Science
SpaceX capsule to return to Earth on Thursday
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Space station astronauts readied the world's first commercial supply ship Wednesday for its early morning return to Earth just like NASA's old-time capsules.
Date: 05/30/2012 | Nation & World
SpaceX makes historic space station docking
ORLANDO, Fla. -- SpaceX, the upstart California rocket maker, launched a new era in spaceflight Friday when its Dragon capsule was docked at the International Space Station, concluding a cargo delivery trip previously made only by NASA space shuttles and other governments' spacecraft.
Date: 05/25/2012 | Nation & World
Private supply ship flies by space station in test
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The world's first private supply ship flew tantalizingly close to the International Space Station on Thursday, acing a critical test in advance of the actual docking.
Date: 05/24/2012 | Nation & World
Who's playing in space race?
WASHINGTON -- A privately built space capsule that's zipping its way to the International Space Station has also launched something else: A new for-profit space race.
Date: 05/24/2012 | Business
Scotland Yard deploys mobile fingerprint devices
LONDON -- Scotland Yard says it's equipping its police officers with handheld fingerprint devices, something the force says will help identify suspects in a matter of seconds.
Date: 05/23/2012 | Nation & World
Private ship blasts off
Billionaire's ship speeding toward space station (Photo gallery)
Date: 05/22/2012 | Nation & World
SpaceX rocket launch aborted in last half-second (video)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A new private supply ship for the International Space Station remained stuck on the ground Saturday after rocket engine trouble led to a last-second abort of the historic flight.
Date: 05/19/2012 | Nation & World
How, where to view the 'Ring of Fire' eclipse (video)
LOS ANGELES -- Sunrises and sunsets often dazzle, but they'll have a special ring to them in a few days for people in the western United States and eastern Asia: The moon will slide across the sun, blocking everything but a blazing halo of light.
Date: 05/19/2012 | Nation & World
SpaceX rocket ready to launch to space station
ORLANDO, Fla. -- An eccentric billionaire intends to blast his rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the International Space Station early Saturday morning -- and launch a new era in which private rocket companies take over a role filled by NASA and its space shuttles for decades.
Date: 05/18/2012 | Nation & World
How, where to view the 'Ring of Fire' eclipse (video)
LOS ANGELES -- Sunrises and sunsets often dazzle, but they'll have a special ring to them in a few days for people in the western United States and eastern Asia: The moon will slide across the sun, blocking everything but a blazing halo of light.
Date: 05/17/2012 | Nation & World
Paralyzed woman controls robot with her mind
NEW YORK -- Using only her thoughts, a woman paralyzed for 15 years directed a robotic arm to pick up a bottle of coffee and bring it to her lips, researchers report in the latest advance in harnessing brain waves to help disabled people.
Date: 05/17/2012 | Nation & World
EdCC president on White House women in science panel
Edmonds Community College is on the map for its work to encourage more students to enter science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, or STEM.
Date: 05/17/2012 | Local News
In digital age, public-records law gets cloudy
Our recent story about at-work campaign activity involving an aide to Aaron Reardon wasn't just about the slow-motion scandal unfolding around the Snohomish County executive.
Date: 05/17/2012 | Need to Know
Pour it on: Study ties coffee to longer life
MILWAUKEE — One of life's simple pleasures just got a little sweeter. After years of waffling research on coffee and health, even some fear that java might raise the risk of heart disease, a big study finds the opposite: Coffee drinkers are a little more likely to live longer. Regular or...
Date: 05/16/2012 | Nation & World
Man pleads guilty to stealing U.S. trade secrets
SALT LAKE CITY -- A scientist accused of stealing secret formulas from a Utah chemistry company has pleaded guilty to a federal computer charge.
Date: 05/13/2012 | Nation & World
Ariz. man wins space trip in Space Needle contest
SEATTLE -- Gregory Schneider of Tucson, Ariz., has won a trip to space in celebration of the Seattle Space Needle's 50th anniversary.He beat out five finalists in Seattle this week for some final competitions.
Date: 05/09/2012 | Northwest
Hobbs, N.M., picked as site of scientific ghost town
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A scientific ghost town in the heart of southeastern New Mexico oil and gas country will hum with the latest next-generation technology -- but no people.
Date: 05/08/2012 | Nation & World
Self-driving cars licensed for test in Nevada
Nevada drivers could soon be sharing the road with vehicles that don't need them.
Date: 05/08/2012 | Business
Test tube babies have higher risks
Test-tube babies have higher rates of birth defects, and doctors have long wondered: Is it because of certain fertility treatments or infertility itself? A large new study from Australia suggests both may play a role.
