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Friday, December 6, 2013

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Commercial Space Race Revolutionizing Business Off Planet Earth

LONDON — For decades, the space race was seen as being mostly about national pride. The first man in space, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, was proclaimed by the Kremlin as Citizen of the World and hailed as a sign of communist leadership. Watching NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon made Americans grin in triumph and forced Soviet leaders to grit their teeth. On Nov. 5, India's national space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization, launched a spacecraft dubbed Mangalyaan to Mars.

Fearful Experiences Passed On In Mouse Families

Now, new research in mice reveals how experience can be passed down through generations due to changes in DNA. Scientists trained mice to associate the scent of cherry blossoms with the fear of receiving an electric shock, and found that the mice's pups and grandpups were more sensitive to the scent, even though they didn't receive the shock training. The mice appear to have inherited the fear knowledge through modifications to their genetic code.

3D Virtual Birth Simulator Could Help Doctors Prepare for Delivery

It seems there's almost nothing computers can't simulate these days: Now, a new computer program simulates human birth using 3D virtual reality. It could help doctors and midwives prepare for unusual or dangerous births, according to the researchers in England who developed it. The simulator shows you what's happening inside," said Rudy Lapeer, a computer scientist at the University of East Anglia, leader of the research that was presented Nov. 22 at a conference on E-Health and Bioengineering in Romania. Hospitals have used models to simulate the birthing process since the 1800s, Lapeer told LiveScience.

Great Pyramids of the Gophers: Mima Mound Mystery Solved

A new twist on an old mystery may finally settle the debate over the origin of Mima mounds, which bulge out of the ground like enormous, grass-covered bubble wrap. Mima mounds (sounds like dime-a) were named in 1841, when a vast pimply prairie (the Mima Prairie) was discovered in western Washington during the United States Exploring Expedition. Early explorers thought Mima mounds were Native American burial sites, but no skeletons or grave relics were inside. Because the rich prairie soil at many Mima mound sites turns sodden when it rains, scientists often blamed burrowing pocket gophers, the same rodents that pockmark golf courses and lawns — perhaps, scientists surmised, the gophers built up to escape drowning.

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Thursday, December 5, 2013

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New Test May Help Predict Ovarian Cancer Survival

A sensitive new DNA test can predict how long ovarian cancer patients will survive, and guide personalized treatment decisions, according to new research. The technology, called QuanTILfy, counts the number of cells called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in a cancer patient's tumor biopsy. This test is the first that can precisely count the number of immune cells present in a tumor sample. "We are providing a new tool," said Jason H. Bielas, a cancer geneticist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, and lead researcher of the study.

Jamaica scientist launches medical marijuana firm

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — A prominent Jamaican scientist and entrepreneur is launching a company that aims to capitalize on the growing international market for medical marijuana.

'Noisy' Icebergs Could Mask Whale Calls

SAN FRANCISCO — The sound of icebergs breaking apart in the ocean could make the seas a noisier place. "Recent reports have said that especially near port of calls in industrial countries, noise levels rose about 10 decibels in the last 30 to 40 years," said study co-author Haru Matsumoto, an acoustic engineer at Oregon State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Matsumoto and his colleagues were tracking the sounds from hydrophones, or underwater microphones, located in the Pacific a few hundred miles from Panama, when they noticed an uptick in noise in 2008. It turned out that a massive iceberg called C19 and about the size of Rhode Island, had calved into the ocean and disintegrated that year, Matsumoto said.

Triplet Births Due to Fertility Treatments Are Declining

More than one-third of U.S. twins, and more than three-quarters of triplets and other multiple births, are now born as a result of fertility treatments, according to estimates from a new study. In 2011, 36 percent of twin births and 77 percent of triplet and higher-order births (quadruplets, etc.) were aided by fertility treatments, which include both in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other treatments, such as the use of drugs to stimulate the ovaries and induce ovulation, the study found. After that, the proportion of triplet and higher-order births attributable to IVF declined by 33 percent (from 48 percent in 1998 to 32 percent in 2011). However, there's still a lot of work to be done to reduce the U.S. rate of multiple births, said study researcher Dr. Eli Y. Adashi, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Brown University.

