cited in crash of European Mars lander

(Reuters) - Europe's Schiaparelli Mars lander crashed last month after a sensor failure caused it to cast away its parachute and turn off braking thrusters more than two miles (3.7 km) above the surface of the planet, as if it had already landed, a report released on Wednesday said.

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Crustacean revelation: coconut crab's claw is stunningly strong

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It may not be wise to get into a scrap with a coconut crab. Its claw is a mighty weapon.

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China's Shenzhou 11 manned space capsule returns to Earth

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Shenzhou 11 space capsule landed safely in the northern region of Inner Mongolia on Friday with two astronauts aboard, state media said, completing the country's longest manned space mission to date.

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U.S. weather satellite that is 'a quantum leap' poised for launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla (Reuters) - A U.S. weather satellite that will "revolutionize" forecasting was scheduled for launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral on Saturday, promising to deliver continuous high-definition views of hurricanes and other storms over the Western Hemisphere.

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Novartis backs off from 2016 date for testing Google autofocus lens

ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis has abandoned a 2016 goal to start testing its autofocus contact lens on people, though it said the groundbreaking product it is making with internet giant Google is "progressing steadily."

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SpaceX seeks U.S. approval for internet-via-satellite network

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Private rocket launch service SpaceX is requesting government approval to operate a massive satellite network that would provide high-speed, global internet coverage, according to newly filed documents with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

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Multinational crew blasts off, bound for space station

(Reuters) - A multinational crew, including a U.S. astronaut who is the oldest and most experienced woman to fly in space, blasted off from Kazakhstan on Thursday for the International Space Station, where it should arrive in two days, a NASA TV broadcast showed.

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SpaceX seeks U.S. approval for internet-via-satellite network

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Private rocket launch service SpaceX is requesting government approval to operate a massive satellite network that would provide high-speed, global internet coverage, according to newly filed documents with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

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Multinational crew blasts off, bound for space station

(Reuters) - A multinational crew, including a U.S. astronaut who is the oldest and most experienced woman to fly in space, blasted off from Kazakhstan on Thursday for the International Space Station, where it should arrive in two days, a NASA TV broadcast showed.

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In Belgian lab, scientists search for 'perfect' beer yeast

LEUVEN, Belgium (Reuters) - Belgium famously produces hundreds of different beers, but that is nothing compared to the varieties of yeast used to make it - around 30,000 are kept on ice at just one laboratory by scientists seeking the perfect ingredient for the perfect brew.

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SpaceX seeks U.S. approval for internet-via-satellite network

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Private rocket launch service SpaceX is requesting government approval to operate a massive satellite network that would provide high-speed, global internet coverage, according to newly filed documents with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

Read more

In Belgian lab, scientists search for 'perfect' beer yeast

LEUVEN, Belgium (Reuters) - Belgium famously produces hundreds of different beers, but that is nothing compared to the varieties of yeast used to make it - around 30,000 are kept on ice at just one laboratory by scientists seeking the perfect ingredient for the perfect brew.

Read more

SpaceX seeks U.S. approval for internet-via-satellite network

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Private rocket launch service SpaceX is requesting government approval to operate a massive satellite network that would provide high-speed, global internet coverage, according to newly filed documents with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

Read more

In Belgian lab, scientists search for 'perfect' beer yeast

LEUVEN, Belgium (Reuters) - Belgium famously produces hundreds of different beers, but that is nothing compared to the varieties of yeast used to make it - around 30,000 are kept on ice at just one laboratory by scientists seeking the perfect ingredient for the perfect brew.

Read more

SpaceX seeks U.S. approval for internet-via-satellite network

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Private rocket launch service SpaceX is requesting government approval to operate a massive satellite network that would provide high-speed, global internet coverage, according to newly filed documents with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

Read more

In Belgian lab, scientists search for 'perfect' beer yeast

LEUVEN, Belgium (Reuters) - Belgium famously produces hundreds of different beers, but that is nothing compared to the varieties of yeast used to make it - around 30,000 are kept on ice at just one laboratory by scientists seeking the perfect ingredient for the perfect brew.

Read more

SpaceX seeks U.S. approval for internet-via-satellite network

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Private rocket launch service SpaceX is requesting government approval to operate a massive satellite network that would provide high-speed, global internet coverage, according to newly filed documents with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

Read more

In Belgian lab, scientists search for 'perfect' beer yeast

LEUVEN, Belgium (Reuters) - Belgium famously produces hundreds of different beers, but that is nothing compared to the varieties of yeast used to make it - around 30,000 are kept on ice at just one laboratory by scientists seeking the perfect ingredient for the perfect brew.

Read more

SpaceX seeks U.S. approval for internet-via-satellite network

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Private rocket launch service SpaceX is requesting government approval to operate a massive satellite network that would provide high-speed, global internet coverage, according to newly filed documents with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

Read more

Europe launches four satellites for Galileo satnav system

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Europe launched four more Galileo satellites on Thursday, moving a step closer to having its own navigation system and marking the first time it has sent up so many satellites at once.

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In Belgian lab, scientists search for 'perfect' beer yeast

LEUVEN, Belgium (Reuters) - Belgium famously produces hundreds of different beers, but that is nothing compared to the varieties of yeast used to make it - around 30,000 are kept on ice at just one laboratory by scientists seeking the perfect ingredient for the perfect brew.

Read more

Europe launches four satellites for Galileo satnav system

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Europe launched four more Galileo satellites on Thursday, moving a step closer to having its own navigation system and marking the first time it has sent up so many satellites at once.

Read more

In Belgian lab, scientists search for 'perfect' beer yeast

LEUVEN, Belgium (Reuters) - Belgium famously produces hundreds of different beers, but that is nothing compared to the varieties of yeast used to make it - around 30,000 are kept on ice at just one laboratory by scientists seeking the perfect ingredient for the perfect brew.

Read more

Europe launches four satellites for Galileo satnav system

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Europe launched four more Galileo satellites on Thursday, bringing it a step closer to having its own navigation system and marking the first time it has sent up so many satellites at once.

Read more

In Belgian lab, scientists search for 'perfect' beer yeast

LEUVEN, Belgium (Reuters) - Belgium famously produces hundreds of different beers, but that is nothing compared to the varieties of yeast used to make it - around 30,000 are kept on ice at just one laboratory by scientists seeking the perfect ingredient for the perfect brew.

Read more

Underground ocean found on Pluto, likely slushy with ice

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Scientists have found evidence that tiny, distant Pluto harbors a hidden ocean beneath the frozen surface of its heart-shaped central plain containing as much water as all of Earth's seas.

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Europe launches four satellites for Galileo satnav system

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Europe launched four more Galileo satellites on Thursday, bringing it a step closer to having its own navigation system and marking the first time it has sent up so many satellites at once.

Read more

Underground ocean found on Pluto, likely slushy with ice

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Scientists have found evidence that tiny, distant Pluto harbors a hidden ocean beneath the frozen surface of its heart-shaped central plain containing as much water as all of Earth's seas.

Read more

Europe launches four satellites for Galileo satnav system

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Europe launched four more Galileo satellites on Thursday, bringing it a step closer to having its own navigation system and marking the first time it has sent up so many satellites at once.

Read more

Online game about lost sea hero helps scientists studying dementia

LONDON (Reuters) - An online game following the journey of an elderly former sea explorer who has lost his memories has helped scientists lead a vast international dementia study and given important preliminary results about human orientation skills.

Read more

Underground ocean found on Pluto, likely slushy with ice

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Scientists have found evidence that tiny, distant Pluto harbors a hidden ocean beneath the frozen surface of its heart-shaped central plain containing as much water as all of Earth's seas.

Read more

Online game about lost sea hero helps scientists studying dementia

LONDON (Reuters) - An online game following the journey of an elderly former sea explorer who has lost his memories has helped scientists lead a vast international dementia study and given important preliminary results about human orientation skills.

Read more

Underground ocean found on Pluto, likely slushy with ice

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Scientists have found evidence that tiny, distant Pluto harbors a hidden ocean beneath the frozen surface of its heart-shaped central plain containing as much water as all of Earth's seas.

Read more

Online game about lost sea hero helps scientists studying dementia

LONDON (Reuters) - An online game following the journey of an elderly former sea explorer who has lost his memories has helped scientists lead a vast international dementia study and given important preliminary results about human orientation skills.