Date: 05/06/2012 | Nation & World
Look! Up in the sky! It's Supermoon! (video)
NEW YORK -- The biggest and brightest full moon of the year arrives tonight as our celestial neighbor passes closer to Earth than usual.But don't expect any "must-have-been-a-full-moon" spike in crime or crazy behavior. That's just folklore.
Date: 05/05/2012 | Nation & World
1st private cargo run to space station delayed
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The first commercial cargo run to the International Space Station has been delayed again for more software testing.
Date: 05/02/2012 | Nation & World
747 to fly space shuttle to New York today
Any new arrival to New York City wants to see the sights -- and the space shuttle Enterprise is no different.
Date: 04/27/2012 | Nation & World
DNA study: Ancient migrants spread farming in Europe
NEW YORK — Thousands of years ago, farming spread across Europe and replaced the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of early inhabitants. Now a study of ancient DNA says that trend was driven by farmers moving from place to place.
Date: 04/26/2012 | Nation & World
Researcher finds odd lava spirals on Mars
LOS ANGELES — A researcher has spotted lava flows shaped like coils of rope near the equator of Mars, the first time such geologic features have been discovered outside of Earth.
Date: 04/26/2012 | Nation & World
Fragments found of minivan-sized meteorite
RENO, Nev. — Tiny meteorites found in the Sierra foothills of northern California were part of a giant fireball that exploded over the weekend with about one-third the explosive force of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in World War II, scientists said Wednesday.
Date: 04/25/2012 | Nation & World
Bellevue company planning to robotically mine asteroids
SEATTLE — Using space-faring robots to mine precious metals from asteroids almost sounds easy when former astronaut Tom Jones describes it — practically like clearing a snow-covered driveway.
Date: 04/24/2012 | Business
Look to the northeast for meteor shower tonight
CHICAGO -- Saturday night promises to be a great night to be outdoors, if you're a stargazer.From Saturday night to early Sunday morning will be prime time to observe the Lyrids, Earth's annual April shower of meteoroids from the tail of Comet Thatcher.
Date: 04/21/2012 | Nation & World
Researchers find alternatives to DNA
DNA and RNA molecules are the basis for all life on Earth, but they don't necessarily have to be the basis for all life everywhere, scientists have shown.
Date: 04/20/2012 | Nation & World
Secret U.S. hypersonic glider lost its skin
LOS ANGELES -- An unmanned hypersonic glider likely aborted its 13,000 mph flight over the Pacific Ocean last summer because unexpectedly large sections of its skin peeled off, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency said Friday.
Date: 04/20/2012 | Nation & World
As women grow older, daughter becomes their favorite
LOS ANGELES -- Gentlemen, take note: If your wife has stopped calling you as much as she used to and you feel like you're being replaced, you might be right to suspect that there's someone else in her life. But it's not another man -- it's another woman. And she's probably your own...
Date: 04/19/2012 | Nation & World
Shuttle's last flight
Discovery flies to its new home, mounted on a 747 (gallery)
Date: 04/18/2012 | Nation & World
Biologists count penguins from space
LOS ANGELES -- Using space technology to sniff out a telltale trail of penguin poop strewn about the edges of Antarctica, scientists have completed the first-ever census of an animal population taken with satellite imagery.
Date: 04/15/2012 | Nation & World
North Korea learns: Rocket science is hard
WASHINGTON — It really is rocket science and it really is hard. North Korea proved that again.
Date: 04/13/2012 | Nation & World
N. Korea fires long-range rocket. It's a dud
PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korea's much-anticipated rocket launch ended quickly in failure early Friday, splintering into pieces over the Yellow Sea soon after takeoff.
Date: 04/12/2012 | Nation & World
Foot found on Whidbey beach remains a mystery
COUPEVILLE -- The foot remains anonymous.A human right foot was found washed ashore on Whidbey Island on Aug. 27, 2010.Detectives checked missing person cases and asked the public for tips.
Date: 04/12/2012 | Local News
Four reasons why you should be paying in cash
What's more unfashionable than paying in cash? Not much. But the advantages in many situations outweigh the hassle of counting your change.
Date: 04/08/2012 | Business
12-mile-high dust devil photographed on Mars
LOS ANGELES -- Mars doesn't have tornadoes. It doesn't have thunderstorms. But the Red Planet can kick up a truly unholy dust devil.
