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Scientists Reprogram Adult Cells' Function

Rob Stein — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Scientists have transformed one type of fully developed adult cell directly into another inside a living animal, a startling advance that could lead to cures for a variety of illnesses and sidestep the political and ethical quagmires

NASA Images Show Gamma Ray Bursts Across Milky Way

Sindya N. Bhanoo — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

NASA researchers yesterday released images collected by a new telescope studying high-energy gamma rays. A combined image from 95 hours of the telescope's initial observations showed bursts of gamma rays glowing across the plane of the Milky Way.

Sea-Ice Melt Imperils Walruses, and Economy Based on Them

Kari Lydersen — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

NOME, Alaska -- Hubert Kokuluk squints with his one good eye to examine the tiny polar bear he has just carved from a fragment of walrus tusk. He isn't happy with the yellowish hue, but good ivory is hard to come by these days, since quickly melting sea ice has made it extremely difficult for his...

The Trail

Post — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

DENVER -- The thing about political conventions is that everyone wants to claim a piece of, a connection to, the nominees. So it was that Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley happily stated that Marylanders can proudly stake a claim to Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware.

Md., Va. Set Action Plans for Changes in Climate

David A. Fahrenthold and Sandhya Somashekhar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Climate change could profoundly alter the weather, animal life and even the very shape of Maryland over the next century, making heat waves deadlier and leaving one corner of the Eastern Shore under water, a state-appointed commission said yesterday.

Alaska Vote Pits Fisheries Against Mines

Kari Lydersen — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

HOMER, Alaska -- Salmon and gold mining. Both are, inarguably, very Alaskan.

In the Quake Model, Rumblings Favor Obama

Shankar Vedantam — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

More than a quarter-century ago, a historian with an interest in American politics was at a dinner party at the California Institute of Technology and found himself seated next to a Soviet geophysicist and mathematician who studied earthquake prediction.

Obama Suggests $2 Billion In New Funding for NASA

Marc Kaufman — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Sen. Barack Obama has detailed a comprehensive space plan that includes $2 billion in new funding to reinvigorate NASA and a promise to make space exploration and science a significantly higher priority if he is elected president.

D.C.'s National Aquarium Fills Tanks From City Tap

Juliet Eilperin — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

". . . like a fish to water." It's a cliche that describes something effortless, but if you're running an aquarium, there is nothing effortless about filling your tanks with water that won't kill your horn sharks, loggerhead turtles and sea horses. The myriad fish, invertebrates and plants thrivi...

'Dead Zones' Appear In Waters Worldwide

Joel Achenbach — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

In the latest sign of trouble in the planet's chemistry, the number of oxygen-starved "dead zones" in coastal waters around the world has roughly doubled every decade since the 1960s, killing fish, crabs and massive amounts of marine life at the base of the food chain, according to a study released...

Excavations Show a Lush Life in the Sahara

David Brown — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The archaeological site at Gobero in the Eastern Sahara is not going to rewrite the history of Stone Age man, or even the history of settlement in North Africa, where desert and lake have played tag with each other for eons.

Traditional Energy's Modern Boom

Joel Achenbach — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

AMWELL, Pa. -- The guys on the derrick, filthy with mud and grease, have the best view in the county. Their drilling rig rises from a bulldozed, flattened patch of meadow near the top of a hill. To the south is an old farmhouse and a white barn. Hay bales dry in the sun.

Discord With Russia a Worry for NASA

Marc Kaufman — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

NASA's ability to send its astronauts to the $100 billion international space station is in danger of becoming a costly casualty of the Russia-Georgia war.

Infant Transplant Procedure Ignites Debate

Rob Stein — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Surgeons in Denver are publishing their first account of a procedure in which they remove the hearts of severely brain-damaged newborns less than two minutes after the babies are disconnected from life support, and their hearts stop beating, so the organs can be transplanted into infants who would...