Climate Scientist: 2 Degrees of Warming Too Much

NEW YORK — Famed climate scientist and activist James Hansen has said it before, and he'll say it again: Two degrees of warming is too much. International climate negotiators agreed in the Copenhagen Accord, a global agreement on climate change that took place at the 2009 United Nations' Climate Change Conference, that warming this century shouldn't increase by more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. But in a new paper published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, Hansen and a cadre of co-authors from a wide array of disciplines argue that even 2 degrees is too much, and would "subject young people, future generations and nature to irreparable harm," Hansen wrote in an accompanying essay distributed to reporters. The new study is a departure from the typical climate science paper, both for the wide variety of fields represented in the list of co-authors, which includes economist Jeffrey Sachs, as well as for the policy implications it raises, something climate scientists tend to shy away from.

How to See Venus and Moon in Daytime Sky Thursday

Venus and the moon get together for yet another celestial dalliance on Thursday (Dec. 5), and you should be able to see the pair in a blue daytime sky. Venus is 38.5 million miles (61.9 million kilometers) from Earth at the moment, while the moon is nearly 173 times closer at 222,800 miles (358,700 km) away.

Sunken Japanese WWII Submarine Discovered Off Hawaiian Coast

A World War II-era Japanese submarine that had been captured and intentionally sunk by U.S. forces was discovered earlier this year in its watery tomb. Researchers at the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL), headquartered at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu, located the missing I-400 submarine off Oahu's southwest coast, sitting more than 2,300 feet (700 meters) below sea level. The I-400 was one of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Sen Toku-class submarines, which were the largest submarines ever built before the age of nuclear-powered subs. These massive vessels were longer than a football field, and were used as submarine aircraft carriers.

Undersea Miracle: How Man in Sunken Ship Survived 3 Days

Harrison Okene, the ship's cook, was in the bathroom when the boat turned over and began to sink. In the predawn darkness, Okene was tossed from the bathroom wearing only his boxer shorts. Okene was luckier than his crewmates, however. Almost naked, with no food or fresh water, in a cold, wet room with a dwindling supply of oxygen, Okene's odds of survival seemed to be near-zero.

Mummy Mystery: Multiple Tombs Hidden in Egypt's Valley of Kings

Multiple tombs lay hidden in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, where royalty were buried more than 3,000 years ago, awaiting discovery, say researchers working on the most extensive exploration of the area in nearly a century. Egyptian archaeologists excavated the valley, where royalty were buried during the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.), between 2007 and 2010 and worked with the Glen Dash Foundation for Archaeological Research to conduct ground- penetrating radar studies. The team has already made a number of discoveries in the valley, including a flood control system that the ancient Egyptians created but, mysteriously, failed to maintain. The team collected a huge amount of data that will take a long time to analyze properly, wrote Afifi Ghonim, who was the field director of the project, in an email to LiveScience.

Tidy Cavemen: Neanderthals Organized Their Shelters

New research suggests that Neanderthals kept a tidy home. During excavations at a cave in Italy where a group of our closest known extinct relatives once lived, scientists say they found a strategically placed hearth and separate spaces for butchering and tool-making. In recent years, researchers have discovered that Neanderthals made tools, buried their dead, used fire and maybe even adorned themselves with feathers, bucking our ancient cousins' reputation as stocky brutes. "There has been this idea that Neanderthals did not have an organized use of space, something that has always been attributed to humans," study researcher Julien Riel-Salvatore, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado Denver, said in a statement.

Sharks Do Get Cancer: Tumor Found in Great White

Scientists have known for more than 150 years that sharks get cancer. That misconception is promoted in part by those who sell shark cartilage, who claim that the substance will help cure cancer, said David Shiffman, a shark researcher and doctoral student at the University of Miami. But no studies have shown that shark cartilage is an effective treatment, and the demand for the material has helped decimate shark populations, researchers say: Humans kill about 100 million sharks per year, according to a March 2013 study (although many factors contribute to the killing of sharks, including demand for shark-fin soup). "This was a very unusual sight as we have never before seen a [great] white shark with tumors," said Rachel Robbins, a study co-author and shark biologist at the Fox Shark Research Foundation, near Adelaide, in southern Australia.

Valley Girl Talk Is, Like, Everywhere in Southern California

SAN FRANCISCO — Valley girl talk, a style of talking marked by a rise in pitch at the end of sentences, is not just for rich girls from Encino any more. The uptalk is, like, totally ubiquitous amongst native Southern Californians of all demographics, including males, new research shows. Understanding that prevalence could help prevent miscommunications or negative impressions by Midwesterners and others unfamiliar with the SoCal language, said study co-author Amanda Ritchart, a linguistics doctoral candidate at the University of California San Diego. In Southern California, "most people talk like this, including males and people from all different ethnic groups," said Ritchart, who will present the findings today (Dec. 5) here at the 166th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America.