Date: 04/06/2012 | Nation & World
New NASA budget would trim funding for planet science
At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, tucked into the hills above Los Angeles, these are heady days: The robot dubbed Curiosity is hurtling toward Mars and is expected to put scientists on their strongest footing yet to determine whether the Red Planet is or ever has been hospitable to life. More than...
Date: 04/05/2012 | Nation & World
Conservatives have lost faith in science, study shows
As the Republican presidential race has shown, the conservatives who dominate the primaries are deeply skeptical of science -- making Newt Gingrich, for one, regret he ever settled onto a couch with Nancy Pelosi to chat about global warming.
Date: 03/29/2012 | Nation & World
New fossil suggests a relative of ancient Lucy skeleton
Lucy, that starlet among ancient human relatives, may have shared the stage with a hominin very different from herself, a newly found fossil suggests.
Date: 03/29/2012 | Nation & World
Lynnwood students qualify for U.S. robotic contest
LYNNWOOD -- The students with Lynnwood High School's Royal Robotics team were nervous and stressed.
Date: 03/28/2012 | Local News
Top New Zealand scientist Paul Callaghan dies
WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Sir Paul Callaghan, a top New Zealand scientist who gained international recognition for his work in molecular physics, has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 64.
Date: 03/24/2012 | Nation & World
Dead girl's voice mails gone after T-Mobile promotion
SEATTLE -- When Faron Butler wanted to hear his daughter's voice, he went to the voice mails she left him before she died of cancer at the age of 14.
Date: 03/23/2012 | Northwest
Space junk could threaten station astronauts
WASHINGTON -- A discarded chunk of a Russian rocket is forcing six space station astronauts to seek shelter in escape capsules.
Date: 03/23/2012 | Nation & World
Robots take the floor
Students' robots play 3-on-3 basketball (photo gallery)
Date: 03/23/2012 | Local News
Meet Sammy the Salmon at ecology program
Salmon will be strutting their stuff during a "salmon fashion show" at an Adopt A Stream program on Thursday."Sammy the Salmon" is the star of the show and he will be joined by members of the audience wearing some stylish salmon attire, including an egg costume and a baby salmon outfit.
Date: 03/19/2012 | Life
2nd team refutes faster-than-light neutrino find
GENEVA — European researchers said Friday they have measured the speed of neutrinos and found the subatomic particles don't travel faster than light after all, refuting another team's measurements that prompted widespread disbelief among scientists last year.
Date: 03/16/2012 | Nation & World
DuPont case reveals details of China's economic spying
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Chinese call it "Titanium white." And it does make many things white, from the inside of Oreo cookies to the paint on cars. Paper, toothpaste, plastics, cosmetics and just about any other commonplace item colored white includes titanium dioxide.
Date: 03/10/2012 | Nation & World
Learn the real story about cougars
These cougars don't play football.We're talking about the big cats who are the top predator of the Pacific Northwest forests. The secretive felines whose reputations are shrouded in mystery and misinformation.
Date: 03/10/2012 | Life
Northern sky lights up
Solar storm has second big surge today; more coming
Date: 03/09/2012 | Nation & World
FAA moves toward allowing unmanned drones in U.S. airspace
WASHINGTON -- The Federal Aviation Administration has taken the first concrete step toward allowing drones to fly alongside passenger airplanes in the United States.
Date: 03/08/2012 | Nation & World
Earth may have dodged bullet on solar storm
WASHINGTON — Our high-tech world seems to have easily weathered a solar storm that didn't quite live up to its advance billing.
Date: 03/07/2012 | Nation & World
Boeing space plane remains in orbit on mystery mission
LOS ANGELES -- One year after the Air Force blasted it into orbit, an experimental robotic space drone continues to circle the Earth.Its mission and payload, however, remain a mystery.
Date: 03/07/2012 | Nation & World
Europe close on 'God particle,' U.S. studies confirm
WASHINGTON — More scientists are getting closer in the search for the "God particle" of physics that would help explain the fundamentals of the universe, but they haven't found it yet.
Date: 03/07/2012 | Nation & World
New study links diesel exhaust to lung cancer
WASHINGTON -- There's new evidence that exposure to exhaust from diesel engines increases the risk of lung cancer.
Date: 03/03/2012 | Nation & World
Navy developing 100-mile cannon for warships
NORFOLK, Va. -- A super-powerful gun that shoots rounds more than 100 miles away -- at several times the speed of sound -- is being developed for Navy warships.
Date: 03/01/2012 | Nation & World
U.S. scratches 747-based airborne laser weapon
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The Pentagon has mothballed a laser-equipped Boeing 747 after 15 years and $5 billion worth of research to develop an airborne missile defense system.
