Science News

Surgeon: Stonewall Jackson death likely pneumonia

Tweet Share on Facebook 12:22AM May 10, 2013 Comment

Historians and doctors have debated for decades what medical complications caused the death of legendary Confederate fighter Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, felled by friendly fire from his troops during the Civil War.

'Ring of fire' eclipse crosses Australia, Pacific

Tweet Share on Facebook 10:28PM May 09, 2013 Comment

SYDNEY (AP) — Skygazers across the Australian Outback were among the lucky few to witness a solar eclipse on Friday as the moon glided between Earth and the sun, blocking everything but a dazzling ring of light.

UK budget airline to test ash cloud detector

Tweet Share on Facebook 11:33AM May 09, 2013 Comment

LONDON (AP) — Budget airline easyJet PLC says it has acquired a ton of ash from Icelandic volcanoes for use in an experiment to test ash detection technology.

Wearable robots getting lighter, more portable

Tweet Share on Facebook 3:12AM May 09, 2013 Comment

CHICAGO (AP) — When Michael Gore stands it's a triumph of science and engineering. He was paralyzed from the waist down 11 years ago in a workplace accident. Yet he rises from his wheelchair to his full 6-foot-2-inches and walks across the room.

Stephen Hawking won't attend Israeli conference

Tweet Share on Facebook 6:19AM May 08, 2013 Comment

LONDON (AP) — Physicist Stephen Hawking has dropped plans to attend a major conference in Israel in June, prompting criticism Wednesday from Israeli officials who believe he has joined a boycott organized to protest Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.

Europeans had common ancestors 1,000 years ago

Tweet Share on Facebook 5:01PM May 07, 2013 Comment

BERLIN (AP) — Europeans appear to be more closely related than previously thought.

Elon Musk's SpaceX signs lease at NM spaceport

Tweet Share on Facebook 4:09PM May 07, 2013 Comment

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Another space industry heavyweight has signed on to use New Mexico's Spaceport America — Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, Gov. Susana Martinez announced Tuesday.

Encroaching sea already a threat in Caribbean

Tweet Share on Facebook 2:22PM May 07, 2013 Comment

TELESCOPE, Grenada (AP) — The old coastal road in this fishing village at the eastern edge of Grenada sits under a couple of feet of murky saltwater, which regularly surges past a hastily-erected breakwater of truck tires and bundles of driftwood intended to hold back the Atlantic Ocean.

East about to be overrun by billions of cicadas

Tweet Share on Facebook 3:23AM May 07, 2013 Comment

WASHINGTON (AP) — Any day now, billions of cicadas with bulging red eyes will crawl out of the earth after 17 years underground and overrun the East Coast. The insects will arrive in such numbers that people from North Carolina to Connecticut will be outnumbered roughly 600-to-1. Maybe more.

New satellite appears to be working flawlessly

Tweet Share on Facebook 8:02PM May 06, 2013 Comment

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A new satellite hovering nearly 450 miles above the Earth appears to working flawlessly as it embarks on a 10-year mission to document the planet's surface, scientists and engineers at the U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation and Science Center said Monday.

East about to be overrun by billions of cicadas

Tweet Share on Facebook 2:13PM May 06, 2013 Comment

WASHINGTON (AP) — Any day now, billions of cicadas with bulging red eyes will creep out of the ground and overrun parts of the East Coast.

Solar plane lands in Ariz., 1st leg of major trip

Tweet Share on Facebook 6:21AM May 04, 2013 Comment

PHOENIX (AP) — Flying for several hours after sundown, a solar-powered airplane landed in Phoenix early Saturday morning on the first leg of a cross-country trip.

Experimental Air Force aircraft goes hypersonic

Tweet Share on Facebook 3:18PM May 03, 2013 Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An experimental unmanned aircraft developed for the U.S. Air Force has flown at more than five times the speed of sound in a test off California.

Solar plane leaves Calif. on cross-country trip

Tweet Share on Facebook 11:34AM May 03, 2013 Comment

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — A solar-powered airplane has taken off from Northern California on the first leg of a planned journey to several U.S. cities.