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National Weather Service gets big computing boost

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 6:02:58 PM CST

By Tom Brown MIAMI (Reuters) - The U.S. National Weather Service is getting a quantum jump in computing power that will significantly improve its forecasting and storm tracking abilities to better protect the country from severe weather. "This is a game changer," Louis Uccellini, who took over as director of the National Weather Service in February, told Reuters in an interview, calling it "the biggest increase in operational capacity that we've ever had. ...

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Rocket blasts off from Florida carrying new GPS satellite

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 6:33:19 PM CST

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An unmanned Atlas rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Wednesday to deliver an upgraded global positioning system satellite into orbit. The 189-foot (58-meter) tall rocket, built and launched by United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, soared into blue skies over Florida's east coast at 5:38 p.m. EDT. ...

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NASA telescope's planet-hunting days may be over

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 5:34:36 PM CST

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA's first telescope dispatched to hunt for Earth-like planets that may support life elsewhere in the universe has lost use of its positioning system, threatening its mission, officials said on Wednesday. Launched in 2009, the Kepler space telescope revolutionized the study of so-called exoplanets, with discovery of 130 worlds orbiting distant stars and 2,700 potential planets still awaiting confirmation. ...

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Scientists create human stem cells through cloning

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 10:09:18 AM CST

By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) - After more than 15 years of failures by scientists around the world and one outright fraud, biologists have finally created human stem cells by the same technique that produced Dolly the cloned sheep in 1996: They transplanted genetic material from an adult cell into an egg whose own DNA had been removed. The result is a harvest of human embryonic stem cells, the seemingly magic cells capable of morphing into any of the 200-plus kinds that make up a person. ...

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China says EU solar duties to "seriously harm" trade ties

Thursday, May 16, 2013 2:59:30 AM CST

BEIJING (Reuters) - China warned the European Union on Thursday that imposing duties on Chinese solar panels would "seriously harm" bilateral trade ties, upping the tone of its criticism a week after the EU said it would move ahead with hefty penalties in June. The European Commission has agreed to impose average import duties of 47 percent on solar panels from China, according to officials, a move they say is to guard against the dumping of cheap goods in Europe. China's Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang said he hoped reports about the duties were unreliable. ...

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Genetic Testing Guidelines Under Fire

Sunday, May 19, 2013 7:29:42 AM CST

If you underwent a genetic test for a heart condition, but the test also revealed that you have a high risk of colon cancer, would you want to know?

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World's Smallest Liquid Droplets Created in Atom Smasher

Saturday, May 18, 2013 8:17:54 AM CST

Scientists think they've created the smallest drops of liquid ever — the size of only three to five protons.

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Swine Flu Found in Elephant Seals

Saturday, May 18, 2013 7:21:29 AM CST

The H1N1 virus strain that caused a 2009 swine flu outbreak in humans was detected in northern elephant seals off the coast of central California.

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Private Space Plane Arrives in California for Key Flight Tests

Sunday, May 19, 2013 6:57:04 AM CST

A private space plane has arrived at a NASA facility in California to undergo tests that will help vet its ability to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

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US Spaceflight Ambitions Must Face Budget Reality, NASA Chief Says

Saturday, May 18, 2013 8:20:13 AM CST

HOUSTON — Charles Bolden, NASA's chief and a self-described dreamer, says there is a line between dreams and reality when it comes to what the space agency can do, especially in light of current budget constraints.

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Scientists say united on global warming, at odds with public view

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 5:07:26 PM CST

By Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - Ninety-seven percent of scientists say global warming is mainly man-made but a wide public belief that experts are divided is making it harder to gain support for policies to curb climate change, an international study showed on Thursday. The report found an overwhelming view among scientists that human activity, led by the use of fossil fuels, was the main cause of rising temperatures in recent decades. ...

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Does 'Failure to Replicate' Mean Failed Science? (Op-Ed)

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 4:27:53 PM CST

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Scientists create human stem cells through cloning

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 10:56:12 AM CST

By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) - After more than 15 years of failures by scientists around the world and one outright fraud, biologists have finally created human stem cells by the same technique that produced Dolly the cloned sheep in 1996: They transplanted genetic material from an adult cell into an egg whose own DNA had been removed. The result is a harvest of human embryonic stem cells, the seemingly magic cells capable of morphing into any of the 200-plus kinds that make up a person. ...