Read more

Underground ocean found on Pluto, likely slushy with ice

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Scientists have found evidence that tiny, distant Pluto harbors a hidden ocean beneath the frozen surface of its heart-shaped central plain containing as much water as all of Earth's seas.

Read more

Online game about lost sea hero helps scientists studying dementia

LONDON (Reuters) - An online game following the journey of an elderly former sea explorer who has lost his memories has helped scientists lead a vast international dementia study and given important preliminary results about human orientation skills.

Read more

Underground ocean found on Pluto, likely slushy with ice

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Scientists have found evidence that tiny, distant Pluto harbors a hidden ocean beneath the frozen surface of its heart-shaped central plain containing as much water as all of Earth's seas.

Read more

Online game about lost sea hero helps scientists studying dementia

LONDON (Reuters) - An online game following the journey of an elderly former sea explorer who has lost his memories has helped scientists lead a vast international dementia study and given important preliminary results about human orientation skills.

Read more

Underground ocean found on Pluto, likely slushy with ice

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Scientists have found evidence that tiny, distant Pluto harbors a hidden ocean beneath the frozen surface of its heart-shaped central plain containing as much water as all of Earth's seas.

Read more

Online game about lost sea hero helps scientists studying dementia

LONDON (Reuters) - An online game following the journey of an elderly former sea explorer who has lost his memories has helped scientists lead a vast international dementia study and given important preliminary results about human orientation skills.

Read more

Underground ocean found on Pluto, likely slushy with ice

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Scientists have found evidence that tiny, distant Pluto harbors a hidden ocean beneath the frozen surface of its heart-shaped central plain containing as much water as all of Earth's seas.

Read more

Online game about lost sea hero helps scientists studying dementia

LONDON (Reuters) - An online game following the journey of an elderly former sea explorer who has lost his memories has helped scientists lead a vast international dementia study and given important preliminary results about human orientation skills.

Read more

Underground ocean found on Pluto, likely slushy with ice

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Scientists have found evidence that tiny, distant Pluto harbors a hidden ocean beneath the frozen surface of its heart-shaped central plain containing as much water as all of Earth's seas.

Read more

Supermoon delights world's star gazers in full moon, eclipse combination

SYDNEY (Reuters) - From Beijing to Berlin, star gazers around the world admired the supermoon - the largest, brightest full moon in nearly seven decades - as it made its way across the skies on Sunday and Monday.

Read more

Online game about lost sea hero helps scientists studying dementia

LONDON (Reuters) - An online game following the journey of an elderly former sea explorer who has lost his memories has helped scientists lead a vast international dementia study and given important preliminary results about human orientation skills.

Read more

Supermoon delights world's star gazers in full moon, eclipse combination

SYDNEY (Reuters) - From Beijing to Berlin, star gazers around the world admired the supermoon - the largest, brightest full moon in nearly seven decades - as it made its way across the skies on Sunday and Monday.

Read more

Online game about lost sea hero helps scientists studying dementia

LONDON (Reuters) - An online game following the journey of an elderly former sea explorer who has lost his memories has helped scientists lead a vast international dementia study and given important preliminary results about human orientation skills.

Read more

Supermoon delights world's star gazers in full moon, eclipse combination

SYDNEY (Reuters) - From Beijing to Berlin, star gazers around the world admired the supermoon - the largest, brightest full moon in nearly seven decades - as it made its way across the skies on Sunday and Monday.

Read more

Online game about lost sea hero helps scientists studying dementia

LONDON (Reuters) - An online game following the journey of an elderly former sea explorer who has lost his memories has helped scientists lead a vast international dementia study and given important preliminary results about human orientation skills.

Read more

Supermoon delights world's star gazers in full moon, eclipse combination

SYDNEY (Reuters) - From Beijing to Berlin, star gazers around the world admired the supermoon - the largest, brightest full moon in nearly seven decades - as it made its way across the skies on Sunday and Monday.

Read more

Online game about lost sea hero helps scientists studying dementia

LONDON (Reuters) - An online game following the journey of an elderly former sea explorer who has lost his memories has helped scientists lead a vast international dementia study and given important preliminary results about human orientation skills.

Read more

Supermoon delights world's star gazers in full moon, eclipse combination

SYDNEY (Reuters) - From Beijing to Berlin, star gazers around the world admired the supermoon - the largest, brightest full moon in nearly seven decades - as it made its way across the skies on Sunday and Monday.

Read more

Online game about lost sea hero helps scientists studying dementia

LONDON (Reuters) - An online game following the journey of an elderly former sea explorer who has lost his memories has helped scientists lead a vast international dementia study and given important preliminary results about human orientation skills.

Read more

Supermoon delights world's star gazers in full moon, eclipse combination

SYDNEY (Reuters) - From Beijing to Berlin, star gazers around the world admired the supermoon - the largest, brightest full moon in nearly seven decades - as it made its way across the skies on Sunday and Monday.

Read more

Online game about lost sea hero helps scientists studying dementia

LONDON (Reuters) - An online game following the journey of an elderly former sea explorer who has lost his memories has helped scientists lead a vast international dementia study and given important preliminary results about human orientation skills.

Read more

'Mud Dragon' fossil shows dinosaurs thrived on eve of destruction

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a humid, tropical jungle in southern China eons ago, a remarkably bird-like dinosaur with wing-like arms, a toothless beak and a dome-shaped crest atop its head became trapped in mud, struggled in vain to escape and died.

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History of music

History of music

Mars show home goes on display in London

LONDON (Reuters) - A show home with features to help its residents survive life on Mars went on display in London on Thursday, offering visitors a glimpse of what setting up house on the red planet could look like if it ever happens.

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SpaceX aiming to return to flight next month: CEO Musk

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Friday his space launch company is aiming to return its rockets to flight in mid-December following a launch pad accident two months ago.

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Airbag bike helmets may be safer than conventional foam versions

PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Bicycle helmets that utilize airbag technology instead of conventional hard foam may offer five times more protection against brain injuries, according to Stanford University researchers.

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China boosts space program with new heavy rocket launch

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has launched its new Long March-5 heavy rocket, state media said, sending its payload into orbit in the country's latest step in advancing its space exploration program.

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SpaceX says accident probe will not slow space taxi effort

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - SpaceX on Thursday said efforts to develop and certify a space taxi for NASA are not being slowed by an investigation into a launch pad fire that destroyed its rocket and a $200 million Israeli communications satellite.

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Technical problems delay launch of crew to space station: agencies

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Technical problems have prompted Russia's space agency to postpone the launch of its next manned Soyuz spaceship to the International Space Station (ISS) which was scheduled for Sept. 23, Russian news agencies reported on Tuesday.

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China launches second experimental space lab module

BEIJING (Reuters) - China launched its second experimental space laboratory on Thursday, part of a broader plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.

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Scientists decipher color of 'super cute' bristly dinosaur

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists guided by small structures preserved in fossilized skin have deciphered the color and camouflage pattern of a little dinosaur with a parrot-like beak and bristles on its tail that roamed thick forests in China about 120 million years ago.

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Possible air pollution link to Alzheimer's

A possible causal link between air pollution and Alzheimer's disease has been suggested by scientists after they conducted detailed studies of brain tissue, in a joint British-Mexican project.

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China to launch second space lab module, another manned mission

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will launch its second experimental space laboratory late on Thursday and another manned space mission next month, the government said, part of a broader plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.

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Asterias stem cell therapy shows promise in spinal cord paralysis: U.S. study

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An experimental stem cell therapy developed by Asterias Biotherapeutics restored some movement to patients paralyzed by recent spinal cord injuries, according to interim data from a small study being presented on Wednesday.

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Jeff Bezos unveils new rocket to compete with SpaceX

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Jeff Bezos on Monday unveiled a heavy-lift reusable rocket expected to compete against Elon Musk’s SpaceX and other companies for commercial satellite launches before the end of the decade.

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Floating farm could grow food on empty cargo ships

About 90 percent of the world's goods are carried by sea, with more than 70 percent in shipping containers carrying everything from TVs to sportswear from Asia to the rest of the world. But the global imbalance in trade means most of these containers are empty on the return journey.