Swiss expert contests French finding that Arafat not poisoned

By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - A Swiss scientist who examined samples from the body of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said French experts had made weak arguments in concluding that he could not have died of poisoning in 2004. French forensic examiners commissioned by magistrates investigating Arafat's death in a Paris hospital assessed on Tuesday that he had not been killed with radioactive polonium found in abnormally high levels in his body and clothing. The Swiss approach resembled that of the French inquiry but dug deeper into the mystery, said Francois Bochud, director of the institute of radiation physics at University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV) who helped exhume Arafat's remains a year ago. Arafat, who signed the 1993 Oslo interim peace accords with Israel but then led an uprising after subsequent talks broke down in 2000, died aged 75 in November 2004.

Teens' Bonds with Parents Affect Their Sleep

During the study, teens' sleep decreased from 9.2 hour per night (on school nights) at age 12, to 7.8 hours per night at age 15. Teens' social ties were much stronger predictors of changes in their sleep patterns than their stages of puberty, the researchers said. The findings underscore the notion that, with regard to sleep habits, "teens' lives, in their totality, matters…not just the phase of puberty," they're going through, said study researcher David Maume, a sociology professor at the University of Cincinnati. Teens were more likely to get adequate sleep if their parents kept close tabs on their child's activities.

US Pregnancy Rate Reaches 12-Year Low

The U.S. pregnancy rate has fallen almost continuously over the last decade, and reached a 12-year low in 2009, according to a new government report. Researchers analyzed information on U.S. pregnancy rates for women ages 15 to 44 over the last two decades, with 2009 being the most recent year with data available. During that period, the U.S. pregnancy rate fell 12 percent, from 115.8 pregnancies per 1,000 women in 1990, to 102.1 pregnancies per 1,000 women in 2009. The total number of pregnancies in 2009 was about 6.3 million, which resulted in 4.1 million live births, 1.1 million induced abortions and 1.1 million pregnancy losses, according to the report.

Measles Cases Spiked in 2013, CDC Reports

Nearly 200 cases of measles have been reported in the United States so far this year, making 2013 one of the worst for measles outbreaks in the last decade, according to new numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cases usually occur when a person is infected with measles in another country, and brings the virus back to the United States. Nearly all measles cases in 2013 could be traced back to an infection that occurred abroad, the CDC said. The increase in cases in 2013 serves as a reminder that measles cases anywhere in the world have the potential to cause an outbreak in the United States, said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC.

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Wednesday, December 4, 2013

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And The Merriam-Webster Word of the Year Is … Science!

While the Oxford University Press honored "selfies" as its 2013 Word of the Year, celebrating those quickly snapped self-portraits, Merriam-Webster is taking a more academic approach to its annual linguistic spotlight. The dictionary has declared "science" its 2013 Word of the Year. If you haven't looked it up online, here's how Merriam-Webster defines science: "knowledge about or study of the natural world based on facts learned through experiments and observation." Science, according to Merriam-Webster Editor-at-Large Peter Sokolowski, is the word behind the news in 2013.

NASA Teams With Asteroid-Mining Company to Crowdsource Space Rock Hunt

NASA is partnering with the billionaire-backed company Planetary Resources Inc., to launch asteroid-hunting competitions, and they want your help. Then U.S. space agency and the asteroid-mining firm are seeking to crowdsource new ideas for software to find space rocks that could pose a threat to our planet — or at least be of interest to scientists and cosmic mineral prospectors. The venture is the first to come out of NASA's Asteroid Grand Challenge, which launched in June. The initiative seeks to detect dangerous asteroids and devise strategies to stop them from colliding with Earth as well as identify asteroids that might be interesting candidates for scientific exploration.

