Most Emailed Science News

BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - A "deadly dozen" diseases ranging from avian flu to yellow fever are likely to spread more because of climate change, the Wildlife Conservation Society said on Tuesday.

Narcissists like to be in charge, so it stands to reason that a new study shows individuals who are overconfident about their abilities are most likely to step in as leaders, be they politicians or power brokers.

A NASA probe has begun beaming back stunning new images from its successful second flyby of Mercury, the planet closest to the sun.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A researcher who figured out that Coke explodes sperm and scientists who discovered that people will happily eat stale chips if they crunch loudly enough won alternative "Ig Nobel" prizes Thursday.

SAO PAULO, Brazil - More than 370 penguins that mysteriously washed up on Brazil's equatorial beaches were flown south on a huge air force cargo plane and released closer to the frigid waters they call home, animal advocates said Monday.

The oldest-known tracks of a creature apparently using legs have been discovered in rock dated to 570 million years ago in what was once a shallow sea in Nevada.

WASHINGTON - A small asteroid was headed for a fiery but harmless dive into Earth's atmosphere early Tuesday morning over Africa, astronomers said in a first of its kind advance warning.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have found a way to make efficient silicon-based solar cells that are flexible enough to be rolled around a pencil and transparent enough to be used to tint windows on buildings or cars.

ROME (AFP) - Italy's fishing of bluefin tuna is "totally out of control," the Worldwide Fund for Nature charged Tuesday, calling for a three-year moratorium on fishing for the species in the Mediterranean.

LOS ANGELES - Will NASA's flagship mission to Mars fly next year? The space agency could decide as early as Friday whether to cancel, delay or proceed with plans to launch a nuclear-powered, SUV-size rover to the red planet.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Girls who take stimulants to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are less likely than others with the condition to start smoking or to abuse alcohol or drugs, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

WASHINGTON - Conservationists have taken the first detailed look at the world's mammals in more than a decade, and the news isn't good.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Overeating makes the brain go haywire, prompting a cascade of damage that may cause diabetes, heart disease and other ills, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A prenatal blood test can be used to determine if an unborn baby has Down's syndrome without the small risk to the fetus posed by invasive testing methods such as amniocentesis, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

A catastrophic event 72.5 million years ago left a herd of giant, horned dinosaurs buried to become fossils. Now scientists have identified the extinct creatures as a new species.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A tiny asteroid discovered earlier Monday by an Arizona observatory will hit Earth's atmosphere over Sudan in a few hours but will burn up before it can hit the ground or endanger aircraft, astronomers said.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will launch a locally built rocket for the country's first unmanned mission to the moon on October 22, the head of the project said on Tuesday. "If at all there is any delay, it will be because of the weather, otherwise I don't foresee any technical difficulties," M. Annadurai told Reuters.

PARIS (AFP) - Humans like the comfort of symmetry -- the identical image in the mirror, the matching wings of the baroque mansion, the equal numbers in opposing football teams.

GLASGOW, Scotland — NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin defended his agency's determination to establish a lunar colony before embarking on a manned Mars mission Sept. 30, arguing that those who prefer to focus only on Mars are overestimating what is known about the Moon and underestimating the difficulties of going to Mars.

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