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Elon Musk calls SpaceX blast a ‘most difficult, complex failure’

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - SpaceX founder and chief Elon Musk said on Friday he was unsure why one of the company’s Falcon rockets burst into flames on its Florida launch pad last week, destroying both the rocket and an Israeli communications satellite it was due to lift into orbit.

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NASA probe blasts off on quest to collect asteroid samples

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - An Atlas 5 rocket blasted off from Florida on Thursday carrying a robot space probe on NASA's first quest to collect samples from an asteroid and return them to Earth in hopes of learning more about the origins of life.

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Meteorite whizzes past Cyprus and explodes, lighting up night sky

ATHENS (Reuters) - A suspected meteorite did a close fly-by over Cyprus early on Friday, sending people into consternation over a blitz of bright lights which appeared in the night sky coupled with large bangs.

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ULA chief says recovery from space launch accident typically 9-12 months

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - If history is any guide, Elon Musk's SpaceX could be grounded for nine to 12 months while it investigates the cause of last week's launch pad accident and makes any repairs, according to the chief executive of SpaceX's primary U.S. competitor on Thursday.

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NASA asteroid probe may find clues to origins of life on Earth

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - A U.S. space probe was cleared for launch on Thursday to collect and return samples from an asteroid in hopes of learning more about the origins of life on Earth and perhaps elsewhere in the solar system, NASA said on Tuesday.

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Tall tale: study reveals that giraffes are four species, not one

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Genetic research on the world's tallest land animal has found that there are four distinct species of giraffe, not just one as long believed, with two of them at alarmingly low population levels.

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Some like it hot: scientists drill off Japan for sizzling life

OSLO (Reuters) - Scientists will start drilling off Japan this month to seek the hottest place where life can survive in a hellish uncharted realm deep below the seabed.

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Scientists find deadly scrub typhus bacteria in South America

LONDON (Reuters) - Scrub typhus, a deadly disease common in southeast Asia and spread by microscopic biting mites known as chiggers, has now taken hold in a part of South America and may have become endemic there, scientists said on Wednesday.

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U.S.-Russian crew lands in Kazakhstan after 172 days in space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - A U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts wrapped up a 172-day mission aboard the International Space Station with a parachute descent and landing at dawn on the steppes of Kazakhstan, a NASA TV broadcast showed.

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Spacecom CEO wants 'several safe flights' before using SpaceX again

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The chief executive of Israeli satellite operator Space Communication Ltd said on Tuesday he wants to see "several safe flights" from SpaceX before using Elon Musk's space firm again to launch one of his company's satellites.

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Tiny 'fitbits' to keep tabs on the body from within

BERKELEY, Calif. (Reuters) - Scientists are developing dust-sized wireless sensors implanted inside the body to track neural activity in real-time, offering a potential new way to monitor or treat a range of conditions including epilepsy and control next-generation prosthetics.

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SpaceX to shift Florida launches to new pad after explosion

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - SpaceX said on Friday it would shift Florida flights to a nearly completed second site after damage to its launch pad on Thursday from the explosion of a rocket belonging to the space services company run by Elon Musk.

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Rosetta's missing Philae probe found in dark crack on comet

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - High-resolution cameras on the European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft have found space probe Philae, which landed on a comet nearly two years ago only to lose power because its solar-driven batteries were in the shade.

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Dogs use same parts of brain to process speech as humans, Hungarian study says

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - "Super, well done," her trainer says, and Maya, a Hungarian golden retriever, happily holds up her left paw, responding to the praise.

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U.S. astronauts perform tasks during space walk outside station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Two U.S. astronauts went for a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Thursday to pack up a spare cooling radiator and install a high-definition television camera outside the orbiting laboratory, a NASA TV broadcast showed.

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Oldest fossils found in Greenland, from time Earth was like Mars

OSLO (Reuters) - The earliest fossil evidence of life on Earth has been found in rocks 3.7 billion years old in Greenland, raising chances of life on Mars aeons ago when both planets were similarly desolate, scientists said on Wednesday.

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SpaceX signs first customer for used Falcon rocket

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX has signed its first customer to use a previously flown rocket, with launch planned for later this year, the companies said on Tuesday.

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Scientists find Earth-like planet circling sun's nearest neighbor

(Reuters) - Scientists have discovered a planet that appears to be similar to Earth circling the star closest to the sun, potentially a major step in the quest to find out if life exists elsewhere in the universe, research published on Wednesday showed.

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Curious radio signal stirs talk of extraterrestrials

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - A curious radio signal picked up by a Russian telescope is probably not a transmission from an extraterrestrial civilization, but astronomers in California are taking a second look anyway, the SETI Institute said on Tuesday.

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India government panel clears GM mustard but hurdles remain: sources

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A government panel has cleared commercial use of what would be India's first genetically modified (GM) food crop, but the political establishment will still have to give final approvals amid wide-spread public opposition to the technology.

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Scientists hope new test could help contain meningitis outbreaks

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A test has been developed that could help diagnose bacterial infections including meningitis in minutes, but it could take several years before a cheap testing device is available to developing countries, scientists said on Wednesday.

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What are the origins of life? There's a rocket for that

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA scientists are putting the finishing touches on a spacecraft designed to rendezvous with Asteroid Bennu in 2018 to find clues about the origins of life.

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China shows first images of Mars rover, aims for 2020 mission

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has showed off its first images of a rover it plans to sent to Mars in mid-2020, which is designed to explore the planet surface for three months, state media said, the latest aim of China's ambitious space program.

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Long-term study links neonicotinoids to wild bee declines

LONDON (Reuters) - Wild bees that forage from oilseed rape crops treated with insecticides known as neonicotinoids are more likely to undergo long-term population declines than bees that forage from other sources, according to the findings of an 18-year study.

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U.S. astronauts prepare station for commercial space taxis

(Reuters) - Two NASA astronauts left the International Space Station on Friday for a 6-1/2-hour spacewalk to install a parking spot for upcoming commercial space taxis, which will end U.S. reliance on Russia for rides to the orbiting outpost.

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Long in the tooth: the Greenland shark may live four centuries

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Greenland shark, a big and slow-moving deep-ocean predator that prowls the frigid waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic, can claim the distinction of being the planet's longest-living vertebrate, with a lifespan perhaps reaching about 400 years.

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China launches 'hack-proof' communications satellite

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Tuesday launched the world's first quantum satellite, which will help it establish "hack-proof" communications between space and the ground, state media said, the latest advance in an ambitious space program.

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Rare tarantulas hatch at British zoo

(Reuters) - A clutch of around 200 rare Montserrat tarantulas have successfully hatched at a British zoo in what keepers hailed on Friday as a first in breeding such spiders.

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Piltdown breakdown: new details about a famed scientific hoax

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers applying modern forensic techniques to a century-old puzzle have laid bare intriguing new details about one of the most notorious scientific hoaxes on record, the so-called Piltdown Man, and are confident in the culprit's identity.

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Paralysis partly reversed using brain-machine interface training

(Reuters) - Paraplegic patients recovered partial control and feeling in their limbs after training to use a variety of brain-machine interface technologies, according to new research published on Thursday in the journal "Scientific Reports."

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What3words keeps Olympics visitors on track in Rio

(Reuters) - An innovative addressing system that assigns every patch of earth in the world an easy to remember three-word address is being used to help visitors get around at the Olympics in Rio de Jeneiro. Some 500,000 foreigners are expected to pass through the city during the Games that run until August 21.

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Tethered drone could fly 'forever’

(Reuters) - An unmanned aircraft system (UAS) developed by engineers from the University of Southampton uses a powered tether to provide unlimited flight time for drones. The developers say it could offer a more cost-effective solution for aerial monitoring and surveillance than other options on the market.

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‘Flying Bum’ edges out of hangar before debut flight

(Reuters) - The Airlander 10, known in Britain as 'the flying bum' because of its unique structure, has slowly edged its way out of a hangar in central England ahead of its debut flight as a civilian aircraft.

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Thaw could release Cold War-era U.S. toxic waste buried under Greenland's ice

OSLO (Reuters) - Global warming could release radioactive waste stored in an abandoned Cold War-era U.S. military camp deep under Greenland's ice caps if a thaw continues to spread in coming decades, scientists said on Friday.

