Reuters
Science - Reuters

European space probe completes asteroid fly by

Sat Sep 6, 5:57 PM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Space Agency obtained on Saturday the first images of an asteroid 360 million km (224 million miles) from earth, part of a space mission which scientists hope will help them understand the origins of the planets.

  • China counts down to third manned space launch Sat Sep 6, 10:12 PM ET

    BEIJING (Reuters) - China, still patting itself on the back after a hugely successful Olympics, will launch a three-man space flight this month, with all systems already in final preparation, state media said on Sunday.

  • A woman gives her fingerprints to join a petition in a file photo. (Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters)
    New fingerprint method could unlock cold cases Fri Sep 5, 9:06 AM ET

    LONDON (Reuters) - It's a discovery that would make even Sherlock Holmes proud. British scientists have developed a new crime-fighting technique that allows police to lift fingerprints from bullets even if a criminal has wiped down a shell casing.

  • NASA workers watch as the space shuttle Atlantis makes the three-mile trip from the vehicle assembly building to launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida September 4, 2008. (Scott Audette/Reuters)
    Storms delay space shuttle launch to Hubble Fri Sep 5, 1:32 PM ET

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space shuttle Atlantis' launch on a final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope has been delayed because of tropical storms, NASA said on Friday.

  • Lucy Kuptana weeds her garden in an old hockey arena converted to a greenhouse for growing vegetables 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of the Arctic Circle in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, August 26, 2008. The half-pipe shaped facility is North America's northern-most commercial greenhouse, and a virtual necessity for anyone interested in eating a fresh vegetable in Inuvik that has not been shipped in from a warmer climate. (Todd Korol/Reuters)
    Raising vegetables under Canada's midnight sun Thu Sep 4, 2:44 PM ET

    INUVIK, Northwest Territories (Reuters) - Amanda Joynt reached down and picked a fresh tomato from the vine. That's no small feat when you are living 200 km (120 miles) above the Arctic Circle in Canada's Far North.

  • A strand of DNA is seen in an undated handout image. (National Institutes of Health/Handout/Reuters)
    Gene trawl shows curing cancer harder than thought Thu Sep 4, 2:41 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cancer experts who probed every gene in tumors from two of the hardest-to-treat cancers found that cancer is much more complicated than anyone thought -- and say they found why a cure is so unlikely after a tumor has spread.

  • Bangladeshi villagers go fishing near a newly-formed land at Boyer Char in August, 2008. Leaders of the impoverished South Asian nation will appeal next week to the British government and other international donors for financial and technical support to fight the consequences of climate change.(AFP/File/Farjana Khan Godhuly)
    Experts offer scaled-back sea level rise forecast Thu Sep 4, 5:10 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Worldwide sea levels may rise by about 2.6 to 6.6 feet by 2100 thanks to global warming, but dire predictions of larger increases seem unrealistic, U.S. scientists said on Thursday.

  • Orphaned sisters play cards outside their home in Sandleni, Swaziland. World Vision estimates that HIV-AIDS has left more than 3,000 orphans in charge of households in Swzailand.(AFP/File/Paballo Thekiso)
    Gene may hold key to neutralizing HIV: U.S. study Thu Sep 4, 3:40 PM ET

    CHICAGO (Reuters) - The AIDS virus is especially hard to fight because few people develop antibodies to neutralize it, but U.S. researchers said on Thursday they have found an immunity gene that may offer a new way to fight back.

  • A volunteer prepares a vaccine dose in Port-au-Prince in a file photo. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
    U.S. study clears measles vaccine of autism link Wed Sep 3, 8:38 PM ET

    CHICAGO (Reuters) - Scientists who tried to replicate a study that once tied a measles vaccine with autism said on Wednesday they could not find any link and hope their study will encourage parents to vaccinate their children to combat a rash of measles outbreaks.

  • An image of the planet Mercury, made during the January 2008 flyby of the planet by the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft is seen in this image released by NASA July 3, 2008. (NASA/JHUAP/ Arizona State University/Handout/Reuters)
    NASA seeks next Carl Sagan - and extraterrestrial life Wed Sep 3, 4:04 PM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, famous for its manned missions to the moon, announced the creation of the Carl Sagan Postdoctoral Fellowships in Exoplanet Exploration on Wednesday.

