Science

The comet, which excited astronomers and the media as it zipped within 730,000 miles of the sun on Thanksgiving Day, was pronounced dead at a scientific conference Tuesday. It was barely a year old.
Clay-rich minerals in the rock indicate a relatively freshwater lake, making it more suitable to a wider range of possible life forms. "It's the kind of water where if you were really dying, you could drink it, but you probably wouldn't bottle it for resale," a researcher says.
A new look at satellite data revealed that in August 2010, Earth set a new record for coldest temperature recorded.
When it comes to making food yummy and pleasurable, humans clearly outshine their fellow animals on Earth. After all, you don't see rabbits caramelizing carrots or polar bears slow-roasting seal. But in terms of the global food chain, Homo sapiens are definitely not the head honchos.
This is an alarming story, not because it ends badly. It's alarming because it ends well. It shouldn't have, but it did, and biologists (and especially conservationists) now have a puzzle to ponder.
With more older drivers on the road, the federal government is contemplating a "silver car" rating system that will help identify which cars better protect elderly drivers and passengers in a crash.
Scientists have reached farther back than ever into the ancestry of humans to recover and analyze DNA, using a bone found in Spain that's estimated to be 400,000 years old. The feat surpasses the previous age record.
Wags and barks speak volumes when it comes to understanding what a dog is saying, but there are also clues in a dog's eyes, ears, nose or the tilt of its head. Are humans getting the right messages?
With the advent of 3-D printers capable of producing plastic weapons, the House voted Tuesday to renew a 25-year-old prohibition against firearms that can evade metal detectors and X-ray machines.