Signs of Water Found on 5 Alien Planets by Hubble Telescope

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has detected water in the atmospheres of five planets beyond our solar system, two recent studies reveal. But finding water in their atmospheres still marks a step forward in the search for distant planets that may be capable of supporting alien life, researchers said. "We're very confident that we see a water signature for multiple planets," Avi Mandell, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., lead author of one of the studies, said in a statement. "This work really opens the door for comparing how much water is present in atmospheres on different kinds of exoplanets — for example, hotter versus cooler ones." [?The Strangest Alien Planets (Gallery)]

Seattle Football Fans Rock the House — and the Earth

Rowdy fans stomping and roaring when the Seattle Seahawks scored a touchdown last night (Dec. 2) shook the football stadium so hard that a nearby seismometer registered an "earthquake." It's not the first time the seismometer, which monitors earthquakes, picked up ground-shaking vibrations from Seahawks fans. A 1988 showdown between Louisiana State University and Auburn University also registered on LSU's local seismometer, leading ESPN to dub it the "Earthquake Game." This Monday night, with a Guinness World Record for loudest recorded crowd noise on the line, a seismologist from the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network watched the Earth shake in real time, with the game on one screen and the seismometer readings on another.

Australia investigates suspected Chinese spy at top science centre

Australia is investigating a suspected espionage case at the country's top scientific organization, with a Chinese national being probed for allegedly accessing sensitive data, Fairfax Media reported on Wednesday. The case may further test relations with China after the Australian foreign minister called in the Chinese ambassador to Canberra last week to ask for an explanation for a new air defence zone unilaterally set up by China in disputed international waters. Australian federal police and security agencies are investigating a Chinese national, who until last week worked at the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organization, Fairfax reported. "CSIRO became aware of a matter involving an employee suspected of unauthorised use of CSIRO computers," the organization's spokesman Huw Morgan told Reuters in an email.

SpaceX rocket lifts off on first commercial satellite launch

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An unmanned Falcon 9 rocket developed by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, blasted off on Tuesday to put the company's first commercial satellite into orbit, staking a potentially game-changing claim in a global industry worth nearly $190 billion a year. The 22-story rocket lifted off from its seaside launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 5:41 p.m. EST/2241 GMT. Two previous launch attempts last week were scuttled by technical glitches, including a last-second abort on Thursday. ...

No return from the dead for Comet ISON

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The last vestiges of Comet ISON are fading from view after a sizzlingly close encounter with the sun, scientists said on Monday. "Comet ISON is now just a cloud of dust," astronomer Tony Phillips wrote on SpaceWeather.com, a NASA-backed website. "Experienced astrophotographers might be able to capture the comet's fading 'ghost' in the pre-dawn sky of early December, but a naked-eye spectacle is out of the question," he wrote. Scientists believe the comet broke apart as it passed through the sun's corona on Thursday.

SpaceX Launches Falcon 9 Rocket On High-Stakes Commercial Satellite Mission

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lit up the night sky over Florida Tuesday (Dec. 3) in a landmark communications satellite mission that catapulted the private spaceflight company into the commercial launch business.

Bold 'Razzle Dazzle' Camouflage Fools The Eye

A controversial, high-contrast camouflage that once decorated the hulls of World War I battleships really exists in nature — though whether humans are fooled remains an open question. When a dark stimulus expands, it sends a "lights off" signal to the visual system, as a dark object replaces the bright background.

Why the Platypus Will Never Have a Stomach

Scientists wondered if all of these examples of stomach loss had anything in common. Since many animals have now had their genomes sequenced, researchers investigated 14 species with and without stomachs to see what genes they all might be missing. The scientists found that in all species examined, stomach loss was clearly linked with the complete loss of the genes responsible for pepsin and acid digestion. If these species adapted to survive without the need for a stomach, the genes for its function could then be lost by mutation over time without ill effect.

SpaceX rocket lifts off on first commercial satellite launch

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An unmanned Falcon 9 rocket developed by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, blasted off on Tuesday to put its first commercial satellite into orbit, staking a potentially game-changing claim in a global industry worth nearly $190 billion a year. The 22-story rocket lifted off from its seaside launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 5:41 p.m. EST/2241 GMT. Perched on top of the rocket was a 7,000-pound (3,175 kg) communications satellite owned by Luxembourg-based SES S.A., which operates a 54-satellite fleet, the world's second-largest. "I'd like to thank SES for taking a chance on SpaceX," company founder and chief executive Elon Musk posted on Twitter an hour before the launch.

Astronaut Hopefuls Face Off for Axe Apollo's Free Trip to Space This Week

A group of would-be astronauts are heading down to Florida this week for the chance to win the opportunity of a lifetime: a free trip to the edge of space and back. More than 100 participants from all over the world are converging on NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the AXE Apollo Space Academy — the final step in a yearlong contest designed to send 23 lucky winners to the edge of space. The 23 winners — chosen from the larger group in Florida — will receive tickets to fly from Space Expedition Corporation. "Space travel for everyone is the next frontier in the human experience," astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who became the second person ever to walk on the moon during NASA's 1969 Apollo 11 mission, said in a statement when the contest began.