  • Paramedics transport a patient from a helicopter in Hospital of St. Anna in Brno, September 3, 2008. Just a few steps from the monastery where Gregor Mendel pioneered the field of genetics some 150 years ago, Czech officials hope to nurture their own biotech revolution. The plan is to turn Brno, a 13th-century city that went the way of manufacturing under communism, into a modern biotech hub and attract firms eager to tap into a skilled work force, even as a strong currency drives up costs and wages. (Petr Josek/Reuters)
    Czech city bids to be global biotech hub Wed Sep 3, 8:22 PM ET

    BRNO, Czech Republic (Reuters) - Just a few steps from the monastery where Gregor Mendel pioneered the field of genetics some 150 years ago, Czech officials hope to nurture their own biotech revolution.

  • Herve Guegan, the manager of transfer technology unit of the Nuclear Research Centre of Bordeaux, southwestern France, runs a test on a bottle of 1944 vintage Medoc wine on September 4, 2008. (Regis Duvignau/Reuters)
    Scientists use particle accelerator to date wine Wed Sep 3, 7:19 AM ET

    PARIS (Reuters) - French scientists have devised a way of using particle accelerators to authenticate vintage wines, one of France's top research bodies said this week.

  • An excavation site is seen in Jerusalem's Old City September 3, 2008, in this picture released by the Israel Antiques Authority (IAA). Israeli archaeologists unveiled on Wednesday a 2,100-year-old Jerusalem perimeter wall -- along with beer bottles left behind by 19th century researchers who first discovered the stone defences. The wall, on Mount Zion at the southern edge of Jerusalem's Old City, dates back to the Second Jewish Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. (Tsilla Sagiv/Handout/IAA/Reuters)
    Jerusalem dig uncovers ancient city walls Wed Sep 3, 10:26 AM ET

    JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli archaeologists unveiled on Wednesday a 2,100-year-old Jerusalem perimeter wall -- along with beer bottles left behind by 19th century researchers who first discovered the stone defences.

  • Greece gets antiquities back from U.S. collector Wed Sep 3, 10:10 AM ET

    ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece celebrated on Wednesday the return of two rare smuggled antiquities from a prominent U.S. collector and expressed hope other ancient Greek treasures housed overseas would one day be sent home.

  • Gloria, the first calf born to a cloned cow, Vitoria (L), is seen on a government farm outside Brasilia in this October 4, 2004 file photo. (Jamil Bittar/Files/Reuters)
    Clones' offspring may be in food supply: FDA Tue Sep 2, 5:33 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Food and milk from the offspring of cloned animals may have entered the U.S. food supply, the U.S. government said on Tuesday, but it would be impossible to know because there is no difference between cloned and conventional products.

  • A woman breast feeds her baby in Bordeaux, southwest France April 27, 2006. (Regis Duvignau/Reuters)
    Brain protein holds key to fertility Wed Sep 3, 9:26 AM ET

    WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered the crucial ovulation-triggering role played by a small protein molecule in the brain, a finding that could hold the key to new therapies for infertility.

  • The 33 new recruits of the Vatican's elite Swiss Guard stand at attention during the swearing in ceremony at Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican May 6, 2008. (Max Rossi/Reuters)
    Vatican says not questioning moment of death Wed Sep 3, 12:40 PM ET

    VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican distanced itself on Wednesday from an article in its newspaper that suggested re-opening the debate on when a person can be considered dead for reasons of transplants.

  • A pregnant woman is seen in a file photo. (Mykhailo Markiv/Reuters)
    Virus is passed from parent to child in the DNA Tue Sep 2, 5:39 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A virus that causes a universal childhood infection is often passed from parent to child at birth, not in the blood but in the DNA, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

  • A couple stands at the embankment of the Volga River in Samara, about 1000 km (620 miles) southeast of Moscow May 18, 2007. (Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)
    Marriage problems? Husband's genes may be to blame Tue Sep 2, 2:21 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The same gene that affects a rodent's ability to mate for life may affect human marriages, Swedish and U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

  • Sheep graze in front of an Opel assembly plant in Antwerp in a file photo. (Thierry Roge/Reuters)
    EU lawmakers open battle against sheep, goat tags Tue Sep 2, 10:27 AM ET

    BRUSSELS (Reuters) - British and Irish lawmakers in the European Parliament launched a campaign on Tuesday against a rule that would make electronic tags for millions of sheep and goats across the EU compulsory from next year.