Obama Acts to Ease Way to Construct Reactors
The Obama administration proposed a tripling of federal loan guarantees for nuclear plants and named a panel to study options for nuclear waste.
To California, Moon Junk Is State Treasure
A state historical commission wants to raise awareness about California’s contribution to the Apollo 11 moon mission, which left lots of detritus behind.
Firefly Mission to Study Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes
There’s a mystery in the skies of Earth: Something is producing bright flashes of gamma radiation in the upper atmosphere of our own planet. A new NASA-NSF mission called Firefly is going to investigate.
Astronauts Ready for Shuttle Launch Amid NASA Uncertainty
Six NASA astronauts are ready to rocket into space on the shuttle Endeavour in just over a week as questions swirl over the space agency’s future spaceflight plans.
Brown Dwarf Hunt Hits Record Low
Brown dwarfs are curious objects. Although thy can weigh in at up to 80 Jupiter masses, they are too small to be called “stars” yet too big to be called a “planets”. Until the late 1980’s they were purely theoretical …
Black hole hunters set new distance record
Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have detected, in another galaxy, a stellar-mass black hole much farther away than any other previously known. With a mass above fifteen times that of the Sun, this is also the second most massive stellar…
Doctors cut back hours when risk of malpractice suit rises, study shows
A new study shows doctors work 1.7 hours less per week when medical liability risk increases by 10 percent. Such a decline in hours is the equivalent of one of every 35 physicians retiring without a replacement. Doctors age 55 and older and those wi…
Upper atmosphere influences weather near Earth’s surface
To what extent does what’s happening in the stratosphere, tens of kilometers above Earth, influence the weather in the troposphere, the layer of atmosphere that touches Earth? Researchers performed a series of forecast experiments using a general ci…
Physical activity associated with healthier aging: Links between exercise and cognitive function, bone density and overall health
Physical activity appears to be associated with a reduced risk or slower progression of several age-related conditions as well as improvements in overall health in older age, according to several new studies.
NASA’s Mars Rover Spirit Starts a New Chapter
After six years of unprecedented exploration of the Red Planet, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit no longer will be a fully mobile robot. NASA has designated the once-roving scientific explorer a stationary science platform after efforts during t…