http://www.mail.com/subjects/88-science.html Mail.com - the best personalized free web-based Email en en http://sec-s.uicdn.com/mail.com/2.20/img/mailcom_logo_rss.png http://www.mail.com/subjects/88-science.html http://www.mail.com/news/us/1764452-huge-dna-code-christmas-tree-revealed.html NEW YORK (AP) — To millions of people, the Christmas tree is a cheerful sight. To scientists who decipher the DNA codes of plants and animals, it's a monster. We're talking about the conifer, the umbrella term for cone-bearing trees like the spruce, fir, pine, cypress and cedar. Apart from their Yuletide popularity, they play big roles in the lumber indus... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:03:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/us/1764452-huge-dna-code-christmas-tree-revealed.html 2012-12-13T16:03:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1763390-chilean-town-shaken-reminders-deadly-quake.html NAVIDAD, Chile (AP) — One jolt hit in the middle of the night. Another caught fishermen at a nearby beach. Then the ground shook at supper. And then again, and again: More than 170 tremors were felt in Navidad in just five weeks. The strongest struck during a funeral, and sent panicked mourners fleeing into the street. Navidad, a coastal farming town of 5... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:42:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1763390-chilean-town-shaken-reminders-deadly-quake.html 2012-12-13T13:42:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1762940-epa-finds-contamination-rocket-test-site.html SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Lingering radioactive contamination exists at a former rocket test lab outside of Los Angeles that was the site of a partial nuclear meltdown, federal environmental regulators said Wednesday. The Environmental Protection Agency launched a $42 million study to investigate radioactive pollution at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 02:51:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1762940-epa-finds-contamination-rocket-test-site.html 2012-12-13T02:51:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/us/1293754-10-things-to-thursday.html Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and stories that will be talked about Thursday: 1. US TRIES FOR A TRICKY BALANCE ON KOREA Condemning the rocket launch too harshly risks rewarding the North, which seeks to leverage any global attention it gets into much-needed aid. 2. WHEN THE FED MIGHT RAISE INTEREST RATES ... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 02:14:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/us/1293754-10-things-to-thursday.html 2012-12-13T02:14:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1761728-colorado-river-depleting-regional-resource.html LAS VEGAS (AP) — The federal government isn't going to tap the Missouri River to slake the thirst of a drought-parched Southwest, the government's top water official said Wednesday. But rising demand and falling supply have water managers in the arid West considering a host of other options to deal with dire projections that the Colorado River — the main ... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:21:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1761728-colorado-river-depleting-regional-resource.html 2012-12-12T22:21:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1761420-noaa-chief-will-leave-february.html NEW YORK (AP) — The woman who was a key figure in the federal government's response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 said Wednesday she will leave her post at the end of February. "I have decided to return to my family and academia," Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, wrote to NOAA employees... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:05:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1761420-noaa-chief-will-leave-february.html 2012-12-12T22:05:00Z http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1761678-cheese-7500-years-ago.html LONDON (AP) — Little Miss Muffet could have been separating her curds and whey 7,500 years ago, according to a new study that finds the earliest solid evidence of cheese-making. Scientists performed a chemical analysis on fragments from 34 pottery sieves discovered in Poland to determine their purpose. Until now, experts weren't sure whether such sieves w... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 19:56:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1761678-cheese-7500-years-ago.html 2012-12-12T19:56:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1761916-distant-galaxy-regains-title-oldest-universe.html LOS ANGELES (AP) — A galaxy once considered the oldest has reclaimed its title, scientists reported Wednesday. Poring through Hubble Space Telescope photos, the team recalculated the galaxy's age and determined it is actually 13.3 billion years old — not a mere 13.2 billion. The dim galaxy filled with blue stars was first noticed last year by a different ... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 19:50:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1761916-distant-galaxy-regains-title-oldest-universe.html 2012-12-12T19:50:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1761708-scientists-seek-to-solve-mystery-piltdown-man.html LONDON (AP) — It was an archaeological hoax that fooled scientists for decades. A century on, researchers are determined to find out who was responsible for Piltdown Man, the missing link that never was. In December 1912, it was announced that a lawyer and amateur archaeologist named Charles Dawson had made an astonishing discovery in a gravel pit in sout... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:13:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1761708-scientists-seek-to-solve-mystery-piltdown-man.html 2012-12-12T17:13:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1760562-nkorea-rocket-gift-to-leaders-warning-to-world.html Why would North Korea launch a rocket into space now? The act invites additional sanctions for a country where the U.N. says millions are going hungry, and the bitter cold had only increased the risk of the launch becoming the latest of several embarrassing failures. Some of Pyongyang's reasons are calendar-related: It's been 100 years since the birth of ... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 09:35:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1760562-nkorea-rocket-gift-to-leaders-warning-to-world.html 2012-12-12T09:35:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/health/1758662-da-investigating-texas-troubled-3b-cancer-agency.html AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Turmoil surrounding an unprecedented $3 billion cancer-fighting effort in Texas worsened Tuesday when its executive director offered his resignation and the state's chief public corruption prosecutor announced an investigation into the beleaguered agency. No specific criminal allegations are driving the latest probe into the Cancer Pr... Tue, 11 Dec 2012 22:42:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/health/1758662-da-investigating-texas-troubled-3b-cancer-agency.html 2012-12-11T22:42:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1758710-air-force-sends-mystery-mini-shuttle-to-space.html CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The military's small, top-secret version of the space shuttle rocketed into orbit Tuesday for a repeat mystery mission, two years after making the first flight of its kind. The Air Force launched the unmanned spacecraft Tuesday hidden on top of an Atlas V rocket. As if on cue, clouds quickly swallowed up the rocket as it disapp... Tue, 11 Dec 2012 21:07:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1758710-air-force-sends-mystery-mini-shuttle-to-space.html 2012-12-11T21:07:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/health/1757572-tests-hamper-food-outbreak-detection.html WASHINGTON (AP) — New tests that promise to speed up diagnosis of food poisoning pose an unexpected problem: They could make it more difficult to identify dangerous outbreaks like the one that sickened people who ate a variety of Trader Joe's peanut butter this fall. The new tests could reach medical laboratories as early as next year, an exciting develop... Tue, 11 Dec 2012 19:00:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/health/1757572-tests-hamper-food-outbreak-detection.html 2012-12-11T19:00:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1757658-us-students-math-science.html WASHINGTON (AP) — American fourth-graders are performing better than they were four years ago in math and reading, but students four years older show no such progress, a global study released Tuesday revealed. Although the U.S. remains in the top dozen or so countries in all subjects tested, the gap between the U.S. and the top-performing nations is much ... Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:24:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1757658-us-students-math-science.html 2012-12-11T17:24:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1757884-hawking-cern-scientists-win-huge-physics-prize.html GENEVA (AP) — A Russian billionaire's foundation is awarding two special prizes of $3 million each to British cosmologist Stephen Hawking for his work on black holes and to seven scientists at the world's biggest atom-smasher for their roles in the discovery of a new subatomic particle believed to be the long-sought Higgs boson. Yuri Milner's Fundamental ... Tue, 11 Dec 2012 10:51:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1757884-hawking-cern-scientists-win-huge-physics-prize.html 2012-12-11T10:51:00Z http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1757566-alan-alda-asks-scientists-to-explain-whats-time.html MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — Professor Alan Alda has a homework assignment for scientists. Yes, that Alan Alda. The actor known for portraying Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce on the TV show "MASH" and more recent guest shots on NBC's "30 Rock" is also a visiting professor at New York's Stony Brook University school of journalism and a founder of the scho... Tue, 11 Dec 2012 07:03:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1757566-alan-alda-asks-scientists-to-explain-whats-time.html 2012-12-11T07:03:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1756406-amgen-buying-decode-genetics-415.html TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Biotech pioneer Amgen Inc., in a bid for a big edge in using people's genetic information to find better ways to attack diseases, is buying human genetics research and analytics leader deCODE Genetics for $415 million. Amgen, the world's largest biotech company by revenue, and deCODE, based in Reykjavik, Iceland, announced the all-cas... Mon, 10 Dec 2012 20:31:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1756406-amgen-buying-decode-genetics-415.html 2012-12-10T20:31:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1756446-energy-experts-drilling-cleaner.html PITTSBURGH (AP) — In the Colorado mountains, a spike in air pollution has been linked to a boom in oil and gas drilling. A thousand miles away on the plains of north Texas, there's a drilling boom, too, but some air pollution levels have declined. Opponents of drilling point to Colorado and say it's dangerous. Companies point to Texas and say drilling is safe. ... Mon, 10 Dec 2012 18:37:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1756446-energy-experts-drilling-cleaner.html 2012-12-10T18:37:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1755828-un-climate-talks-qatar-boost-gulf-awareness.html DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Holding a high-profile U.N. climate change conference in Qatar, smack in the middle of the region that produces so much of the fossil fuel blamed for global warming, was a gamble. In the end, it displayed the hosts' drive for a leading place on the world stage and evoked a surprising new regional awareness of the environmental crisis. T... Mon, 10 Dec 2012 13:56:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1755828-un-climate-talks-qatar-boost-gulf-awareness.html 2012-12-10T13:56:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1755260-kazakhstan-mulls-russias-cosmodrome-lease.html ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) — The head of Kazakhstan's space agency said Monday that Russia's lease of a launch facility in the Central Asian nation, the only site worldwide currently being used to get astronauts to the International Space Station, may be suspended. Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency cited Kazcosmos head Talgat Musabayev as telling parliament th... Mon, 10 Dec 2012 06:58:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1755260-kazakhstan-mulls-russias-cosmodrome-lease.html 2012-12-10T06:58:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1753838-perus-capital-highly-vulnerable-to-major-quake.html LIMA, Peru (AP) — The earthquake all but flattened colonial Lima, the shaking so violent that people tossed to the ground couldn't get back up. Minutes later, a 50-foot (15-meter) wall of Pacific Ocean crashed into the adjacent port of Callao, killing all but 200 of its 5,000 inhabitants. Bodies washed ashore for weeks. Plenty of earthquakes have shaken P... Sun, 09 Dec 2012 17:36:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1753838-perus-capital-highly-vulnerable-to-major-quake.html 2012-12-09T17:36:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1754210-british-astronomer-patrick-moore-dies-89.html LONDON (AP) — British astronomer and broadcaster Patrick Moore died Sunday, according to friends and colleagues. He was 89. He died at his home in the coastal town of Selsey in southern England, according to a statement released Sunday. No specific cause of death was given, but he had heart problems and been confined to a wheelchair. M... Sun, 09 Dec 2012 15:15:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1754210-british-astronomer-patrick-moore-dies-89.html 2012-12-09T15:15:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1752580-un-conference-adopts-extension-kyoto-accord.html DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Seeking to control global warming, nearly 200 countries agreed Saturday to extend the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty that limits the greenhouse gas output of some rich countries, but will only cover about 15 percent of global emissions. The extension was adopted by a U.N. climate conference after hard-fought sessions and despite objections fr... Sat, 08 Dec 2012 18:27:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1752580-un-conference-adopts-extension-kyoto-accord.html 2012-12-08T18:27:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1752846-blighted-icon-volunteers-aim-to-revive-chestnut.html WEAVERVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Jim Hurst has doted on his trees, arranged in three "families" on a bluff high above the rushing French Broad River. He installed a drip irrigation system to help rejuvenate this former hayfield's powdery, depleted soil. To protect against browsing deer, he girded the delicate sprouts in plastic sleeving and wire mesh. In the four... Sat, 08 Dec 2012 14:04:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1752846-blighted-icon-volunteers-aim-to-revive-chestnut.html 2012-12-08T14:04:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1750356-un-climate-talks-overtime-qatar.html DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The world's poorest countries, inundated by rising seas and worsening disasters, made a last ditch plea for financial help early Saturday as negotiators at United Nations climate talks struggled to reach an ambitions deal to combat global warming. The two-week U.N. conference in the Qatar capital of Doha was never meant to yield a globa... Sat, 08 Dec 2012 01:10:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1750356-un-climate-talks-overtime-qatar.html 2012-12-08T01:10:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1749852-alaska-reclaims-missing-moon-rocks-1973.html ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A display of moon rocks that disappeared from an Alaska museum after an arson fire nearly four decades ago has been returned to the state following the settlement of a lawsuit by a man who claimed he rescued the rocks from the rubble. State and federal officials at a news conference Thursday displayed the returned relic — tiny moo... Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:10:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1749852-alaska-reclaims-missing-moon-rocks-1973.html 2012-12-07T00:10:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1747288-ap-exclusive-japan-scientists-took-utility-money.html TOKYO (AP) — Influential scientists who help set Japan's radiation exposure limits have for years had trips paid for by the country's nuclear plant operators to attend overseas meetings of the world's top academic group on radiation safety. The potential conflict of interest is revealed in one sentence buried in a 600-page parliamentary investigation into... Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:08:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1747288-ap-exclusive-japan-scientists-took-utility-money.html 2012-12-07T00:08:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1750486-report-calif-stem-cell-agency-overhaul.html LOS ANGELES (AP) — California has transformed into a major player in stem cell research, but the taxpayer-funded institute responsible has "significant deficiencies" in how research dollars are distributed, experts said Thursday. A report by the Institute of Medicine found too many members on the board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine... Thu, 06 Dec 2012 23:37:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1750486-report-calif-stem-cell-agency-overhaul.html 2012-12-06T23:37:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1747670-gene-altered-mosquitoes-used-vs-dengue.html KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — Mosquito control officials in the Florida Keys are waiting for the federal government to sign off on an experiment that would release hundreds of thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes to reduce the risk of dengue fever in the tourist town of Key West. If approved by the Food and Drug Administration, it would be the first such ... Thu, 06 Dec 2012 22:58:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1747670-gene-altered-mosquitoes-used-vs-dengue.html 2012-12-06T22:58:00Z