Most Popular Science News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An extraordinary fish that existed 375 million years ago had unique features in its head that helped pave the way for vertebrate animals to live on land, scientists said on Wednesday.

Tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of contaminants often found in tap water, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental advocacy group.

Some news audiences are more politically savvy than others, according to a new poll, with readers of The New Yorker and similar high-brow magazines being the most knowledgeable.

WASHINGTON - NASA engineers say they know how to fix the broken Hubble Space Telescope: They have to wake up computer parts that have been sleeping in space for more than 18 years.

It's Halloween season, and you know what that means: ghosts! A recent surveillance video depicting what many believe to be a ghost made international news.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA will attempt on Wednesday to revive the $2 billion Hubble Space Telescope, which was idled two weeks ago by an equipment failure, officials said on Tuesday.

CHICAGO - The nation's leading pediatricians group says children from newborns to teens should get double the usually recommended amount of vitamin D because of evidence that it may help prevent serious diseases.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Searching the Internet may help middle-aged and older adults keep their memories sharp, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

In a study of Christian church members who approached their church for help with a personal or family member's diagnosed mental illness, researchers found that more than 32 percent were told by their pastor that they or their loved one did not really have a mental illness.

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered tuberculosis in 9,000 year-old human bones found submerged off Israel's coast -- evidence the disease is at least 3,000 years older than previously thought, researchers said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An extraordinary fish that existed 375 million years ago had unique features in its head that helped pave the way for vertebrate animals to live on land, scientists said on Wednesday.

It's Halloween season, and you know what that means: ghosts! A recent surveillance video depicting what many believe to be a ghost made international news.

Tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of contaminants often found in tap water, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental advocacy group.

Some news audiences are more politically savvy than others, according to a new poll, with readers of The New Yorker and similar high-brow magazines being the most knowledgeable.

WASHINGTON - NASA engineers say they know how to fix the broken Hubble Space Telescope: They have to wake up computer parts that have been sleeping in space for more than 18 years.

NEW YORK - NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander weathered its first dust storm on the red planet this past weekend, though the dust did lower the lander's solar power and put the brakes on some of its planned activities.

Scientists have discovered a giant cyclone swirling on Saturn's north pole, and observed a similar storm on the planet's south pole in detail 10 times greater than before, thanks to new images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

Richard Garriott's approach to the International Space Station (ISS) this morning may have seemed familiar to him, even though this was his first flight in space. That feeling could be attributed in part to the six months of training he underwent for the mission, but it might also have been what happened when he was twelve, or more appropriately, what his father did then.

PARIS (AFP) - Skins, claws and bones from at least 1,158 tigers and other protected big cats have been spotted in open markets in Myanmar during surveys conducted over the last 18 years, according to a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report.

The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope has given astronomers their most detailed look at how infant stars feed off the disks of gas and dust that swirl around them as they grow.

Sketches, diagrams, and letters from the pioneering rocket scientist Wernher von Braun will be auctioned off Wednesday.

NEW DELHI (AFP) - It's been touted as a solution to urban India's traffic woes, chronic pollution and fossil fuel dependence, as well as an escape from backbreaking human toil.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Searching the Internet may help middle-aged and older adults keep their memories sharp, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

PARIS (AFP) - Skins, claws and bones from at least 1,158 tigers and other protected big cats have been spotted in open markets in Myanmar during surveys conducted over the last 18 years, according to a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report.

For middle-aged and older adults, searching the Internet could be a boost to the brain, a new study suggests.

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have found two new genetic variations that appear to increase the risk of the most common skin cancer among people of European descent.

Lights may soon do more than just shine in dark places - they might wirelessly connect your computer, phone or car to the Internet.

NEW YORK - NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander weathered its first dust storm on the red planet this past weekend, though the dust did lower the lander's solar power and put the brakes on some of its planned activities.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA will attempt on Wednesday to revive the $2 billion Hubble Space Telescope, which was idled two weeks ago by an equipment failure, officials said on Tuesday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered tuberculosis in 9,000 year-old human bones found submerged off Israel's coast -- evidence the disease is at least 3,000 years older than previously thought, researchers said on Wednesday.