|  Electrifying secrets behind killer eels Researchers have started to unravel the mysteries of how eels hunt, shock, and kill their prey. The findings come at the end of a nine-month study of the way in which the electric eel uses high-voltage electrical discharges to locate and incapacitate its prey. Vanderbilt University biologist Ken Catania, who led the research, says eels may just be one of the most fascinating killers on the planet. Until recently it was thought that eels simply shock their prey to death before eating them. Read More » On Apollo 9, a Jammed Camera Changed Spacewalking Astronaut's Life (Video)  | A camera glitch gave spacewalking Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart five of the most profound minutes of his life. Schweickart, the lunar module pilot on NASA's Apollo 9 mission to low-Earth orbit in March 1969, had just exited his vehicle when command module pilot Dave Scott told him to hang on, Schweickart recalled in a new video about the Apollo 9 spacewalk. Scott was documenting the spacewalk — the first of the Apollo era — from the open command module hatch with his movie camera, and the instrument had jammed. "Jim McDivitt, who's the [Apollo 9] commander, says, 'OK, Dave, I can give you five minutes to try and fix it, and Rusty, stay right where you are,'" Schweickart said in the video, which was produced by the nonprofit XPrize Foundation as part of its XPrize Insights series.
| Read More » Soprano Sarah Brightman Reveals Mission Patch for Space Station Flight  | British soprano Sarah Brightman will be "chasing dreams" and "shaping futures" when she lifts off on a self-funded trip to the International Space Station in September, the recording artist said as she revealed her personal mission patch at a press conference in London on Tuesday (March 10). Brightman, who first announced her plans to fly to space in 2012, has been training at Russia's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, near Moscow, since January. She is scheduled to launch on Sept. 1 as a member of the Soyuz TMA-18M crew for a 10-day stay aboard the space station, during which time she intends to become the first professional musician to sing from orbit. Brightman, who used the press conference to address the rumors she was not paying for the reported $52 million trip herself ("I can't contractually say what the amount is, but it's good that I paid for it myself because it is something I am very committed to.") also announced partnerships with UNESCO and the Challenger Center for Space Education to engage people, and especially children, in her mission.
| Read More » Chance of major earthquake in California higher than thought: scientists California has a 7 percent chance of experiencing an earthquake of magnitude 8 or larger over the next three decades, U.S. government scientists said on Tuesday, higher than thought before. The 7 percent probability is based on new modeling, the United States Geological Survey said in a new study. "We are fortunate that seismic activity in California has been relatively low over the past century," said Tom Jordan, Director of the Southern California Earthquake Center and a co-author of the study. "But we know that tectonic forces are continually tightening the springs of the San Andreas fault system, making big quakes inevitable." The new modeling system takes into account shaking that might occur on several different faults, rather than looking at each rupture as a separate incident, said Ned Field, the lead author of the USGS report. Read More » U.S. Air Force leader eyes SpaceX launch certification by June  | The U.S. Air Force hopes to certify privately-held Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, to launch some U.S. military and intelligence satellites into space using its Falcon 9 rocket by June, a top official told Reuters on Tuesday. "I think we're still looking at ... June," Lieutenant General Ellen Pawlikowski, the top uniformed officer in charge of Air Force acquisition, told Reuters after a speech at the annual Women in Defense conference. Pawlikowski, nominated by President Barack Obama to head Air Force Materiel Command, said she was disappointed the Air Force had not been able to certify SpaceX for the launches by December, as initially hoped, but said she was "encouraged that we're close." The general said allowing SpaceX to enter a market dominated by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of the two top Pentagon suppliers, Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co, would let the Air Force leverage the commercial market and help reduce the cost of launching satellites into space.
| Read More » Chance of major earthquake in California higher than thought - scientists  | California has a 7 percent chance of experiencing an earthquake of magnitude 8 or larger over the next three decades, U.S. government scientists said on Tuesday, higher than thought before. The 7 percent probability is based on new modeling, the United States Geological Survey said in a new study. "We are fortunate that seismic activity in California has been relatively low over the past century," said Tom Jordan, Director of the Southern California Earthquake Center and a co-author of the study. "But we know that tectonic forces are continually tightening the springs of the San Andreas fault system, making big quakes inevitable." The new modeling system takes into account shaking that might occur on several different faults, rather than looking at each rupture as a separate incident, said Ned Field, the lead author of the USGS report.
