Scientists Move Closer to Predicting Volcanic Eruptions
Oregon scientists who correctly predicted the 2011 eruption of the Axial Seamount underwater volcano years before it occurred, now say another underwater volcano off the Oregon coast gave off signals just hours before it erupted. Underwater hydrophones showed a sudden increase in seismic energy about 2.6 hours before the eruption started about 400 kilometers off […]
Took 10 Million Years for Life on Earth to ‘Re-set’ After Mass Extinction
More than 250 million years ago, most life on Earth was wiped out by a catastrophic event called the Permian–Triassic extinction. New research suggests it took our planet 10 million years to recover from what is now known as “The Great Dying.” The Great Dying took place millions of years earlier than the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction, […]
Study Shows Gulf Oil Spill Harmed Deep-sea Coral
New research suggests the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill did serious damage to deep sea corals. Communities near the Deepwater Horizon spill site show varying degrees of injury – from sick to dying to dead, according to research led by Penn State University Professor of Biology Charles Fisher. The study finds that coral communities […]
Science Scanner: Reaching ‘Point of No Return’ on Global Warming
Scientists attending a global warming conference in London warn the world is close to a point of no return, which will make conditions irreversibly hotter. Scientists at the “Planet Under Pressure Conference” say it’s critical to contain global warming in this decade. Will Steffen, executive director of the Australian National University’s Climate Change Institute, said, […]
Filmmaker James Cameron Makes 1st Solo Dive to Earth’s Deepest Point
This past weekend, filmmaker James Cameron did something that has never been done before. He took a solo trip down to the deepest part of the ocean. In doing so, the man who gave us “Titanic” and “Avatar,” has now gone where only two men have gone before. The last time humans made a successful […]
Debate Over Global Warming/Climate Change Heats Up
Hardly a week goes by that we aren’t reporting a story on concerns about global warming. But, a growing number of people in the scientific community are coming forward to express doubts about the prevailing scientific opinions concerning global warming. Recently, 16 respected scientists signed a letter, published in the Wall Street Journal, which indicated […]
Science Scanner: Fear of Terrorists Keeps Man-made Avian Flu Under Wraps
In December, the U.S. government asked scientists working on a man-made version of the avian flu virus to withhold certain details of their studies out of concern terrorists might use the information to manufacture and spread the dangerous virus, causing a worldwide pandemic. At the time of the request by the U.S. National Science Advisory […]
Science Scanner: It’s a Go – New Crew Members Make it to ISS
Putting recent technical setbacks and the subsequent grounding of its spacecraft fleet behind it, the Russian space program resumed shuttling personnel and supplies to the International Space Station. A Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft carrying the three newest members of the ISS crew launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Nov. 14, at 0414 UTC. […]
2010 Global Carbon Dioxide Levels Hit Record High
New US government data indicates that 2010 was by far, a record year for global Carbon-Dioxide emissions. Every year around October 28, a part of Tom Boden’s job is to enter new data taken from global and national estimates of carbon emissions due to fossil-fuel combustion and cement manufacturing into a US Government database/dataset that […]
Science Scanner: ‘Star Wars’ Capturing Beam Could Be Real
Fans of “Star Trek” or “Star Wars” are familiar with tractor beams; Darth Vader used the powerful beam to capture a spacecraft carrying Luke and Han Solo in Star Wars Episode IV, “A New Hope.” (corrected) Aside from capturing the enemy and preventing their escape , the tractor beams could also retrieve or tow various […]