Science & Technology
An inoperable U.S. spy satellite orbiting 150 miles above Earth was struck Wednesday by a missile fired from a U.S. Navy cruiser, military sources told CNN.
The process of natural selection can act on human culture as well as on genes, a new study finds. Scientists at Stanford University have shown for the first time that cultural traits affecting survival and reproduction evolve at a different rate than other cultural attributes. Speeded or slowed rates of evolution typically indicate the action of natural selection in analyses of the human genome.
This study of cultural evolution compares the rates of change for structural and decorative Polynesian canoe-design traits.
This study of cultural evolution compares the rates of change for structural and decorative Polynesian canoe-design traits.
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| ©iStockphoto/Flemming Mahler |
| Polynesian outrigger canoe. The Stanford team studied reports of canoe designs from 11 Oceanic island cultures. They evaluated features that could contribute to the seaworthiness of the canoes and thus have a bearing on fishing success or survival during migration or warfare. |
Fan-shaped deltas at the edge of huge basins scattered across Mars were probably formed by a titanic influx of water, gushing from the bowels of the Red Planet, according to a study released Wednesday.
The origin and morphology of the deltas, studded with curious step-like terraces, have perplexed scientists since they were first observed three years ago.
Today the surface of Mars is bone dry, but a growing body of evidence suggests as much as a third of its surface was at one time covered with oceans.
The origin and morphology of the deltas, studded with curious step-like terraces, have perplexed scientists since they were first observed three years ago.
Today the surface of Mars is bone dry, but a growing body of evidence suggests as much as a third of its surface was at one time covered with oceans.
Washington - A defense official says a missile launched from a Navy ship in the Pacific hit the U.S. spy satellite it was targeting 130 miles above Earth's surface.
Peer review is supposed to combat fraud, but it can just as easily hold back radical discoveries, says Terence Kealey
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| ©US Navy |
| A missile fired from the USS Lake Erie will attempt to shoot down the crippled satellite |
A US attempt to shoot down a damaged spy satellite would probably be delayed because of poor weather, Pentagon officials say.
Weather forecasts in the Pacific, where a US warship is stationed for the mission, indicated that seas would not be calm enough for the ship to fire a missile at the satellite and destroy it, the officials said.
A 2,000-year-old mechanical computer salvaged from a Roman shipwreck has astounded scientists who have finally unravelled the secrets of how the sophisticated device works.
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| Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty |
| A reconstruction of the Antikythera mechanism. |
OTTAWA -- If the sky is clear tonight, look up and you'll see two special shows from outer space: one out-of-control spy satellite on its way to destruction and, for good measure, a total eclipse of the moon.
Both will be visible with the naked eye, although some of Canada will miss the dying spy satellite.
Both will be visible with the naked eye, although some of Canada will miss the dying spy satellite.
Washington - The Pentagon says bad weather at sea appears likely to put off, until at least Thursday, an attempt to shoot down the wayward U.S. spy satellite.
Little affected by last week's "temporary restraining order" slapped on Wikileaks, a website that allows whistleblowers to release obscured corporate and government documents for public scrutiny, users can still access the site's documents though its IP address (88.80.13.160) as well as domain names including wikileaks.ws, wikileaks.be, and wikileaks.cx.