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Scientists Report First Success in Cloning Human Stem Cells

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 10:00:11 AM CST

It’s been 17 years since Dolly the sheep was cloned from a mammary cell. And now scientists applied the same technique to make the first embryonic-stem-cell lines from human skin cells.

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Teenager Designs Safer Nuclear Power Plants

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 7:06:44 AM CST

Do nuclear power plants need a redesign? Critics of nuclear energy seem to think so, and so does nuclear energy advocate, Taylor Wilson. A physics wunderkind, Wilson became the youngest person to ever create fusion at age 14. And since graduating from high school last year, he's devoted himself to finding innovative solutions to the world's biggest problems.

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What If There Is No Happy Ending? Science Communication as a Path to Change

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 6:18:00 AM CST

What If There Is No Happy Ending? Science Communication as a Path to Change

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China missile hit highest suborbital level since 1976 - scientist

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 11:42:30 PM CST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China launched a large missile on Monday that reached 6,200 miles (10,000 km) above the earth, its highest suborbital launch since 1976, according to a U.S. scientist at Harvard University. Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said the rocket was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in western China, and China said the rocket carried a science payload which studied the earth's magnetosphere. ...

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Scientists Use Radar to Locate Clandestine Graves

Monday, May 13, 2013 7:57:40 PM CST

It's hard to convict someone of murder if their victim's body is never found. And it's hard to find a body once it's underground.

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Quick updates: Science Studio, travel and quotes.

Monday, May 13, 2013 11:49:00 AM CST

Quick updates: Science Studio, travel and quotes.

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Move Over, Space Shuttle: There's a New Science Giant Cruising the U.S. This Summer

Friday, May 10, 2013 3:16:00 PM CST

Move Over, Space Shuttle: There's a New Science Giant Cruising the U.S. This Summer

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Science Advisor Gives Hopeful Progress Report on Obama s Achievements

Friday, May 10, 2013 8:50:00 AM CST

Science Advisor Gives Hopeful Progress Report on Obama s Achievements

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French Muslims look to science to determine start of Ramadan

Thursday, May 9, 2013 1:18:03 PM CST

By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor PARIS (Reuters) - France's Muslim leaders have agreed to end almost 1,400 years of Islamic tradition and use modern astronomy to determine the start of the holy month of Ramadan and other Islamic holidays. The French Muslim Council (CFCM) voted on Thursday to start using astronomical calculations to set the date rather than relying on the naked eye to sight the new crescent moon. Ramadan traditionally begins the morning after the sighting, which has in the past been delayed by a day or even two by weather. ...

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Physics Gets Frothy as Mathematicians Dissect Mister Bubble [Video]

Thursday, May 9, 2013 1:00:00 PM CST

Physics Gets Frothy as Mathematicians Dissect Mister Bubble [Video]

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Mystery Popped: Science of Bubbles Decoded

Thursday, May 9, 2013 12:15:20 PM CST

Anyone who has lathered up soap or seen frothy suds form on top of freshly poured soda has witnessed the delicate science of bubbles in action. But while bubbles and foamy materials are common in everyday life, scientists have struggled to model suds’ complicated behavior — the way clusters of bubbles grow, change shape and ultimately pop.

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'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse: The Science of Today's Strange Celestial Event

Thursday, May 9, 2013 10:03:33 AM CST

Update: See the first photos of the solar eclipse here. An initial video of the 'ring of fire' eclipse is here.

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Wanted: Citizen Scientists to Hunt 'Space Warp' Galaxies

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 10:54:04 AM CST

Astronomers are calling for volunteers to help them search for "space warps," rare and distant galaxies that bend light around them like enormous lenses.