| Read More » EU law on GM crops clears the ground for wave of approvals By Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU politicians on Wednesday will sign a new law on the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops in the European Union, clearing the way for a wave of approvals after years of deadlock. One of the first crops to get European Commission endorsement is likely to be an insect resistant maize known as 1507, whose developers DuPont and Dow Chemical have been waiting 14 years for the EU executive to authorize its cultivation in the EU. Widely-grown in the Americas and Asia, GM crops in Europe have divided opinion. The compromise law seeks to keep everyone happy by giving member states the right to ban GM crops even after European Commission approvals. Read More » Solar plane aiming for first round-the-world flight lands in India  | The first round-the-world solar-powered flight landed in India on Wednesday, the second leg of a 35,000 km (22,000 mile) journey seeking to demonstrate that flying long distances fueled by renewable energy is possible. The Solar Impulse 2 arrived in the west Indian city of Ahmedabad after a flight of about 15 hours over the Arabian sea from Muscat in Oman. "It's a privilege to fly in an aeroplane like that," pilot Bertrand Piccard told reporters after landing. Piccard and fellow pilot Andre Borschberg will take turns at the controls of Solar Impulse 2, which began its journey in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on Monday, as it makes its way around the globe in about 25 flight days at speeds of between 50 kph and 100 kph (30 mph to 60 mph).
| Read More » 4 NASA Satellites to Launch on Magnetic Field Mission This Thursday  | NASA is counting down to launch four small satellites into orbit on Thursday (March 12) on a mission to study an explosive cosmic phenomenon happening right on Earth's doorstep. The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, or MMS for short, is scheduled to blast off on an unmanned Atlas V rocket at 10:44 p.m. EDT (0244 GMT on March 13), from Space Launch Complex 41 at from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station here. NASA's MMS satellites are designed to study a phenomenon known as magnetic reconnection, which occurs when magnetic-field lines break and reconnect with other field lines nearby. When it occurs near the Earth, magnetic reconnection can send particles toward Earth's atmosphere, which can be a hazard for astronauts but also excites particles in the atmosphere and creates auroras near Earth's north and south poles.
| Read More » Photo First: Rare Tiger Family Portrait  | For the first time, conservationists have spotted an Amur tiger dad leading his family along a snowy trail in Russia's Far East forests. There are fewer than 500 of the rare Amur tigers left in the wild, according tothe Wildlife Conservation Society. So researchers use remotely activated camera traps to help catch the tigers as they hunt, play and move through the vast territory of Russia's Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve and Udegeiskaya Legenda National Park (two adjacent protected areas). The new photos from the Wildlife Conservation Society show a family of five Amur tigers padding through the snow this winter, lined up from large to small like nesting dolls.
| Read More » Mysterious Jade Artifact May Have Been Offering to Ancient Gods  | It looks like a corncob in an abstract way archaeologists say. Jack Hunter, a diver with the Arroyo Pesquero archaeological project, discovered the artifact in 2012 while diving with Jeffery Delsescaux about 2 to 3 meters (6.6 to 9.8 feet) below the surface of a deep stream. The artifact dates to a time when a civilization now called the Olmec flourished in the area. The Olmec people built stone statues of giant human heads and constructed a city now called "La Venta" about 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of Arroyo Pesquero.
| Read More » Archaeologists May Find 3,000 Skeletons in London's 'Bedlam' Graveyard  | Archaeologists could pull thousands of skeletons out of the ground in London over the next few weeks as they dig up the 450-year-old Bedlam graveyard to make room for a new train line. London's Liverpool Street station is under construction so that it will be able accommodate a new east-west train line, dubbed Crossrail.
| Read More » NASA Satellite Quartet Aims to Crack Magnetic Mystery Near Earth  | A cosmic phenomenon in Earth's magnetic field that is both dazzling and potentially dangerous for people on the surface is the focus of a new scientific mission, scheduled to launch into orbit on Thursday (March 12). The Magnetsopheric Multiscale mission, or MMS, consists of four satellites that will study a process called magnetic reconnection: the explosive phenomenon that can send powerful bursts of particles hurtling toward Earth, potentially damaging satellites. MMS is the only dedicated instrument studying magnetic reconnection, and scientists say it could finally reveal how this phenomenon occurs. The mission requires an elaborately choreographed arrangement of four separate satellites in an orbit around Earth, placing them in the path of the magnetic reconnection events taking place right on Earth's doorstep.
| Read More » 'Bedlam' Graveyard Excavation May Reveal Thousands of Skeletons | Archaeologists could pull thousands of skeletons out of the ground in London over the next few weeks as they dig up the 450-year-old Bedlam graveyard to make room for a new train line. London's Liverpool Street station is under construction so that it will be able accommodate a new east-west train line, dubbed Crossrail.