Spooky Physics Phenomenon May Link Universe's Wormholes

Wormholes — shortcuts that in theory can connect distant points in the universe — might be linked with the spooky phenomenon of quantum entanglement, where the behavior of particles can be connected regardless of distance, researchers say. These findings could help scientists explain the universe from its very smallest to its biggest scales. Currently, researchers have two disparate theories, quantum mechanics and general relativity, which can respectively mostly explain the universe on its tiniest scales and its largest scales. In principle, these warps in the fabric of space and time can behave like shortcuts connecting any black holes in the universe, making them a common staple of science fiction.

Dangerous Global Warming Closer than You Think, Climate Scientists Say

Bizarre Microbes Discovered in Desert Cave

Tucked beneath the desert in southern Arizona is Kartchner Caverns, a maze of remote, largely uninhabited underground passages and caverns that are cloaked in perpetual darkness. A team of researchers led by scientists at the University of Arizona in Tucson discovered communities of microorganisms that live in the limestone caves of Kartchner Caverns State Park. The unexpected discovery, published online Sept. 12 in the journal of the International Society for Microbial Ecology, could help scientists understand how bacteria, fungi and other microbes survive in extreme environments. "We didn't expect to find such a thriving ecosystem feasting on the scraps dripping in from the world above," Julie Neilson, an associate research scientist in the University of Arizona's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said in a statement.

Climate Model of the Month: New Wall Calendar Humanizes Science

The idea started as a joke at Columbia University, thrown around as a pun of climate scientists modeling themselves, not their data, in an effort to engage the public with climate change in a fresh way by humanizing the people behind the research. Science writers Francesco Fiondella of Columbia's International Research Institute for Climate and Society and Rebecca Fowler of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory began throwing around the idea in early 2013 and, after weeks of ongoing chuckles, decided to look for funding and get serious about the project. "There is so much out there in climate research, but we thought a new mechanism was needed for showing people what it all means," Fowler told LiveScience. Fowler and Fiondella hand-picked a group of 13 Columbia climate scientists who represented a balance of males and females and a range of climate-research fields, from hyrdology to physics to marine science.

Science Defines Booty Calls, One-Night Stands

And unsurprisingly, the point of these casual relationships is (drumroll, please) … sex. That's why Peter Jonason, a psychologist at the University of Western Sydney in Australia, focused on these relationships in a new study, published Nov. 1 in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior. The results, he surmised, could explain why people might get involved in a booty-call relationship versus a one-night stand or long-term affair. Each participant was asked to rank how likely booty calls, friends with benefits (people who have casual sex while remaining "just friends"), long-term relationships and one-night stands were to fulfill each of four functions: sexual gratification, social and emotional support, a "trial run" for a serious relationship and a placeholder to stave off boredom or to bide time until something better came along.

The Replication Myth: Shedding Light on One of Science s Dirty Little Secrets

Safe Limit for Global Warming Is Lowered Dramatically by Experts

28 Tiny Satellites Launching Together In December to See Earth from Space

San Francisco-based startup Planet Labs delivered the 28 tiny satellites that will make up its "Flock 1" fleet to NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia earlier this month. The constellation is slated to blast off for the International Space Station aboard a private cargo vessel on Dec. 15, then be deployed from the orbiting lab a month or so later, Planet Labs officials said. "We'll be producing imagery of the whole Earth with unprecedented frequency," Planet Labs co-founder Will Marshall told SPACE.com. "We will thus be able to always be covering the whole Earth, not just pointing and shooting at specific targets."

How Do You Train to Become a Space Tourist?

So far, he has bought three tickets from companies offering space tourism: Virgin Galactic, Space Adventures and XCOR Aerospace. In his investment bank, Wimmer Financial, in the heart of London, Wimmer somehow looks out of place in between corporate office walls.