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Spiders and scorpions join fight against superbugs

(Reuters) - A British lab is searching for new medicines in the poisonous secretions of some of the world's deadliest creatures, addressing the increasingly desperate challenge of finding viable new drugs.

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Hear! Hear! Exquisite fossils preserve ear of prehistoric whale

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fossils unearthed in a South Carolina drainage ditch are providing insight into the development of ultrasonic hearing in prehistoric whales, a trait closely linked to their uncanny ability to hunt and navigate using sound waves and echoes.

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Private company wins U.S. clearance to fly to the moon

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - A Florida-based company won U.S. government permission on Wednesday to send a robotic lander to the moon next year, the firm's founder said, marking the first time the United States has cleared a private space mission to fly beyond Earth’s orbit.

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Study finds cosmic rays increased heart risks among Apollo astronauts

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Apollo astronauts who ventured to the moon are at five times greater risk of dying from heart disease than shuttle astronauts, U.S. researchers said on Thursday, citing the dangers of cosmic radiation beyond the Earth's magnetic field.

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Australia's tectonic speed leaves cartographers behind

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia, which rides on the world's fastest-moving continental tectonic plate, is heading north so quickly that map co-ordinates are now out by as much as 1.5 meters (4.9 feet), say geoscientists.

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Great Red Spot storm heating Jupiter's atmosphere, study shows

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Scientists have long wondered why Jupiter's upper atmosphere has temperatures similar to those of Earth, even though the biggest planet in the solar system is five times farther away from the sun.

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New crop of robots to vie for space in the operating room

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Even though many doctors see need for improvement, surgical robots are poised for big gains in operating rooms around the world.

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Healthy clones: Dolly the sheep's heirs reach ripe old age

LONDON (Reuters) - The heirs of Dolly the sheep are enjoying a healthy old age, proving cloned animals can live normal lives and offering reassurance to scientists hoping to use cloned cells in medicine.

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Scientist Brian Cox holds summer master class in London for kids

(Reuters) - British physics professor Brian Cox taught students at St. Paul's Way Trust School in London on Tuesday how to create fire with methane gas.

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Scientists find potential new antibiotic, right under their noses

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists in Germany have discovered a bacteria hiding out in peoples' noses that produces an antibiotic compound that can kill several dangerous pathogens, including the superbug MRSA.

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Meter-wide dinosaur print, one of largest ever, found in Bolivia

SUCRE, Bolivia (Reuters) - A footprint measuring over a meter wide that was made by a meat-eating predator some 80 million years ago has been discovered in Bolivia, one of the largest of its kind ever found.

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Belgian scientists make novel water-from-urine machine

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A team of scientists at a Belgian university say they have created a machine that turns urine into drinkable water and fertilizer using solar energy, a technique which could be applied in rural areas and developing countries.

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Solar plane circles globe in first for clean energy

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - A solar-powered aircraft successfully completed the first fuel-free flight around the world on Tuesday, returning to Abu Dhabi after an epic 16-month voyage that demonstrated the potential of renewable energy.

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Mind over gray matter: new map lays out brain's cerebral cortex

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Neuroscientists acting as cartographers of the human mind have devised the most comprehensive map ever made of the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for higher cognitive functions such as abstract thought, language and memory.

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China completes world's largest amphibious aircraft: Xinhua

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China has completed production of the world's largest amphibious aircraft after seven years of work, which it plans to use to perform marine rescue missions and fight forest fires, the Xinhua news agency reported.

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Newly developed wheel converts any bicycle into an electric vehicle

(Reuters) - Right off the bat, Michael Burtov said he and his team at technology startup GeoOrbital did not re-invent the wheel.

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Stunning aurora footage captured from ISS

NASA astronaut Jeff Williams shared a stunning aurora display on Sunday as he passed over the Earth.

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Fish can recognise human faces, study finds

Scientists have shown for the first time how a species of tropical fish can distinguish between human faces. The archerfish used in experiments could demonstrate the ability to a high degree of accuracy; despite lacking the crucial neocortex part of the brain which other animals use for sophisticated visual recognition.

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SpaceX rocket lifts off on cargo run, then lands at launch site

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - An unmanned SpaceX rocket blasted off from Florida early on Monday to send a cargo ship to the International Space Station, then turned around and landed itself back at the launch site.

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NASA's new mission: improving food security in West Africa

DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A drive by NASA to stream climate data to West African nations using its earth-observing satellites could boost crop production in a region hit hard by climate change, experts say.

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U.N. tombstone listing celebrated as rare joint success in Balkans

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - A World Heritage listing for 70,000 medieval tombstones spread across four countries that emerged from Yugoslavia's bloody break up in the 1990s was praised on Monday as a rare example of successful cooperation between the former foes.

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SpaceX to try again to send docking ring for space taxis to station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX will make a second attempt on Monday to deliver one of two docking rings to the International Space Station, a crucial step in enabling U.S. commercial space taxis to ferry astronauts to the orbiting lab, NASA said on Sunday.

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Boeing aims for supersonics and Mars at outset of second century

SEATTLE (Reuters) - The Boeing Co marked its centennial on Friday with plans to sharpen its focus on innovation, including ambitious projects for supersonic commercial flight and a rocket that could carry humans to other planets.

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Lucky bug eluded eternal entombment in 50 million-year-old amber

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A chunk of amber found along the Baltic Sea in Russia provides evidence roughly 50 million years old of an extremely fortunate bug.

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For the first time, scientists to sequence genes in space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Given her background in researching some of the deadliest pathogens on Earth, including Ebola, colleagues of newly arrived astronaut Kate Rubins had expected her to want to do "crazy science fiction" on the International Space Station.

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Solar plane lands in Egypt on penultimate leg of world tour

CAIRO (Reuters) - An airplane powered by energy from the sun arrived on Wednesday in Egypt, the penultimate stop on the first fuel-free flight around the globe.

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Science group warns of shortcomings in U.S. missile defense

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. missile defense system to counter attacks from rogue states like North Korea has no proven capability to protect the United States and is not on a credible path to achieve that goal, a science advocacy group said on Thursday.

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Fearsome Argentine dinosaur had pitifully puny arms

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A newly discovered meat-eating dinosaur that prowled Argentina 90 million years ago would have had a hard time using strong-arm tactics against its prey. That's because the beast, though a fearsome hunter, possessed a pitifully puny pair of arms.

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Zoo aims to help chimps hang on to their wild side

ATHERSTONE, England (Reuters) - Scientists and animal keepers at a zoo in England are hoping to encourage chimpanzees in captivity to behave more like they would in the wild thanks to a new computer tool that helps to redesign enclosures and monitor results.

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Multinational crew blasts off for space station

(Reuters) - A three-member multinational crew blasted off aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan on Thursday for a two-day trip to the International Space Station, a NASA TV broadcast showed.

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Astronomers spy giant planet, three stars in odd celestial ballet

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Astronomers have discovered a planet unlike any other ever found, one that loops widely around one star that is locked in a gravitational embrace with two others in a triple-star system, creating a curious celestial ballet.

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NASA's Juno spacecraft loops into orbit around Jupiter

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA's Juno spacecraft capped a five-year journey to Jupiter late Monday with a do-or-die engine burn to sling itself into orbit, setting the stage for a 20-month dance around the biggest planet in the solar system to learn how and where it formed.

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White House proposes measures to speed genomic test development

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House announced on Wednesday measures aimed at advancing President Barack Obama's precision medicine initiative, including plans to speed the development of tests used to identify genetic mutations and guide medical treatment.

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Weight check for first penguin born through artificial insemination

OSAKA, Japan - The world's first penguin conceived through artificial insemination tipped the scales at a healthy 1,210 grams (2.6 lbs) on Wednesday in Japan, where scientists have been working for six years to develop technology to preserve the species.

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Physics prepares to feast on collider data, seeking dark universe

GENEVA (Reuters) - Scientists at Europe's physics research center CERN are preparing to unwrap the biggest trove of data yet from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), three years after they confirmed the existence of the elusive Higgs boson.

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NASA space probe to lift the veil on Jupiter

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA's Juno spacecraft hurtled closer toward Jupiter on Friday headed for a July 4 leap into polar orbit around the solar system's largest planet to analyze how it formed and helped set the stage for life on Earth.

