Alan Shepard became the first American to fly in space on May 5, 1961. Although NASA engineers had put considerable planning into his mission, dubbed Freedom 7, noticeably missing from this extensive preparation was a way ...
Space Exploration
Jul 10, 2013
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Astronauts have been taking part in short spaceflight missions since 1961. They have only recently begun to spend significantly longer times in space, with missions extending for months, since the days of the Russian Mir ...
Space Exploration
Mar 22, 2012
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Maintaining fluid balance in the body is essential to survival, from the tiniest protozoa to the mightiest of mammals. By researching recent genomic data, Swiss researchers have found genetic evidence that links this intricate ...
Evolution
Sep 22, 2011
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What do you have when you line up a martial artist, acrobatic gymnast, police officer, firefighter, NASCAR driver, and NFL running back? "Watson," the IBM super-computer that recently routed humanity's best on Jeopardy ...
Social Sciences
Mar 8, 2011
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Ants are usually regarded as the unwanted guests at a picnic. But a recent study of California seed harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex californicus) examining their metabolic rate in relation to colony size may lead to a better ...
Other
Aug 26, 2010
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Human impact is causing lower oxygen and higher carbon dioxide levels in coastal water bodies. Increased levels of carbon dioxide cause the water to become more acidic, having dramatic effects on the lifestyles of the wildlife ...
Environment
Aug 5, 2010
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It has been widely reported that the build up of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air, which is caused by human behavior, will likely lead to climate change and have major implications for life on earth. But less focus has been ...
Ecology
Aug 5, 2010
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With global warming and climate change making headlines nearly every day, it could be reassuring to know that some creatures might cope by gradually moving to new areas as their current ones become less hospitable. Nevertheless, ...
Ecology
Aug 5, 2010
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In 2003, a massive heat wave struck and killed some 30,000 people in Europe in an area where heat was not considered a major threat. Similar mass die-offs occur in wild birds and some mammals during heat waves, but unlike ...
Ecology
Aug 5, 2010
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In trying to predict how species will respond to climate change caused by global warming, researchers and scientists are turning to comparative physiology, a sub-discipline of physiology that studies how different organisms ...
Ecology
Aug 5, 2010
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