March 29, 2013
You might not have heard, but some beekeepers and environmental groups have sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to protect honeybees.Continue ReadingPosted by Mark Somerson on March 29, 2013 04:11 PM
March 28, 2013
Word from NASA says a comet could hit Mars.
"There is a small but non-negligible chance that Comet 2013 A1 will strike Mars next year in October of 2014," Don Yeomans of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program said in a release.
"Current solutions put the odds of impact at 1 in 2000."
Is it wrong to hope it hits? Just think, the two operating rovers (Curiosity and Opportunity) could investigate some pretty cool science if they are not turned to rubble, of course.Continue ReadingPosted by Mark Somerson on March 28, 2013 10:35 AM
March 22, 2013
Algae reducing alum won't be sprayed on lake.Continue ReadingPosted by Spencer Hunt on March 22, 2013 11:41 AM
March 19, 2013
Raising bees is never easy. Beekeepers will tell you that harsh winters, early springs, parasites and fungi affect their hives.
Lately, however, they've been talking about a class of pesticide known as neonicotinoids.Continue ReadingPosted by Mark Somerson on March 19, 2013 09:23 AM
March 14, 2013
There is hope, Ohio. Today, New Jersey officials declared that the state is free of Asian longhorned beetles after a 10-year fight.
The Star-Ledger reports: "After more than a decade, we can declare New Jersey is free of this invasive pest," state Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher said at a press conference in Linden, one of four towns in Middlesex and Union counties where residents discovered the beetles between August 2004 and August 2006.
The paper reports that the effort included the removal of more than 50,000 trees across two counties that were thought to be carrying the beetles. Those trees were replaced with native trees not susceptible to the beetle.Continue ReadingPosted by Mark Somerson on March 14, 2013 03:47 PM
March 12, 2013
NASA scientists are reporting today that the conditions were right on ancient Mars to have supported life.
Yeah. Martians. You know it.
NASA says that an analysis of a rock sample collected by the rover Curiosity shows ancient Mars could have supported living microbes. That, my friends, is life.Continue ReadingPosted by Mark Somerson on March 12, 2013 04:08 PM
March 08, 2013
New type of DNA discovered in vast lake under ice.Continue ReadingPosted by Spencer Hunt on March 08, 2013 01:51 PM
March 08, 2013
If you were to pick a month in which to look up from your iPhone and scan the night skies for something meaningful, March is that month.
Seeing something as cool as a comet with the naked eye is a pretty rare event. And comet 2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) is a pretty rare ice ball.Continue ReadingPosted by Mark Somerson on March 08, 2013 11:20 AM
March 07, 2013
If a sniff just a sniff? Or is it something more?
Dogs do it. Cats do it. They sniff each other. Are they simply smelling for smelling's sake, or are they communicating?
Case Western Reserve University researchers say it might be the latter.Continue ReadingPosted by Mark Somerson on March 07, 2013 02:58 PM
March 06, 2013
Is it or isn't it? Well, we're not quite there yet.
Last year, when scientists at CERN announced that they discovered a new particle that likely was the elusive Higgs boson, most of the world let out a collective "huh?"
That "huh?" went two ways. First, as in what the heck is a Higgs boson? Many of us in science journalism did our best to explain just how big the find was to our readers.Continue ReadingPosted by Mark Somerson on March 06, 2013 02:55 PM
March 04, 2013
Add a new term to your environmental lexicon: pickle liquor.
Just what is pickle liquor? No, it's not the newest craze in flavored vodka. It's an industrial waste.Continue ReadingPosted by Mark Somerson on March 04, 2013 04:53 PM