Date: 03/01/2012 | Nation & World
Explore 'Borderlands' between music, computers
This particular kind of experimental music has been described by composer John Adams as "crazy, delightful."You can be part of this experimental experience by attending a performance in March at Edmonds Community College.
Date: 02/27/2012 | Life
Calendar quirk robs 'leapers' of birthdays
Frederick, the central character in Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance," suffers because his birthday falls on Feb. 29.Known as a "leaper," the character must serve his pirate clan until his 21st birthday, not just his 21st year.
Date: 02/27/2012 | Life
5 ways apps can help your life
As technology becomes less of a science experiment and more a part of everyday life, more and more people are turning to devices for fun, functionality, and the ability to make complicated tasks easier.
Date: 02/26/2012 | Life
Don’t text 911 in an emergency in Snohomish County
You can't text 911 for help in Snohomish County.
Date: 02/23/2012 | Local News
‘Hugo' author helps to restore 200-year-old automaton
PHILADELPHIA -- The Franklin Institute's automaton can't help you find a good sushi place, direct you out of a traffic jam or check your bank balance.
Date: 02/22/2012 | Nation & World
Mercury spacecraft workers gather 50 years after John Glenn’s launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Veterans of NASA's Project Mercury reunited Saturday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of John Glenn's orbital flight, visiting the old launch pad and meeting the famed astronaut himself.
Date: 02/19/2012 | Nation & World
Four reasons to look at financial choices and websites to help you do that
Can you trust conventional wisdom, or your gut, in financial matters? Not always. And in some cases, perhaps never, according to the economists and other experts at these sites on money.
Date: 02/19/2012 | Business
China plans trip to space with three astronauts
BEIJING -- China's next space mission will carry three astronauts who will dock with and live inside an experimental orbiting module launched last year, state media said Friday.
Date: 02/18/2012 | Nation & World
Plastic from plants? Science may have found a way
Plastic is anathema to many among the eco-conscious -- but what if manufacturers could stop making so much of it from oil and start making more of it from plants?
Date: 02/17/2012 | Nation & World
Human, Robonaut shake hands for first time on space station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Astronauts and robots have united in space with a healthy handshake.
Date: 02/16/2012 | Nation & World
Should your doctors tell you the truth? Do they?
WASHINGTON — Trust your doctor? A survey finds that some doctors aren't always completely honest with their patients.
Date: 02/08/2012 | Nation & World
Bills propose DNA collection upon arrest
SEATTLE -- Anthony Dias is the poster boy for why police and prosecutors hope Washington will join a growing number of states that require people to give DNA samples as soon as they're arrested for a serious crime, rather than waiting until they're convicted.
Date: 02/05/2012 | Northwest
Big solutions in a beaker
Glacier Peak students work with algae to fix big problems
Date: 02/03/2012 | Local News
U.S. engineers create laser-guided bullet
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories engineers have invented a bullet that directs itself to a target like a tiny guided missile and can hit a target more than a mile away, the New Mexico-based lab announced Tuesday,
Date: 02/01/2012 | Nation & World
Scientists puzzled by region outside solar system
LOS ANGELES -- A glimpse beyond our solar system reveals the neighborhood just outside the sun's influence is different and stranger than expected, scientists reported Tuesday.
Date: 01/31/2012 | Nation & World
App helps you create custom photo collages
Available for: iPhone and iPad.What it does: Helps you create a photo collage from your library photos, Facebook albums or pics from the Web (if you're only pretending you took a trip to Africa).
Date: 01/24/2012 | Life
Could Google take over online travel?
If you haven't Googled a flight itinerary recently, you should try it.Google's Flight Search, the fledgling search engine that lets you find a ticket and book it directly through an airline, is getting better. Much better.
Date: 01/21/2012 | Life
NASA begins work on display for space shuttle
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's retired space shuttle Atlantis is a step closer to completing its final journey.
Date: 01/19/2012 | Nation & World
Young kids sign up for Facebook with help from their parents
Nancy Gerstein is a savvy marketing executive who knows a lot about Facebook. She supervises corporate Facebook pages for her company's clients.
Date: 01/16/2012 | Life
Russia's Mars space probe crashes into southern Pacific
MOSCOW — Russia's Defense Ministry says a failed probe designed to travel to a moon of Mars has crashed, showering debris over the southern Pacific, according to news reports.The ministry said the fragments fell Sunday 1,250 kilometers (775 miles) west of Wellington Island.
