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Science & Technology

Help identify invasive insects in Washington

August 17, 2021, 6:05am Latest News

Before you squash that weird-looking bug, local scientists are asking people to check if it’s one of a handful of invasive species that may be on the move. Read story

The asteroid Bennu from the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.

Should you worry about asteroid Bennu?

The asteroid Bennu from the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.

August 17, 2021, 6:00am Life

The good news is that scientists have a better handle on asteroid Bennu’s whereabouts for the next 200 years. The bad news is that the space rock has a slightly greater chance of clobbering Earth than previously thought. Read story

NASA facility in Ohio named for native son Neil Armstrong

August 12, 2021, 8:55am Nation & World

A NASA research facility in Ohio has been renamed after astronaut Neil Armstrong, who was born in the state and returned shortly after he became the first man to walk on the moon. Read story

An Emperor penguin on Peka Peka Beach in New Zealand in 2011.

Melting ice imperils Emperor penguins

An Emperor penguin on Peka Peka Beach in New Zealand in 2011.

August 10, 2021, 6:05am Life

With climate change threatening the sea ice habitat of Emperor penguins, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Aug. 3 announced a proposal to list the species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Read story

This June 19, 2019 photo provided by NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary shows purple microbial mats in the Middle Island Sinkhole in Lake Huron, Mich. Small hills and "fingers" like this one in the mats are caused by gases like methane and hydrogen sulfide bubbling up beneath them. Feel like days are just getting longer? They are and it's a good thing because we wouldn't have much to breathe if they weren't, according to a new explanation for how Earth's oxygen rich atmosphere may have developed because of Earth's rotation slowing. Scientists provided evidence for this new hypothesis by lab testing gooey smelly purple bacteria from a deep sinkhole in Lake Huron.

Did earth’s longer days kick-start oxygen growth

This June 19, 2019 photo provided by NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary shows purple microbial mats in the Middle Island Sinkhole in Lake Huron, Mich. Small hills and "fingers" like this one in the mats are caused by gases like methane and hydrogen sulfide bubbling up beneath them. Feel like days are just getting longer? They are and it's a good thing because we wouldn't have much to breathe if they weren't, according to a new explanation for how Earth's oxygen rich atmosphere may have developed because of Earth's rotation slowing. Scientists provided evidence for this new hypothesis by lab testing gooey smelly purple bacteria from a deep sinkhole in Lake Huron.

August 10, 2021, 6:00am Life

Scientists have a new idea for how Earth got its oxygen: It’s because the planet slowed down and days got longer. Read story

Florida has seen an alarming rise in manatee deaths in 2021. (Douglas R.

Florida’s deadly manatee crisis could flare again this winter

Florida has seen an alarming rise in manatee deaths in 2021. (Douglas R.

August 8, 2021, 12:50pm Life

The problems that have caused an unprecedented die-off of Florida manatees in 2021 could linger for years to come, according to state wildlife officials. Read story

A reconstructed Neanderthal skeleton, right, and a modern human skeleton on display at the Museum of Natural History in New York.

Just 7 percent of our DNA is unique to modern humans, study shows

A reconstructed Neanderthal skeleton, right, and a modern human skeleton on display at the Museum of Natural History in New York.

August 3, 2021, 6:00am Life

What makes humans unique? Scientists have taken another step toward solving an enduring mystery with a new tool that may allow for more precise comparisons between the DNA of modern humans and that of our extinct ancestors. Read story

This is an illustration provided by SpaceX shows the SpaceX Starship human lander design that will carry the first NASA astronauts to the surface of the Moon under the Artemis program. Jeff Bezos has lost his appeal of NASA's contract with Elon Musk's SpaceX to build its new moon lander.

Bezos loses appeal of NASA’s plans to use Musk moon lander

This is an illustration provided by SpaceX shows the SpaceX Starship human lander design that will carry the first NASA astronauts to the surface of the Moon under the Artemis program. Jeff Bezos has lost his appeal of NASA's contract with Elon Musk's SpaceX to build its new moon lander.

July 30, 2021, 3:04pm Business

The federal government Friday rejected an appeal by billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to get in on NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon by using rival Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Read story

In this photo taken by Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky and provided by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, the Nauka module is seen prior to docking with the International Space Station on Thursday, July 29, 2021. The newly arrived Russian science lab briefly knocked the International Space Station out of position Thursday when it accidentally fired its thrusters. For 47 minutes, the space station lost control of its orientation when the firing occurred a few hours after docking, pushing the orbiting complex from its normal configuration. The station's position is key for getting power from solar panels and or communications. Communications with ground controllers also blipped out twice for a few minutes.

Russia blames space station lab incident on software failure

In this photo taken by Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky and provided by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, the Nauka module is seen prior to docking with the International Space Station on Thursday, July 29, 2021. The newly arrived Russian science lab briefly knocked the International Space Station out of position Thursday when it accidentally fired its thrusters. For 47 minutes, the space station lost control of its orientation when the firing occurred a few hours after docking, pushing the orbiting complex from its normal configuration. The station's position is key for getting power from solar panels and or communications. Communications with ground controllers also blipped out twice for a few minutes.

July 30, 2021, 8:01am Nation & World

A Russian space official on Friday blamed a software problem on a newly docked science lab that briefly knocked the International Space Station out of position. Read story

In this photo provided by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, the Nauka module is seen prior to docking with the International Space Station on Thursday, July 29, 2021. Russia's long-delayed lab module successfully docked with the International Space Station on Thursday, eight days after it was launched from the Russian space launch facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The 20-metric-ton (22-ton) Nauka module, also called the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, docked with the orbiting outpost after a long journey and a series of manoeuvres.

Russian lab module docks with space station after 8-day trip

In this photo provided by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, the Nauka module is seen prior to docking with the International Space Station on Thursday, July 29, 2021. Russia's long-delayed lab module successfully docked with the International Space Station on Thursday, eight days after it was launched from the Russian space launch facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The 20-metric-ton (22-ton) Nauka module, also called the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, docked with the orbiting outpost after a long journey and a series of manoeuvres.

July 29, 2021, 8:03am Life

A newly arrived Russian science lab briefly knocked the International Space Station out of position Thursday when it accidentally fired its thrusters. Read story