Science
Drink Coffee, See Dead People
HEAVY coffee drinkers are more likely to have hallucinations or feel "the presence of dead people", according to new research.
Energy-guzzling plasma TVs will be banned in Brussels eco blitz
The plasma screen television is poised to become the next victim of the battle to curb energy use.
Biofuel from algae, weeds helps to power Boeing 737 jet in test flight
Continental Airlines ratcheted up the race to develop alternative fuel for passenger planes last week after it successfully flew a Boeing 737 twin-engine jet powered partly by algae and weeds.
Japan rocket to launch South Korean satellite
Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said on Monday it had received an order from South Korea's aerospace agency to launch one if its satellites, marking the first time a Japanese rocket will carry a foreign satellite.
GuGu the panda strikes again: Attacks visitor who climbed into pen at Bejing Zoo
He may look cute and cuddly, but watch out - GuGu bites. The 240 pound panda, a resident of the Beijing zoo, clamped down on the leg of a visitor who encroached on his territory to retrieve his child's toy.
Japan wants anti-whaling ship barred from ports
TOKYO (AP) — Japan said Tuesday it plans to ask Australia and possibly New Zealand and Chile to ban an anti-whaling protest ship from using their ports to refuel, heightening a cat-and-mouse game in Antarctic waters between Japan's whaling fleet a...
No way Columbia crew could survive
NEW YORK: The crew of the doomed shuttle Columbia were violently spun around in the cabin as the spacecraft disintegrated on re-entry, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) said in its final report on the 2003 tragedy that inclu...
Gems Point to Comet as Answer to Ancient Riddle
Something dramatic happened about 12,900 years ago, and the continent of North America was never the same. A thriving culture of Paleo-Americans, known as the Clovis people, vanished seemingly overnight. Gone, too, were most of the largest animals...
NASA report details last moments of Columbia crew
The seven shuttle astronauts who died were in an 'unsurvivable' situation. But the space agency cites several equipment flaws in the 2003 disaster.
Can we run our cars on human fat?
A Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon attracted attention from alternative energy buffs and public health officials after he announced that he was using liposuctioned fat to fuel two SUVs. Dr. Craig Alan Bittner, owner of the Beverly Hills Liposculptu...
Honeybees can get hooked on cocaine
Cocaine repels most insects -- which is why the coca plant makes the chemical in the first place. But in a surprising new finding, U.S. and Australian researchers reported Friday that honeybees are susceptible to the drug's insidious lure. They be...
Tick tock ... tick: Extra second added to 2008
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Those eager to put 2008 behind them will have to hold their good-byes for just a moment this New Year's Eve.
How kangaroo burgers could save the planet
COWS, sheep and goats may seem like innocent victims of humanity's appetite for meat, but when it comes to climate change they have a dark secret. Forget cars, planes or even power stations, some of the world's worst greenhouse gas emitters wander...
Amateurs are trying genetic engineering at home
SAN FRANCISCO – The Apple computer was invented in a garage. Same with the Google search engine. Now, tinkerers are working at home with the basic building blocks of life itself.
Dec. 24, 1968: Christmas Eve Greetings From Lunar Orbit
1968: The crew of Apollo 8 delivers a live, televised Christmas Eve broadcast after becoming the first humans to orbit another space body.
Smaller Companies Win NASA's Space Race
NASA yesterday gave two companies the job of resupplying the International Space Station after the space shuttle retires, picking Orbital Sciences of Dulles and SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., for a $3.5 billion contract.
US scientists recreate nerve disease to study it
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. scientists have created the first human model for studying a devastating nerve disease, which allows them to watch how the disease develops and could help researchers find a way to treat it.
EU leaders considering weaker emissions plan
BRUSSELS: European Union leaders on Friday agreed to a dramatically weakened plan to reduce emissions. Leaders said the accord, which offers a swathe of concessions to polluting companies and countries, would not jeopardize their overall target of...
Scientists predict seasonal ice-free Arctic by 2015
QUEBEC — Ice in the Canadian Arctic is melting at such an alarming pace due to climate change that the North will be seasonally ice free in six years, according to a study released yesterday from a groundbreaking scientific expedition.
Canada mocked for its green policies
Canada has been cleaning up at the international climate change talks in Poland, winning mock awards and dubious titles for what critics call dirty environmental policies.