Date: 01/15/2012 | Nation & World
Lorex makes it easy to keep an eye on home when you're gone
The Lorex Live Connect home-monitoring system is surprisingly easy-to-use camera system that works wirelessly through your Internet router to let you see what's going on at home from anywhere in the world through a free Skype account.
Date: 01/08/2012 | Business
Key rocket scientist Lowell Randall dies at 96
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Lowell Randall, a pioneer rocket scientist who helped launched the U.S. space program and tested intercontinental ballistic missiles, has died. He was 96.
Date: 01/07/2012 | Nation & World
Trash those old gadgets
How to get rid of used electronics the responsible way
Date: 01/07/2012 | Business
14-ton Russian spacecraft likely to hit Earth on Jan. 15
MOSCOW — Fragments of a failed Russian space probe are now expected to fall to Earth on Jan. 15, officials said Wednesday.
Date: 01/04/2012 | Nation & World
Everything you need to know about a hangover
LOS ANGELES -- Gearing up for a big night on New Year's Eve? One that will involve some drinking? Then maybe you need a little primer on hangovers, since you could be nursing one soon.
Date: 12/30/2011 | Nation & World
2007 San Francisco oil spill devastated herring, scientists report
LOS ANGELES -- Thick, tarry fuel oil disgorged into San Francisco Bay from a damaged cargo ship in 2007 was surprisingly toxic to fish embryos, devastating the herring population that feeds seabirds, whales and the bay's last commercial fishery, scientists reported Monday.
Date: 12/26/2011 | Nation & World
See bald eagles in action at Skagit River hatchery tour
Seeing bald eagles and learning more about our region's iconic fish make these free hatchery tours in Skagit County a total nature experience.
Date: 12/26/2011 | Life
Free apps to ease travel pains
Skype WiFi (Free; iOS)What it is: A way to connect to the Web via pay-by-the-minute Wi-Fi hot spots around the world. You pay the charges using money in your Skype account.
Date: 12/24/2011 | Life
Dawn spacecraft beams back closeups of huge asteroid
LOS ANGELES — NASA's Dawn spacecraft has been a fervent photographer, snapping more than 10,000 pictures of the asteroid Vesta since it slipped into orbit around the giant space rock last summer.
Date: 12/21/2011 | Nation & World
Two Earth-size planets spotted around distant star
NEW YORK — Scientists have found two Earth-sized planets orbiting a star outside the solar system, an encouraging sign for prospects of finding life elsewhere.
Date: 12/20/2011 | Nation & World
Comet defies death, brushes up to sun and lives
WASHINGTON — A small comet survived what astronomers figured would be a sure death when it danced uncomfortably close to the broiling sun.
Date: 12/16/2011 | Nation & World
8 gifts for techies
What to give the technology lover who has everything
Date: 12/11/2011 | Business
Dark side of the moon
This photo of Saturday's lunar eclipse was taken at 5:50 a.m. from Brackett's Landing Park in Edmonds by William Lider of Lynnwood. The early stages of the total eclipse were visible from western North America, just before the moon began to set. The total eclipse also was visible in Asia, Australia...
Date: 12/10/2011 | Local News
Sky-watchers get rare treat: total lunar eclipse
SAN FRANCISCO — Moon watchers in the western U.S., Hawaii and elsewhere across the globe were treated Saturday to a rare celestial phenomenon: a total lunar eclipse.For 51 minutes starting at 6:06 a.m. PST, the Earth's shadow completely blocked the moon.
Date: 12/10/2011 | Nation & World
NASA OKs private vessel’s trip to space station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A private California company will attempt the first-ever commercial cargo run to the International Space Station in February.
Date: 12/10/2011 | Nation & World
Rats are nice, not naughty, a new study reveals
WASHINGTON -- Rats don't always act like, well, rats.New experiments show rats demonstrating compassion and helping other rodents. It's a trait some scientists thought was reserved only for humans and higher primates.
Date: 12/09/2011 | Nation & World
Bedbugs can thrive despite incest, research finds
PITTSBURGH -- Bedbugs aren't just sleeping with you. They're sleeping with each other.Researchers now say that the creepy bugs have a special genetic gift: withstanding incest.
Date: 12/08/2011 | Nation & World
Planet in sweet spot of Goldilocks zone
WASHINGTON -- A newly discovered planet is eerily similar to Earth and is sitting outside our solar system in what seems to be the ideal place for life, except for one hitch. It's a bit too big.
Date: 12/05/2011 | Nation & World
Scientists find monster black holes, biggest yet
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Scientists have found the biggest black holes known to exist -- each one 10 billion times the size of our sun.
Date: 12/05/2011 | Nation & World
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