| Read More » Will Einstein's General Relativity Break Under Extreme Conditions?  | In 1915, Albert Einstein published his general theory of relativity, which described gravity as a fundamental property of space-time. Now, scientists have the technology to begin looking for evidence that could reveal physics beyond general relativity. "To me, it is absolutely amazing how well general relativity has done after 100 years," said Clifford Will, a theoretical physicist at the University of Florida in Gainesville. General relativity describes gravity not as a force, as the physicist Isaac Newton thought of it, but rather as a curvature of space and time due to the mass of objects, Will said.
| Read More » US Weather Blew Hot and Cold in February  | Weather patterns drew a dividing line between the western and eastern United States in February, according to NASA.
| Read More » Will the Apple Watch Make People Healthier? The Apple Watch will have a number of health and fitness features, including activity tracking and reminders to get moving, but could the watch really make people healthier? "I think the big question will be, for whom will this be motivating or change behavior," said Sherry Pagoto, an associate professor of medicine co-founder of the Center for mHealth and Social Media at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. On the other hand, people who are averse to exercise, or who think they don't have time for physical activity, may need more than what a basic fitness tracker has to offer to help them change their behavior. "The crowd that has really low motivation on exercise, I'll be curious how much they will benefit from a device like this," Pagoto said. Read More » Hi-tech paint gives urinating revelers a soaking People living in Hamburg's St. Pauli's nightclub district are used to hordes of drunken tourists, crime and prostitution but many are fed up with late-night revelers who urinate on public and private buildings. A local interest group has now applied a special water-repellent paint, also used in shipbuilding, on two especially frequented buildings in the renowned nightclub district near the port to deter 'Wildpinkler', as Germans call them. Read More » Enhanced space shuttle solid rocket motor passes test firing: NASA By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - A beefed-up space shuttle solid rocket motor passed a two-minute test firing in Utah on Wednesday, a key milestone toward the debut flight of NASA's deep-space launcher in 2018, the U.S. space agency said. Bright flames shot out the rear of the rocket for two minutes, marking the first full-duration burn of the enhanced solid-fuel shuttle booster rocket, a live NASA Television broadcast showed. Great result," said Charlie Precourt, an Orbital ATK vice president and former NASA astronaut. The 177-foot (54-meter) motor is 25 percent more powerful than the four-segment engines used to help lift the space shuttle. Read More » Mutating H7N9 bird flu may pose pandemic threat, scientists warn By Kate Kelland LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - A wave of H7N9 bird flu in China that has spread into people may have the potential to emerge as a pandemic strain in humans, scientists said on Wednesday. The H7N9 virus, one of several strains of bird flu known to be able to infect humans, has persisted, diversified and spread in chickens across China, the researchers said, fuelling a resurgence of infections in people and posing a wider threat. "The expansion of genetic diversity and geographical spread indicates that, unless effective control measures are in place, H7N9 could be expected to persist and spread beyond the region," they said in a study published in the journal Nature. The H7N9 bird flu virus emerged in humans in March 2013 and has since then infected at least 571 people in China, Taipei, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Canada, killing 212 of them, according to February data from the World Health Organization (WHO). Read More » Early Land Creature Had 4 Legs & Crocodile-Like Skull  | These first tetrapods, or four-legged animals, eventually gave rise to amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. One of the oldest-known tetrapods was Acanthostega gunnari, which lived 380 million to 360 million years ago. Adults of this species were about 2 feet (60 centimeters) long, which "is actually on the small side for an early tetrapod,"lead study author Laura Porro, an evolutionary biomechanist at the University of Bristol in England, told Live Science.
| Read More » Mutating H7N9 bird flu may pose pandemic threat, scientists warn By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - A wave of H7N9 bird flu in China that has spread into people may have the potential to emerge as a pandemic strain in humans, scientists said on Wednesday. The H7N9 virus, one of several strains of bird flu known to be able to infect humans, has persisted, diversified and spread in chickens across China, the researchers said, fuelling a resurgence of infections in people and posing a wider threat. "The expansion of genetic diversity and geographical spread indicates that, unless effective control measures are in place, H7N9 could be expected to persist and spread beyond the region," they said in a study published in the journal Nature. The H7N9 bird flu virus emerged in humans in March 2013 and has since then infected at least 571 people in China, Taipei, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Canada, killing 212 of them, according to February data from the World Health Organization (WHO). Read More » Gigantic ancient arthropod was really 'a very peaceful guy'  | Scientists on Wednesday announced the discovery in southeastern Morocco of beautifully preserved fossils of a huge arthropod - the group that includes crabs, scorpions, insects, spiders, centipedes and more - that lived 480 million years ago. It was Earth's largest animal at the time, at least double the size of anything else, said Yale University paleontologist Peter Van Roy, who led the research published in the journal Nature. Despite its size, it was a gentle giant that ate only plankton. It is the last known member of a group called anomalocaridids that included some of the first top predators near the dawn of animal life.
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