Stealth Mode: Killer Whales Go Dark to Stalk Prey

SAN FRANCISCO — For killer whales, silence is golden as they hunt in complete darkness, listening for sounds of their marine mammal prey, and then rushing in for the kill, new research suggests. "The mammal hunters are very, very silent," said study co-author Volker Deecke, an animal behavior researcher at the University of Cumbria in England. That conclusion, presented here today (Dec. 3) at the 166th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, came from studying a population of killer whales that live in the waters off southeastern Alaska and hunt prey such as porpoises and seals. Killer whales, also known as orcas, often hunt in packs and can take down whales and sharks, giving them the reputation as "wolves of the sea." Two distinct populations of killer whales — ones that feed primarily on salmon, and a second group that prowls for marine mammals such as seals, porpoises and sea lions — live in the region where Deecke and his colleagues were studying orcas.

Speciesism Is Bad News for Animals (Op-Ed)

Marc Bekoff, emeritus professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, is one of the world's pioneering cognitive ethologists, a Guggenheim Fellow, and co-founder with Jane Goodall of Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Why speciesism makes no sense: A new documentary tells it all So it was with great pleasure that I learned about the release of an outstanding documentary by Mark Devries called "Speciesism: The Movie." I've watched it a number of times, and each time I discover something new.

Oil Boom is a Bust at Pump (Op-Ed)

He contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. The reason: Oil prices are set on the world market, and gasoline prices follow. Since President Obama was elected in 2008, U.S. oil production has risen 48 percent to its highest level in two decades. Gasoline prices are down slightly over the past couple years.

The New World After Oil, Cars and Suburbs (Op-Ed)

Eric W. Sanderson is a senior conservation ecologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the author of "Terra Nova: The New World After Oil, Cars, and Suburbs" (Abrams, 2013) and "Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City" (Abrams, 2009). He contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. As we tuck into our Thanksgiving feasts this week, let's give thanks for the blessings of America. Since World War II, America built over 90 million housing units, mostly in the suburban rings around cities.

Oldest Human DNA Reveals Mysterious Branch of Humanity

The oldest known human DNA found yet reveals human evolution was even more confusing than thought, researchers say. These new findings could shed light on a mysterious extinct branch of humanity known as Denisovans, who were close relatives of Neanderthals, scientists added. Although modern humans are the only surviving human lineage, others once strode the Earth. These included Neanderthals, the closest extinct relatives of modern humans, and the relatively newfound Denisovans, who are thought to have lived in a vast expanse from Siberia to Southeast Asia.

Apollo Couture: Astronaut Offers Replica of Iconic NASA Flight Jacket

An Apollo astronaut, looking to keep the "right stuff" forefront in the public's eye, has recreated his iconic NASA-issued blue flight jacket down to the last button. Al Worden, who in 1971 flew to the moon as the pilot of the Apollo 15 command module Endeavour, wore out his original flight jacket years ago. Worden, collaborating with British attorney Steve Pidcock, has founded "Still The Right Stuff" to create what Worden labels as the "Apollo Flight Jacket." [NASA's 17 Apollo Missions in Pictures] "The answer," Al Worden explained, "was to offer authentic Apollo-era flight jackets to a small but dedicated group of space enthusiasts."

The Wind Energy Threat to Birds Is Overblown (Op-Ed)

Elliott Negin is the director of news and commentary at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Wind energy is one of the cleanest, most abundant, sustainable — and increasingly cost-effective — ways to generate electricity. One of the most prominent is Robert Bryce, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a New York City-based, pro-market, anti-government think tank backed by ExxonMobil and Charles Koch, the billionaire co-owner of the coal, oil and gas conglomerate Koch Industries. Over the last few years, Bryce has been bashing wind energy in the pages of the New York Post, Wall Street Journal and other publications, charging that wind turbines are, among other things, ugly, noisy and a threat to public health.

The Real Truth About Tornadoes (Op-Ed)

The authors contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Rather, the larger numbers come from improved detection and reporting of weak tornadoes, particularly EF0 tornadoes, where "EF" refers to the enhanced-Fujita scale used by the National Weather Service (NWS).

How a Mysterious 'Moho' Forms Beneath Earth's Crust

A dense crystalline "rain" falling into Earth's mantle could explain how a mysterious seismic boundary forms beneath the crust, according to a study published today (Dec. 4) in the journal Nature. The model, based on rock evidence from volcanic islands that smashed into Asia and Alaska, confirms long-standing ideas about how continents are born. "There are a lot of things I think this study will resolve and a lot of questions that will remain," said lead author and MIT geologist Oliver Jagoutz. The seismic boundary investigated by Jagoutz and co-author Mark Behn, of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass., is called the Moho, after Croatian seismologist Andrija Mohorovicic.

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