Reuters: Science News

"Big Bang" experiment advancing fast

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:45:54 -0500

GENEVA (Reuters) - After a year's delay, scientists at the world's biggest accelerator have restarted an experiment to recreate "Big Bang" conditions that had sparked suggestions the earth would be sucked in by millions of black holes.

Delayed spacewalk ends successfully

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:25:03 -0500

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA astronauts completed a spacewalk on Saturday at the International Space Station that had been delayed after a false alarm woke the crews of the station and the visiting space shuttle Atlantis.

Art collector finds Galileo's lost tooth, fingers

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:44:25 -0500

ROME (Reuters) - An art collector has found a tooth, thumb and finger of the renowned Italian scientist Galileo Galilei who died in the 17th century, Florence's History of Science museum said on Friday.

New fossils reveal a world full of crocodiles

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:21:13 -0500

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New fossils unearthed in what is now the Sahara desert reveal a once-swampy world

Italy collector finds Galileo's lost tooth, fingers

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:17:43 -0500

Astronaut in space while wife giving birth

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:17:36 -0500

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Shuttle Atlantis astronaut Randy Bresnik can be forgiven if he's having a tough time focusing on work -- his wife is due to give birth on Friday to a baby girl.

Gene protects brain-eaters from mad cow-type disease

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:21:47 -0500

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Villagers in the highlands of Papua New Guinea who ritualistically ate human brains but did not die of a brain disease called kuru have a genetic mutation that protects them, researchers said Wednesday.

Mouse study points to treatment for Down syndrome

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:05:28 -0500

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Increasing the levels of a message-carrying chemical in the brain may help prevent some of the memory deficits in Down syndrome that hinder learning and make it hard for the brain to develop normally, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

Infrared telescope to detect dim, dusty objects

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:20:44 -0500

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NASA plans next month to launch a space telescope that will scan the heavens for the infrared glow of celestial objects never seen because they are too dim, dusty or distant, scientists said on Tuesday.

In Amazon, a frustrated search for cancer cures

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:23:13 -0500

SAO SEBASTIAO DE CUIEIRAS, Brazil (Reuters) - The task of harvesting the secrets of Brazil's vast Amazon rain forest that could help in the battle against cancer largely falls to Osmar Barbosa Ferreira and a big pair of clippers.