|  California methane leak was biggest ever in U.S., scientists say  | By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The months-long natural gas leak that forced thousands of Los Angeles residents from their homes ranks as the largest known accidental methane release in U.S. history, equal to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of nearly 600,000 cars, scientists reported on Thursday. At its peak, 60 tons per hour of natural gas was spewing from a ruptured underground pipeline at the Aliso Canyon storage field, effectively doubling the methane emissions of the entire Los Angeles metropolitan area, the researchers said. The stench of fumes from the site sickened scores of people and prompted the temporary relocation of more than 6,600 households from the northern Los Angeles community of Porter Ranch at the edge of the gas field.
| Read More » California methane leak was biggest ever in U.S., scientists say  | By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The months-long natural gas leak that forced thousands of Los Angeles residents from their homes ranks as the largest known accidental methane release in U.S. history, equal to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of nearly 600,000 cars, scientists reported on Thursday. At its peak, 60 tons per hour of natural gas was spewing from a ruptured underground pipeline at the Aliso Canyon storage field, effectively doubling the methane emissions of the entire Los Angeles metropolitan area, the researchers said. The stench of fumes from the site sickened scores of people and prompted the temporary relocation of more than 6,600 households from the northern Los Angeles community of Porter Ranch at the edge of the gas field.
| Read More » Astronaut heading home next week after record-long U.S. spaceflight  | By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who returns next week after nearly a year aboard the International Space Station, said on Thursday the secret to enduring the longest U.S. spaceflight is marking individual milestones, not ticking days off the calendar. Since arriving at the space station on March, 27, 2015, Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Korneinko have served with eight different crewmates, unpacked six cargo ships, weathered two botched supply runs and participated in dozens of science experiments. Kelly also made three spacewalks outside the $100 billion station, which flies about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth, and Kornienko made one.
| Read More » SpaceX Falcon rocket launch called off for second straight day  | CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - SpaceX called off a planned launch of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a communications satellite less than two minutes before blastoff from Florida on Thursday, citing a technical problem. It marked the second straight day that Elon Musk's privately owned Space Exploration Technologies had postponed the launch. (Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by Steve Gorman and Lisa Shumaker)
| Read More » California methane leak was biggest ever in U.S., scientists say | By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The months-long natural gas leak that forced thousands of Los Angeles residents from their homes ranks as the largest known accidental methane release in U.S. history, equal to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of nearly 600,000 cars, scientists reported on Thursday. At its peak, 60 tons per hour of natural gas was spewing from a ruptured underground pipeline at the Aliso Canyon storage field, effectively doubling the methane emissions of the entire Los Angeles metropolitan area, the researchers said.
| Read More » California methane leak was biggest ever in U.S., scientists say | By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The months-long natural gas leak that forced thousands of Los Angeles residents from their homes ranks as the largest known accidental methane release in U.S. history, equal to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of nearly 600,000 cars, scientists reported on Thursday. At its peak, 60 tons per hour of natural gas was spewing from a ruptured underground pipeline at the Aliso Canyon storage field, effectively doubling the methane emissions of the entire Los Angeles metropolitan area, the researchers said.
| Read More » Gas from thawing permafrost could add further to global warming, study says By Ellen Wulfhorst NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Arctic permafrost that is thawing due to global warming is releasing greenhouse gases, further compounding the problem of climate change, according to a study released on Thursday. As the permafrost thaws, changes in the way its soil microbes function and the soil carbon decomposes add to the emissions of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, according to the study by U.S. and Chinese scientists. Read More » Old red dye shows promise as new cancer foe By Bill Berkrot NEW YORK (Reuters) - Modern cancer drugs supercharge immune systems, target specific gene mutations and pack modified viruses into vaccines. Rose Bengal, a cheap industrial chemical that turns yarn and food bright red, has been used as a diagnostic staining agent for some time. Now, some scientists are looking at its potential to fight various forms of cancer. Read More » Vital to food output, bees and other pollinators at risk  | Pesticides, loss of habitats to farms and cities, disease and climate change were among threats to about 20,000 species of bees as well as creatures such as birds, butterflies, beetles and bats that fertilize flowers by spreading pollen, it said. "Pollinators are critical to the global economy and human health," Zakri Abdul Hamid, chair of the 124-nation report, told Reuters of a finding that between $235 billion and $577 billion of world food output at market prices depended on pollinators. Ever more species of pollinators are threatened, according to the study, the first by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) since it was founded in 2012.
| Read More » Palm-Size Satellites Could Hunt for New Alien Worlds  | Tiny satellites could hitch a ride into orbit and spot alien worlds from afar, new research suggests. NASA's 2,230 pound (1,052 kilogram) Kepler Space Telescope has discovered thousands of potential planets around other stars. Now, some scientists want to go smaller: They propose searching for new worlds using miniaturized satellites that can fit in the palm of your hand.
| Read More » Gravitational Waves: Did Merging Black Holes Form from Single Star?  | Could a single, dying star give birth to not one, but two black holes? Scientists have long held different ideas about how black holes of this size get close enough to collide, but another proposal has just entered the ring: that the black holes were created, shortly before their collision, from one, massive star as it was collapsing in on itself. This new hypothesis posits that the merger of these two black holes would produce light — including, possibly, a burst of gamma-rays, the highest-energy form of light.
| Read More » Putting on a 'Happy Face' for Kids Takes Emotional Toll on Parents Parents who hide their true emotions from their children, putting on an insincere "happy face," tend to feel bad about it afterward, a new study finds. Researchers asked parents to remember times when they didn't feel great, but put on a "happy face" anyway when talking with their kids. Overall, parents felt that putting on a fake happy face decreased their sense of well-being and the quality of the bond they had with their kids, the researchers found. Read More » Zika Virus Linked to Stillbirth A woman in Brazil who became infected with the Zika virus gave birth to a stillborn baby, and large parts of the infant's brain were missing, according to a new report. Read More » Is Soda Consumption Falling Flat? Americans appear to be cutting back on sugary sodas and fruit drinks, a new report finds. Read More » Ebola May Leave Survivors with Lasting Problems in Brain, Nerves Although experts recently declared the world's largest Ebola outbreak over, many people who were infected with the virus are still experiencing neurologic problems, according to a new study. Read More » | |
