WRAL.com - AP Science News

Commercial space race gets crowded behind SpaceX

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:30:02 -0400

A privately built space capsule that's zipping its way to the International Space Station has also launched something else: A new for-profit space race.

Wanted: Bigfoot hair samples for European study

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:32:06 -0400

European researchers are planning to use new techniques to analyze DNA that could help crack the mystery of whether Bigfoot exists.

Beam them up: Ashes of 'Star Trek' actor in orbit

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:25:18 -0400

James Doohan, Scotty from "Star Trek," spent his acting career whizzing through the cosmos. Gordon Cooper was one of America's famous Mercury seven astronauts. And Bob Shrake spent his work life anonymously helping send NASA's high-tech spacecraft to other planets.

Commercial spacecraft speeds toward space station

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:39:21 -0400

Opening a new, entrepreneurial era in spaceflight, a ship built by a billionaire businessman sped toward the International Space Station with a load of groceries and other supplies Tuesday after a spectacular middle-of-the-night blastoff.

What's the big deal about private space launches?

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:22:47 -0400

The first private spaceship is headed to the International Space Station. Some questions and answers about the cargo mission by Space Exploration Technologies, known as SpaceX:

UK virtual orchestra puts you in conductor's stand

Tue, 22 May 2012 13:06:53 -0400

A London museum is putting the conductor's baton in visitors' hands, allowing guests to direct a virtual orchestra using three-dimensional motion sensors.

UK may allow IVF for older women, same-sex couples

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:39:54 -0400

A powerful health advisory agency says Britain should extend free fertility treatments to women up to age 42 as well as same-sex couples, recommendations likely to be followed by many of the U.K.'s medical centers.

Born to run barefoot? Some end up getting injured

Tue, 22 May 2012 04:28:50 -0400

Swept by the barefoot running craze, ultramarathoner Ryan Carter ditched his sneakers for footwear that mimics the experience of striding unshod.

Houston museum unveils $85 million dinosaur hall

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:56:26 -0400

Pups in her womb, a large eye visible behind the rib cage, one baby stuck in the birth canal: all fossilized evidence that this ancient marine beast, the Ichthyosaur, died in childbirth.

Webcasts push solar eclipse to the masses

Mon, 21 May 2012 18:39:38 -0400

It was one of the best places in the western United States to watch the annular solar eclipse, and people drove for days just to get to this dusty stretch west of Albuquerque.