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Prominent British scientist boycotts top Israeli conference

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 3:41:12 AM CST

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - British cosmologist Stephen Hawking has pulled out of an Israeli conference, joining an academic boycott of Israel to protest against its occupation of Palestinian lands, Cambridge University said on Wednesday. The wheelchair-bound Hawking, who has won international recognition for his work on black holes, had been due to speak at a prestigious conference in June organized by Israeli President Shimon Peres that draws hundreds of leading world figures. ...

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NY group buys Tesla property, plans science center

Tuesday, May 7, 2013 3:35:39 PM CST

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — A New York community group that raised $1.3 million in a six-week online fundraising effort has purchased a laboratory once used by visionary scientist Nikola Tesla.

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'Space Hackers' Take On Citizen Science for Suborbital Spaceflight

Tuesday, May 7, 2013 10:14:43 AM CST

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — The increasing demand for flying experiments in space was clearly in evidence over the weekend as a standing room only crowd of 100 people packed into a room here at the Hacker Dojo to hear about a new era of citizen science.

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Science Tackles Twitter Talents

Monday, May 6, 2013 6:28:08 PM CST

Researchers offer tips to racking up Twitter followers, based on an analysis of over 500 active tweeters and their half million tweets during a 15-month stretch. Christopher Intagliata reports

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Has Science Cured Gray Hair?

Monday, May 6, 2013 3:10:41 PM CST

Gray hair — one of the classic signs of aging that can lead to a midlife crisis for some — may some day be a thing of the past, much to the chagrin of hair-dye manufacturers and Corvette salesmen.

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Grocery Shopping While Hungry Not Good Idea, Science Confirms

Monday, May 6, 2013 2:12:06 PM CST

If you've ever gone grocery shopping while you're hungry, you know the task can be a challenge: Everything looks good.

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Manned Missions to Mars: Scientists Discuss Red Planet Exploration This Week

Monday, May 6, 2013 5:13:10 AM CST

What will it take to get humans to Mars? That's the question on tap for hundreds of scientists, entrepreneurs, astronauts and government officials descending on Washington, D.C. this week for a summit on manned travel to the Red Planet.

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Dark and Dirty: The Cutthroat Side of Science

Friday, May 3, 2013 1:18:07 PM CST

NEW YORK — Being a scientist is a noble profession, but it has its darker side. From fierce competition to plagiarism to outright scientific fraud, scientists are far from immune to the sordid.

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How Much Say Should Congress Have in Science Funding?

Thursday, May 2, 2013 12:27:47 PM CST

A battle over science is under way in the halls of the Capitol, with some in Congress calling for more say in which research projects receive federal dollars.

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Correction: Online Courses-Teacher Training story

Thursday, May 2, 2013 6:45:46 AM CST

In a story May 1 about plans by Coursera to offer online courses that provide continuing education for teachers, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the American Museum of Natural History goes not grant degrees. The museum offers a master of arts in teaching program, and a doctoral program in comparative biology.

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New bird flu poses "serious threat", scientists say

Wednesday, May 1, 2013 3:44:46 PM CST

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - A new strain of bird flu that is causing a deadly outbreak among people in China is a threat to world health and should be taken seriously, scientists said on Wednesday. The H7N9 strain has killed 24 people and infected more than 125, according to the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO), which has described it as "one of the most lethal" flu viruses. ...

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New bird flu poses 'serious threat' - scientists

Wednesday, May 1, 2013 3:33:04 PM CST

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - A new strain of bird flu that is causing a deadly outbreak among people in China is a threat to world health and should be taken seriously, scientists said on Wednesday. The H7N9 strain has killed 24 people and infected more than 125, according to the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO), which has described it as "one of the most lethal" flu viruses. ...

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Alan Alda wants scientists to cut out the jargon

Wednesday, May 1, 2013 1:23:03 PM CST

STONY BROOK, N.Y. (AP) — Among the procedures Army surgeon Hawkeye Pierce performed on "M.A.S.H." was an end-to-end anastomosis.

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Most Americans Blame Global Warming for Extreme Weather

Wednesday, May 1, 2013 11:49:50 AM CST

More than half of Americans think global warming is affecting weather in the United States, according to a new nationally representative survey that measures the pulse of American sentiment on climate change.