NASA Budget Promotes Space Nukes

February 8, 2002
The proposed 2003 budget for NASA would be $15 billion, $500 million more than in 2002. However, there would be major cutbacks in money for the space station and space exploration and increases in money for the development of nuclear... continued

Fat? Pop a Pill

February 8, 2002
Scientists have developed a new class of drug which enables users to lose weight without cutting calories or exercising. Obese men who took part in a trial lost an average of more than a pound a month after being injected... continued

Backpacks Are Killing Our Kids

February 8, 2002
In Hong Kong recently, a 9-year old boy fell 20 floors to his death after his heavy backpack pulled him over the safety rail of a building. Officials suspect the bag moved forward as the boy leaned over to look... continued

Animals Cloned for Human Parts

February 7, 2002
Dr. Michael West, of Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Massachusetts and his team have created a monkey embryo without the use of sperm that can be used to create stem cells. Through a process called parthenogenesis, stem cells were extracted... continued

Penguins Getting Hot

February 7, 2002
Penguins are starting to leave parts of Antarctica because it?s getting too hot for them.The numbers of adelie penguins on the Antarctic peninsula are falling as global warming increases. Experts predict that they may abandon much of their tradition living... continued

Lifesaving Chemical Pollutes Water

February 7, 2002
A lifesaving chemical which is used to make upholstery flame-resistant, pentaBDE (penta bromo diphenyl ether), has turned up in water supplies and even in breast milk. Freshwater fish in Virginia have been found to contain the highest reported levels in... continued

GM Crops Creating ?Rogue Weeds?

February 7, 2002
Genetically-modified crops in Canada are creating new kinds of weeds, as herbicide-resistant oilseed rape crops cross-breed at the edge of fields. The weeds are accumulating extra genes and are rapidly becoming resistant to chemical sprays. This could lead to rogue... continued

Lightning?Predicting and Protecting

February 6, 2002
A group of engineers plan to fire supersonic jets of salty water towards storm clouds in order to trigger lightning. If it works, they say their system could ultimately be used to protect people and property from lightning strikes. The... continued

More War Against Terrorists?

February 6, 2002
Eric Schmitt and James Dao report in The New York Times of February 4 that the top Marine general for Central Asia and the Persian Gulf is moving his headquarters to Bahrain from Hawaii. His counterparts in Army, Navy and... continued

Ancient Pre-Inca Temple Found

February 6, 2002
On the National Geographic website, Bijal P. Trivedi reports on an NPR interview by Alex Chadwick of Charles ?Chip? Stanish, a UCLA archaeologist who is searching in the remote highlands of Peru for the lost temples of the Pukara, an... continued