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E.T. phone home: China eyes hunt for alien life with giant telescope

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Sunday hoisted the final piece into position on what will be the world's largest radio telescope, which it will use to explore space and help in the hunt for extraterrestrial life, state media said.

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Airbus, Safran finalize space launchers merger

PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus Group and Safran pledged on Thursday to make Europe competitive in the face of U.S. low-cost rival SpaceX as they completed a deal to merge their space launcher activities.

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Rosetta spacecraft to give 'final kiss' to comet on crash-landing

TOULOUSE (Reuters) - The European spacecraft Rosetta will crash-land on the surface of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and end its 12-year space odyssey on Sept. 30, France's National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) said on Thursday.

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Solar plane lands in Spain after three-day Atlantic crossing

SEVILLE, Spain (Reuters) - An airplane powered solely by the sun landed safely in Seville in Spain early on Thursday after an almost three-day flight across the Atlantic from New York in one of the longest legs of the first ever fuel-less flight around the world.

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Bat wings inspire new breed of drone

The unique mechanical properties of bat wings could lead to a new breed of nature-inspired drone. A prototype built by researchers at the University of Southampton shows that membrane wings can have improved aerodynamic properties and fly over longer distances on less power.

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Human skin cells used in animal-free cosmetic tests

A UK-based laboratory is working to eradicate animal testing in the cosmetics industry by developing alternative methods which are not only cruelty-free but more scientifically advanced than other current tests.

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Human flights to Mars still at least 15 years off: ESA head

DARMSTADT, Germany (Reuters) - Dreaming of a trip to Mars? You'll have to wait at least 15 years for the technology to be developed, the head of the European Space Agency (ESA) said, putting doubt on claims that the journey could happen sooner.

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British astronaut Tim Peake would return to space station 'in a heartbeat'

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Britain's first official astronaut said on Tuesday he would join another trip to the International Space Station "in a heartbeat" and would love to explore the moon.

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India launches 20 satellites at one go; most to serve U.S. customers

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India successfully launched 20 satellites in a single mission on Wednesday, with most of them set to serve international customers as the South Asian country pursues a bigger share of the $300 billion global space industry.

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Europe's robots to become 'electronic persons' under draft plan

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Europe's growing army of robot workers could be classed as "electronic persons" and their owners liable to paying social security for them if the European Union adopts a draft plan to address the realities of a new industrial revolution.

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Solar plane takes on Atlantic as part of round-the-world bid

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An airplane powered solely by energy from the sun headed across the Atlantic early on Monday, on one of the longest legs of the first-ever flight around the globe without using a drop of fuel.

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Paul Allen's space company nears debut of world's biggest plane

MOJAVE, Calif. (Reuters) - A space launch company bankrolled by Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen intends to compete with space entrepreneurs and industry stalwarts by launching satellites into orbit from the world’s biggest airplane.

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Capsule carrying space station crew lands in Kazakhstan: NASA TV

(Reuters) - A Soyuz capsule carrying a Russian, an American and a Briton from the International Space Station made a parachute landing on the steppe near the Kazakh city of Zhezkazgan on Saturday, NASA television reported.

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Satellite tags aim to shed light on endangered hawksbill sea turtle migration

June 16 (Reuters) - Scientists are tagging hawksbill sea turtles in a key South Pacific breeding ground, hoping that information fed to satellites will help them better understand the endangered species' nesting, feeding and migration patterns.

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Satellite tags aim to shed light on endangered hawksbill sea turtle migration

June 16 (Reuters) - Scientists are tagging hawksbill sea turtles in a key South Pacific breeding ground, hoping that information fed to satellites will help them better understand the endangered species' nesting, feeding and migration patterns.

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NASA to set fire in space for science, safety

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - An unmanned cargo ship pulled away from the International Space Station on Tuesday to stage the first of three planned NASA experiments on how big fires grow in space, an important test for astronaut safety.

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Einstein 2.0: gravitational waves detected for a second time

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.,  (Reuters) - The ground-breaking detection of gravitational waves, ripples in space and time postulated by Albert Einstein 100 years ago, that was announced in February was no fluke. Scientists said on Wednesday that they have spotted them for a second time.

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From green slime to jet fuel: algae offers airlines a cleaner future

OTTOBRUN, Germany (Reuters) - As airlines struggle to find cleaner ways to power jets and with an industry-wide meeting on CO2 emissions just months away, scientists are busy growing algae in vast open tanks at an Airbus site at Ottobrun, near Munich.

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Scientists use climate, population changes to predict diseases

LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists say they have developed a model that can predict outbreaks of zoonotic diseases – those such as Ebola and Zika that jump from animals to humans – based on changes in climate.

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Asymmetric molecule, key to life, detected in space for 1st time

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Scientists for the first time have found a complex organic molecule in space that bears the same asymmetric structure as molecules that are key to life on Earth.

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Stegosaurus had bite like a sheep

By Matthew Stock Dinosaur experts have conducted the first detailed study of the Stegosaurus skull and found that it had a more powerful bite than its tiny, peg-shaped, teeth suggested.

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Solar plane lands in New York City during bid to circle the globe

(Reuters) - A solar-powered airplane finished crossing the United States on Saturday, landing in New York City after flying over the Statue of Liberty during its historic bid to circle the globe, the project team said.

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The bright side: global 'light pollution' obscures starry nights

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Vincent van Gogh peered out the window of the Saint-Paul asylum at the nighttime sky in Saint-Rémy in 1889, he saw the brilliant light of innumerable stars over southern France that inspired his evocative painting "The Starry Night."

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In mapping eclipses, world's first computer maybe also told fortunes

ATHENS (Reuters) - A 2,000-year-old astronomical calculator used by ancient Greeks to chart the movement of the sun, moon and planets may also have had another purpose - fortune telling, say researchers.

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U.S. regulator says too many drugmakers chasing same cancer strategy

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A new type of cancer drug that takes the brakes off the body's immune system has given drugmakers some remarkable wins against the deadly disease, but a top U.S. regulator says too many companies are focused on the same approach.

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Private company wants U.S. clearance to fly to the moon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. government agencies are working on temporary rules to allow a private company to land a spacecraft on the moon next year, while Congress weighs a more permanent legal framework to govern future commercial missions to the moon, Mars and other destinations beyond Earth's orbit, officials said.

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European ruling on olive tree cull sparks fear in Italy

ROME (Reuters) - European countries can be forced to cull olive trees to stop the spread of a deadly bacterium, the European Union ruled on Thursday, sparking concern in a grove-dotted region of Italy.

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First element discovered in Asia named 'nihonium', after Japan

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese scientists behind the discovery of element 113, the first atomic element found in Asia - indeed, the first found outside Europe or the United States - have dubbed it "nihonium" after the Japanese-language name for their country.

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UK scientists find new 3-parent IVF technique safe in lab tests

LONDON (Reuters) - A study of a new 3-parent IVF technique designed to reduce the risk of mothers passing hereditary diseases to their babies has found it is likely to work well and lead to normal pregnancies, British scientists said.

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New fossils may settle debate over 'Hobbit' people's ancestry

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fossils unearthed on the Indonesian island of Flores may resolve one of the most intriguing mysteries in anthropology: the ancestry of the extraordinary diminutive human species dubbed the "Hobbit."Scientists on Wednesday described bone fragments and teeth about 700,000 years old retrieved from an ancient river bed that appear to belong to the extinct Hobbit species, previously known only from fossils and stone tools from a Flores cave ranging from 190,000 to 50,000 years

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India's colonial-era monsoon forecasting to get high-tech makeover

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's forecasting of the monsoon - the crop-nourishing seasonal rains that are the lifeblood for farmers in the country of 1.3 billion people - is getting a high-tech makeover.

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Electric eels can kill horses, new research confirms

MIAMI (Reuters) - Experiments at Vanderbilt University have proven a 200-year-old observation that electric eels can leap out of water and shock animals to death, a claim originally made by 19th century biologist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt.

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Astronauts get first look inside space station's new inflatable module

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station on Monday floated inside an experimental inflatable module that will test a less expensive and potentially safer option for housing crews during long stays in space, NASA said.

