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Why You Can't Name New Moons And Planets Anything You Want

Pluto's two newest moons received their official names this week, and the name that led in the popular vote was Spock's home planet, Vulcan. But it was rejected by the international team of astronomers who must approve every title bestowed upon the universe.

Film Rankles Environmentalists By Advocating Nuclear Power

A new documentary argues that environmentalists should favor nuclear power, not oppose it, on the grounds that the world's growing appetite for energy can't be met solely with wind and solar. Pandora's Promise is in theaters now, and not winning friends in the mainstream environmental movement.

In Israel, Unearthing A Bed Of Flowers For Eternal Rest

An archaeological dig at Mount Carmel in Israel has turned up what may be the oldest evidence of humans using flowers when burying their dead. By about 12,000 years ago, researchers have found, some dead would have been buried in a flower-lined grave in a small cemetery.


A lab in Chicago can produce particles called muons, but it needs an electromagnetic ring on Long Island to produce them. Since the 50-foot ring can't be taken apart or flown over houses, movers drove it to the shoreline and will sail it down the East Coast on a sea barge and up rivers to the Windy City.

NASA Has Shut Down Space Telescope Orbiting Earth


Baikonour, We Have A Problem. Russian Rocket Crashes And Burns


Savory And Sweet: A Taste For Infertility

The same genes that allow humans to sense sweet and umami flavors may play a key role in a man's reproductive fitness. Researchers found that inactivating these genes in mice can led to sterility of males.
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D.C. Will Soon Be Home To Its Very Own Tyrannosaurus Rex

A rare nearly-complete Tyrannosaurus Rex specimen will soon call the National Museum of Natural History home, eventually taking center stage in the museum's new Dinosaur Hall.


Radiocarbon Clues Help Track Down Poached Elephant Ivory

Nuclear bomb tests in the 1950s and '60s pumped a lot of radiocarbon into the atmosphere. It went everywhere, including into plants that elephants eat. By measuring the levels of this carbon in elephant tusks, scientists can tell when an elephant died — and whether the ivory is being traded illegally.

To Make Hearing Aids Affordable, Firm Turns On Bluetooth
