All Science
Mars missions cancelled? NASA budget could prompt deep cuts.While exactly how much money is allocated to NASA is unknown, insiders expect a significant reduction in the portion slotted for robotic exploration of Mars and other solar system bodies.
Enormous subglacial Lake Vostok could hold clues for alien lifeSince drilling through miles of ice to reach the massive underground lake, scientists have begun to speculate on what exists, or lives, in the frigid freshwater.
Scientists unravel mystery of zebra stripesWhy do zebras have stripes? One study suggests that the animals' distinctive vertical black-and-white pattern may have evolved to confuse biting insects.聽
Asian, American continents about to collide (in 50 million years or so)A team of Yale聽geologists predict that Asia and the Americas will smash into each other, forming a new supercontinent dubbed 'Amasia.'
Amazing 3-D images show how earthquakes warp the Earth's surfaceLaser scans of the Earth's surface published in the journal Science reveal how earthquakes distort the planet's surface, showing exactly where the ground moved and by how much. 聽
Why you should care about Lake VostokIf scientists find life in Antarctica's Lake Vostok, an ancient freshwater body locked beneath two miles of ice, it will greatly boost hopes of the existence of life on other worlds. 聽
Why is NASA sending a penny to Mars?A US penny is on-board NASA's Curiosity rover that is scheduled to land on Mars in August. The 1909 penny commemorating the centennial of President Lincoln's birth will act as a calibration target to help scientists and the public to gauge the size of objects on Mars.
Milky Way's enormous black hole gorges on asteroidsBritish astrophysicists think that asteroids are being devoured by the supernassive black hole at our galaxy's center, as evidenced by the daily X-ray flares detected by NASA's Chandra space telescope. Historical records indicate tha black hole may have even swallowed a planet.
Study: Himalayan glaciers melting more slowly than thought, but seas are still risingA study of satellite data has found that thermal expansion and ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica account for most of the planet's rising sea levels, with melting glaciers from the Himalayas contributing less than previously thought.聽
How Lake Vostok could transform our understanding of life as we know itRussian researchers in Antarctica say they have successfully drilled through more than two miles of ice to reach a vast lake that has been sealed off from light or air for at least 14 million years. If living organisms are found in the lake, it would greatly boost hopes of finding life on other worlds.聽
Zebras may have stripes because horseflies hate themZebras are best known for their dramatic stripes, but why they evolved remains uncertain. One popular notion is that stripes make it difficult for predators to single out an individual zebra from the herd, but experimental evidence for this or other ideas has been lacking.
Ancient Antarctic lake thought to harbor prehistoric life, Hitler clonesIn its reporting on the efforts of a Russian drilling team to reach a subglacial lake in Antarctica, Russian state media has revived an old conjecture about a secret Nazi cloning facility on the southern continent.聽
Earth's next supercontinent dubbed Amasia, when to expect itSupercontinents are giant landmasses made up of more than one continental core. The best-known supercontinent, Pangaea, was once the world's only continent 鈥� it was on it that the dinosaurs arose 鈥� and was the progenitor of today's continents.
NASA goes commercial in its quest for extra space taxisNASA seeks alternative ways to send astronauts to the International Space Station. Recent problems with Russia's Soyuz vehicles has shown a need for more space taxis.
Scientists drill past Antarctic ice to reach buried lake. What lies beneath?Lake Vostok has been capped with Antarctic ice for at least 15 million years. Now scientists have drilled 13,000 feet to reach its surface. They'll soon learn what life forms have adapted to that cold, dark locale.
NASA satellites reveal colossal ice melt, greenhouse gasses blamedUntil now, satellite measurements from only selected places were used to extrapolate the overall ice loss outside Greenland and Antarctica.
Breathtaking Carina nebula photo provides window into star nurseryThe Very Large Telescope spied the cosmic landscape of gas, dust and young stars in the majestic Carina nebula, which is located about 7,500 light-years away from Earth.聽
Russian scientists bore into massive ancient lake, prompt contamination concernsNews of the scientific milestone was evidently on hold, as Russian headquarters waited on some measurements from Vostok Station, the tiny outpost in the middle of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Janice Voss, shuttle astronaut, remembered for NASA contributionsJanice Voss began her NASA career while still a student at Purdue University. Janice Voss was one of six women to fly at least five times on the space shuttle.
Huge whale shark sold for $2,200 in PakistanWhale shark: A 7.7 ton whale shark was found off the coast of Pakistan. Whale sharks are the biggest fish in the sea.