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Russia delays launch to space outpost to ensure safety of new spaceship

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The launch of the next three-man crew to the International Space Station has been postponed until July 7 from June 24 in order to ensure the safety of the first flight of their new "Soyuz-MS" spaceship, Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Monday.

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Astronomers say universe expanding faster than predicted

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The universe is expanding faster than previously believed, a surprising discovery that could test part of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, a pillar of cosmology that has withstood challenges for a century.

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Luxembourg sets aside 200 million euros to fund space mining ventures

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Luxembourg on Friday upped its bid to be a leader in the nascent space mining industry by setting aside 200 million euros ($223 million) to fund initiatives aimed at bringing back rare minerals from space.

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How dogs became man's best friend - twice over

LONDON (Reuters) - Ancient humans made dogs their best friend not once but twice, by domesticating two separate populations of wolves thousands of miles apart in Europe and Asia.

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Tasmanian devil returns to San Diego Zoo after pacemaker surgery

(Reuters) - A Tasmanian devil named Nick is back in his exhibit area at the San Diego Zoo after receiving a pacemaker to make his heartbeat normal.

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Scientists propose project to build synthetic human genome

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of scientists on Thursday proposed an ambitious project to create a synthetic human genome, or genetic blueprint, in an endeavor that is bound to raise concerns over the extent to which human life can or should be engineered.

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Genes of slain Cincinnati gorilla to live on

(Reuters) - After shooting dead a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo to save a 3-year-old boy, zoo officials said they had collected a sample of his sperm, raising hopes among distraught fans that Harambe could sire offspring even in death.

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Archaeologists vs. robbers in Israel's race to find ancient scrolls

TZEELIM VALLEY, Israel (Reuters) - The disposable paper face masks offer little protection from the clouds of dust that fill the cliffside cave where Israeli archaeologists are wrapping up the largest excavation in the Judean desert of the past half-century.

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New incentives needed to develop antibiotics to fight superbugs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Drugmakers are renewing efforts to develop medicines to fight emerging antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but creating new classes of drugs on the scale needed is unlikely to happen without new financial incentives to make the effort worth the investment, companies and industry experts said.

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Prototype space station module inflated on NASA's second try

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station on Saturday inflated an experimental fabric module that may provide a less expensive and safer option for housing crews during long stays in space, a NASA TV broadcast showed.

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Radar images reveal Mars is coming out of an ice age

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - An analysis of radar images that peered inside the polar ice caps of Mars shows that Earth's neighbor is coming out of an ice age that is part of an ongoing cycle of climate change, scientists said on Thursday.

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Rosetta spacecraft finds key building blocks for life in a comet

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Scientists for the first time have directly detected key organic compounds in a comet, bolstering the notion that these celestial objects delivered such chemical building blocks for life long ago to Earth and throughout the solar system.

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Expandable space habitat fails to inflate in NASA's first test

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA called off an attempt to inflate an experimental habitat attached to the International Space Station after the fabric module failed to expand as planned on Thursday.

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From hardy pigs to super-crops, gene editing poses new EU dilemma

LONDON (Reuters) - Heat-tolerant Angus beef cattle designed for the tropics with white coats instead of black or red. A button mushroom that doesn't turn brown. Pigs that don't fall sick.

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Enigmatic French cave structures show off Neanderthal skills

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mysterious ring-shaped structures fashioned about 176,000 years ago by Neanderthals using broken stalagmites deep inside a cave in southwestern France indicate that our closest extinct relatives were more adept than previously known.

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Solar plane lands in Dayton, Ohio on latest leg of round-the-world flight

(Reuters) - An experimental airplane powered solely by energy from the sun landed in Ohio on Saturday night on the latest leg of its historic bid by pilots and developers to fly around the globe without a drop of fuel.

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Slimy hagfish inspire 'super hydrogels'

The unusual secretions of the Atlantic hagfish are being studied by scientists who want to harness the viscous and elastic properties of the creature's slime for human use.

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'ET Comes Home' for NASA fuel tank's ride to LA site

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A giant NASA fuel tank completed its final journey on Saturday, with crowds cheering on its parade along Los Angeles streets to a science center where it will go on display with the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour.

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Developers look to widen repertoire of Pepper, Japan's laughing robot

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese developers of a robot are asking the public to come up with ideas for what their waist-high humanoid can do and they are offering a software development kit for programmers to get creative.

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Skywatchers can see close, bright Mars looming large this month

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in a decade this month, providing sky-watchers with a celestial show from dusk to dawn starting this week, NASA said on Thursday.

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Dinosaur duo sported exotic spikes and horns

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two newly discovered dinosaurs unearthed in the western U.S. states of Montana and Utah are illustrating the exotic appearance some of these beasts developed, with fanciful horns and spikes, toward the end of their reign on Earth.

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German to take command of International Space Station in 2018

COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) - Astronaut Alexander Gerst will become the first German and only the second European to take command of the International Space Station, the European Space Agency said on Wednesday.

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Over a third of North American bird species in danger: scientists

OTTAWA (Reuters) - More than a third of all North American bird species are at risk of becoming extinct unless significant action is taken, scientists who are part of a tri-nation initiative said on Wednesday, adding that ocean and tropical birds were in particular danger.

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NASA fuel tank arrives at port ahead of trip through Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A NASA fuel tank arrived at a port on Wednesday ahead of a planned mission this weekend to tow the giant apparatus through the streets of Los Angeles and display it with the space shuttle Endeavour at a science center.

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Blazing meteor creates light show across New England sky

BOSTON (Reuters) - A meteor lit up the night sky over New England and eastern Canada early on Tuesday, startling people who saw it including police officers who captured the show on a dashcam.

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Livestock firm Genus ramps up R&D spend in gene editing race

LONDON (Reuters) - British animal genetics firm Genus is diving deeper into the hot area of gene editing, in a move Chief Executive Karim Bitar says will bring long-term gains at the cost of a hefty hike in research spending.

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NASA launches near-space monitoring balloon from New Zealand

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - NASA successfully launched a super pressure balloon from New Zealand's South Island Wanaka Airport Tuesday to conduct near-space scientific investigations.

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Genes tell how the giraffe got its long neck

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have sequenced the genome of the giraffe for the first time, uncovering DNA quirks that help explain how the tallest animals on earth developed their remarkably long necks.

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Remarkable evidence of ancient humans found under Florida river

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers who dove hundreds of times into a sinkhole beneath the brown murky waters of Florida's Aucilla River have retrieved some of the oldest evidence of human presence in the Americas including stone tools apparently used to butcher a mastodon.

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SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule splashes down in Pacific Ocean

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - A SpaceX Dragon capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday carrying about 3,700 pounds (1,680 kg) of experiment results and cargo from the International Space Station, NASA said.

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'Hyperloop' sled speeds through U.S. desert via electromagnets

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Reuters) - A car-sized sled powered by electromagnets rocketed to more than 100 miles (160 kph) an hour through the Nevada desert on Wednesday in what the Los Angeles company developing the technology said was the first successful test of a futurist transit system called hyperloop.

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A breath test for malaria

ST. LOUIS, (Reuters) - Diagnosing malaria may soon be as easy taking a simple breath test, according to researchers.  

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Ancient lava bubbles reveal conditions on primordial Earth

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tiny bubbles that formed inside volcanic rock 2.7 billion years ago are providing big insights into the conditions on primordial Earth.

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Record 1,284 planets added to list of worlds beyond solar system

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Astronomers have discovered 1,284 more planets beyond our solar system, with nine possibly in orbits suitable for surface water that could bolster the prospects of supporting life, scientists said on Tuesday.

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Earthlings watch as tiny Mercury sails past the sun

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Tiny Mercury, the solar system's innermost planet, sailed across the face of the sun on Monday, a celestial dance that occurs about once every decade as Earth and its smaller neighboring planet align in space.

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Scientists peel back the carrot's genetic secrets

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists have gotten to the root of the carrot, genetically speaking.    Researchers said on Monday they have sequenced the genome of the carrot, an increasingly important root crop worldwide, identifying genes responsible for traits including the vegetable's abundance of vitamin A, an important nutrient for vision.    The genome may point to ways to improve carrots through breeding, including increasing their nutrients and making them more productive and more resistant

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Nailed it: scientists describe weird ancient hammerhead reptile

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It was a creature so outlandish that scientists say it reminds them of the fanciful beasts conjured up by Dr. Seuss. But would the famous children's book author have thought up a marine reptile with a hammerhead snout it used to snack on algae?

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Primate fate: Chinese fossils illuminate key evolutionary period

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A treasure trove of fossils of six furry critters that inhabited the trees of southern China 34 million years ago is providing a deeper understanding of a pivotal moment in the evolution of primates, the group that eventually gave rise to people.

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U.S. traders reject GMO crops that lack global approval

(Reuters) - Across the U.S. Farm Belt, top grain handlers have banned genetically modified crops that are not approved in all major overseas markets, shaking up a decades-old system that used the world's biggest exporting country as a launchpad for new seeds from companies like Monsanto Co.

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SpaceX rocket launches satellite, then lands on ship at sea

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - An unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Florida on Friday to put a communications satellite into orbit, then made a swift return landing on an ocean platform, a live webcast showed.

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Scientists win $3 million for detecting Einstein's waves

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Researchers who helped detect gravitational waves for the first time, confirming part of Albert Einstein's theory in a landmark moment in scientific history, will share a $3 million Special Breakthrough Prize, according to the prize's selection committee.

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For first time, scientists grow two-week-old human embryos in lab

LONDON(Reuters) - Scientists have for the first time grown human embryos outside of the mother for almost two full weeks into development, giving unique insight into what they say is the most mysterious stage of early human life.

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Newly discovered planets may boost search for life beyond Earth

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The discovery of three planets that circle a small, dim star could bolster the chances of finding life beyond Earth, astronomers said on Monday.

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Second European-Russian mission to Mars delayed to 2020

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The second stage of a joint European-Russian mission to search for signs of life on Mars has been delayed from 2018 to 2020, the European Space Agency and Russia's Roscosmos said on Monday.

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Solar-powered plane departs California on round-the-world flight

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A solar-powered airplane midway through an attempt to circle the globe departed northern California on Monday on the next leg of its history-making journey, a relatively short 16-hour flight to Arizona, the project team said.

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ITER nuclear fusion project faces new delay, cost overrun: Les Echos

PARIS (Reuters) - The international ITER project to build a prototype nuclear fusion reactor will be delayed by more than a decade and faces another 4 billion euros of cost overruns, its director told French daily Les Echos.

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Africa's giant eye in the sky proving worth its SALT

SUTHERLAND, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa’s SALT telescope has helped detect the first white dwarf pulsar, the latest co-discovery that has astronomers eager to use the largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere to unlock the galaxy's secrets.

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Simulating Mars exploration, British astronaut guides rover from space

LONDON (Reuters) - British astronaut Tim Peake drove a rover on Mars on Friday -- or at least pretended to by test-driving the exploration vehicle on earth remotely from space.

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Astronomers find a tailless comet, first of its kind

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Astronomers have found a first-of-its-kind tailless comet whose composition may offer clues into long-standing questions about the solar system's formation and evolution, according to research published on Friday in the journal Science Advances.

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China aims for manned moon landing by 2036

BEIJING (Reuters) - China wants to put astronauts on the moon by 2036, a senior space official said, the latest goal in China's ambitious lunar exploration program.

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Repairs to keep ULA rocket grounded until summer, company says

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - United Launch Alliance's workhorse Atlas 5 rocket will remain grounded until this summer while engineers fix a problem that triggered an early engine shutdown during its last flight, the space venture said on Friday.

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SpaceX undercut ULA rocket launch pricing by 40 percent: U.S. Air Force

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force will save 40 percent by buying a GPS satellite launch from Elon Musk’s SpaceX compared with what United Launch Alliance has been charging, the head of the Space and Missile Systems Center said on Thursday.

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Slumber party: reptiles, like us, have REM sleep and may dream

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Research in a German laboratory involving five lizards called Australian bearded dragons indicates that these reptiles may dream and could prompt a fundamental reassessment of the evolution of sleep.

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In risks to bees, study finds not all neonicotinoids are equal

LONDON (Reuters) - A group of chemical insecticides known as neonicotinoids that have been banned in Europe due to fears about potential harm to bees have been found in new research to have very differential risks for bumblebees.

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SpaceX targets 2018 for first Mars mission

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - SpaceX plans to send an unmanned Dragon spacecraft to Mars as early as 2018, the company said on Wednesday, a first step in achieving founder Elon Musk’s goal to fly people to another planet.

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SpaceX breaks Boeing-Lockheed monopoly on military space launches

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday awarded billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX an $83 million contract to launch a GPS satellite, breaking the monopoly that Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co have had on military space launches for more than a decade.

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Russia's Putin orders space program shake-up after launch delayed

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin told his space officials to raise their game on Wednesday after he flew thousands of kilometers to watch the inaugural launch of a rocket from a new spaceport, only for it to be called off.

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Heads up: intact skull sheds light on big, long-necked dinosaurs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A beautifully preserved fossil skull unearthed in Argentina is giving scientists unparalleled insight into the sensory capabilities and behavior of a group of dinosaurs that were the largest land animals in Earth's history.

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Concentration counts in mind controlled drone race

GAINESVILLE, Fl - It was a test of concentration and brainwaves for students at the University of Florida during what was billed as the first mind controlled drone race.

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Blaze guts Delhi museum housing dinosaur fossil

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A fire on Tuesday damaged a museum of natural history in the Indian capital that had scores of exhibits of plants and animals, among them a 160-million-year-old dinosaur fossil.

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Battling cancer with light

(Reuters) - Researchers have for the first time used a technique called optogenetics to prevent and reverse cancer by manipulating electrical signals in cells.

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Astronaut runs marathon in space -- but slower than on earth

(Reuters) - British astronaut Tim Peake became the first man to complete a marathon in space on Sunday, running the classic 26.2 mile distance while strapped to a treadmill aboard the International Space Station.

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Wind energy converter inspired by ancient boats

A bladeless wind energy convertor inspired by the sailing boats of Ancient Carthage is set to breeze past traditional turbines in terms of efficiency, according to its Tunisian developers.

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Huge long-necked dinosaurs had big, precocious babies

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The babies of a huge, long-necked dinosaur called Rapetosaurus that lived on the island of Madagascar did not just sit in a nest and look cute. They were born ready for action.

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Dutch fountain runs on sunshine and air

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch sculpture presented on Earth Day spouts water 6 meters high without using conventional water or power sources in what creators hope will inspire new ways to ease resource shortages in drought-prone climates.

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Monkey mariners made monumental migration 21 million years ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Monkeys resembling today's capuchins accomplished the astonishing feat of crossing at least 100 miles (160 km) of open ocean 21 million years ago to get from South America to North America eons before the two continents joined together.

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AstraZeneca taps gene pioneer Venter for huge drug-hunting sweep

CAMBRIDGE, England (Reuters) - AstraZeneca, working with genome pioneer Craig Venter, is launching a massive gene hunt in the most comprehensive bet yet by a pharmaceutical firm on the potential of genetic variations to unlock routes to new medicines.

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China to launch 'core module' for space station around 2018

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will launch a "core module" for its first space station some time around 2018, a senior official told the state-run Xinhua news agency on Thursday, part of the country's plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.

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Half Australia's Great Barrier Reef coral 'dead or dying': scientists

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian scientists said on Wednesday that just seven percent of the Great Barrier Reef, which attracts around A$5 billion ($3.90 billion) in tourism every year, has been untouched by mass bleaching that is likely to destroy half the coral.

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Speedy eye-tracking device seeks to detect concussions

BOSTON (Reuters) - A newly-approved device using infrared cameras to track eye movements promises to help detect concussions in one minute, offering a speedy insight into whether athletes have sustained the injury.

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Beer brewers toast Australian gluten-free barley

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian scientists say they have developed the world's first WHO-approved "gluten-free" barley, a breakthrough for global beer manufacturers which have had to use alternatives to barley such as rice and sorghum to brew gluten-free beer.

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A robot to teach kids coding

Cambridge, MASS (Reuters) - A robot named Root has been developed to expose kids of all ages to coding in a way that brings the often daunting world of computer science to life.  

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Exclusive: Florida wins contest for OneWeb satellite manufacturing facility - sources

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - OneWeb Ltd, an internet-via-satellite venture backed by Richard Branson's Virgin Group and other high-profile companies, will build a factory to mass produce small satellites near NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sources involved in the agreement told Reuters. 

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Solar powered bid to bring modernity to developing world

A 40 meter long photovoltaic computer which provides clean water, while generating electricity to recharge external devices, has been designed by an Italian company for use in the developing world.     Watly, set up by entrepreneur Marco Attisani, has started an Indiegogo campaign to fund the third version of its solar technology.    "What you are looking at is a big machine, it's an infrastructural machine. It's 40 meters long, 15 meters wide, and 15 tonnes," Attisani told Reuters. "Primarily i

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Experimental inflatable module attached to space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla (Reuters) - A NASA ground-control team on Saturday used a robot arm to unpack an expandable module and attach it to the International Space Station, setting the stage for a novel test of a habitat for astronauts, researchers and even tourists.

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DNA analysis could help improve your workout: study

LONDON (Reuters) - A new study suggests that athletes using DNA-matched training improved their performance almost three times more than those on mismatched programs.

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Search begins for clues in prehistoric crater linked to demise of dinosaurs

MEXICO CITY - Scientists have begun drilling  for core samples, nearly 5,000 feet below the seabed, of a prehistoric crater caused by an asteroid collision  that is linked to the extinction of dinosaurs.

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United Launch Alliance suspends Atlas 5 flights

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - United Launch Alliance said on Wednesday its Atlas 5 rocket will need to be repaired before flights resume following an early engine shutdown on its last mission.

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Device harnessing thoughts allows quadriplegic to use his hands

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Ohio man paralyzed in an accident while diving in waves can now pick up a bottle or play the video game Guitar Hero thanks to a small computer chip in his brain that lets his mind guide his hands and fingers, bypassing his damaged spinal cord.

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Billionaire Yuri Milner bids another $100 million to explore the cosmos

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Billionaire Internet investor Yuri Milner announced another $100 million initiative on Tuesday to better understand the cosmos, this time by deploying thousands of tiny spacecraft to travel to our nearest neighboring star system and send back pictures.

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No more curtains thanks to next generation window technology

Cambridge, MASS (Reuters) - - Curtains and blinds may soon be a design choice as opposed as to a tool for privacy. Windows that can transition between clear and cloudy in a second may soon be a reality thanks to technology under development at Harvard University's School of Engineering.

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Swiss group buys Airbus jet for zero-gravity flights

ZURICH (Reuters) - A Swiss aerospace group plans to offer zero-gravity flights this year in an airliner that will expose thrill-seekers with strong stomachs to repeated bouts of weightlessness.

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ULA to partner with Bigelow on commercial space habitats

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - United Launch Alliance will team with billionaire entrepreneur Robert Bigelow to market and fly habitats for humans in space, a project that hinges on space taxis being developed by SpaceX, Boeing Co and other firms, ULA and Bigelow said on Monday.

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SpaceX rocket booster makes breakthrough landing at sea

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Florida on a NASA cargo run to the International Space Station on Friday, and its reusable main-stage booster landed on an ocean platform minutes later in a dramatic spaceflight first.

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Brain scans show how LSD mimics mind of a baby

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have for the first time scanned the brains of people using LSD and found the psychedelic drug frees the brain to become less compartmentalized and more like the mind of a baby.

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Genes used to extend banana lifespan

Bananas never last very long -- within a few days of buying them, the rot sets in. But now Israeli scientists have found a way to significantly slow the decomposition down by altering the genes of the fruit.


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ULA to partner with Bigelow on commercial space habitats

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - United Launch Alliance will team with billionaire entrepreneur Robert Bigelow to market and fly habitats for humans in space, a project that hinges on space taxis being developed by SpaceX, Boeing Co and other firms, ULA and Bigelow said on Monday.











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SpaceX rocket booster makes breakthrough landing at sea

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Florida on a NASA cargo run to the International Space Station on Friday, and its reusable main-stage booster landed on an ocean platform minutes later in a dramatic spaceflight first.











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U.S. needs up to 18 more Russian rocket engines: Pentagon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon will need to buy up to 18 more Russian-built RD-180 engines to power rockets carrying U.S. military satellites into space over the next six years or so, Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said in an interview on Friday.


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South America's prehistoric people spread like 'invasive species'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When the first prehistoric people trekked into South America toward the end of the Ice Age, they found a wondrous, lush continent inhabited by all manner of strange creatures like giant ground sloths and car-sized armadillos.











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Suit that mimics life at age 85 has no creases, just creaks

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (Reuters) - With the push of a button, a perfectly healthy 34-year-old museum-goer named Ugo Dumont was transformed into a confused 85-year-old man with cataracts, glaucoma and a ringing in his ears known as tinnitus.


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GM adenovirus used by doctors to attack tumor cells

Researchers in Argentina say they have genetically modified an adenovirus - which can cause colds, conjunctivitis and bronchitis - to home in on cancer, killing tumor cells in patients without harming healthy tissue.











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Orbital presses U.S. lawmakers to end ban on retired missiles

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Orbital ATK is pressing U.S. lawmakers to end a 20-year ban on using decommissioned intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) for launching commercial satellites and the effort has raised concern among companies that have invested millions of dollars in potential rival rockets.


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Bezos praises third Blue Origin launch-and-land rocket test as 'perfect'

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Jeff Bezos' space transportation company Blue Origin successfully launched and landed for the third time a suborbital rocket capable of carrying six passengers, taking another step on its path in developing reusable boosters, the company said on Saturday.











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(EN) Steam-Trader

Steam-trader.com - Trade platform Dota2, CS:GO, TF2, Gifts.

It is a unique traiding platform, allowing you to buy and sell cosmetic items of Dota 2, CS:GO, Team Fortress2 or Games (Gifts) for real money, at the best prices! Trading platform consists of four sections, which are interlinked by a shared wallet that will allow you to sell things in one section and buy them in another. Deposit and withdrawal funds available with the help of multiple payment systems. Earn - resting! Successful auction!

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Steam-trader - Торговая площадка Dota2, CS:GO, TF2, Gifts.

Это уникальная торговая площадка, позволяющая покупать и продавать Игры или Гифты (Gift) Steam, а так же вещи Dota 2, CS:GO, Team Fortress2 за реальные деньги, без комиссии! Торговая площадка состоит из четырех разделов, которые связанны между собой общим кошельком, что позволит вам продавать вещи в одном разделе и покупать их в другом. Пополнение счета и вывод средств доступно при помощи множества платежных систем.

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Europe gives green light to first gene therapy for children

LONDON (Reuters) - The world's first life-saving gene therapy for children, developed by Italian scientists and GlaxoSmithKline, has been recommended for approval in Europe, boosting the pioneering technology to fix faulty genes.











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Pentagon awards $75 million for advanced textiles institute

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sensors that can detect tears in parachute nylons before they become deadly, troop uniforms studded with electronics that can sense chemical agents, and self-powered tents that can save fuel: the U.S. military is banking on a new public-private partnership to make these a reality.


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A gorilla named Susie illustrates genome similarities with humans

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gorilla named Susie is helping provide fresh insight into the genetic similarities and differences between people and these endangered apes that are among our closest living relatives.











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Probe of ULA rocket engine early cutoff focuses on fuel system

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The Russian-made rocket motor that catapulted a United Launch Alliance booster toward orbit last week shut down six seconds early apparently because of a fuel system problem, the company said on Thursday, in its first explanation of the issue.


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Could this megacopter carry people?

Students who have a remote-controlled multicopter drone that set a Guinness World Record for the heaviest payload ever lifted by such a vehicle say they hope to get permission to fly a person in its structure.











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Chinese AI team plans to challenge Google's AlphaGo: state media

BEIJING (Reuters) - A team from China plans to challenge Google's AlphaGo, the artificial intelligence (AI) program that beat a world-class player in the ancient board game Go, the state-owned Shanghai Securities News reported on Thursday.


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Diminutive 'Hobbit' people vanished earlier than previously known

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The extinct human species dubbed the "Hobbit" vanished from its home on the Indonesian island of Flores far earlier than previously thought, according to scientists who suspect our species may have had a hand in these diminutive people's demise.











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