Science
Russian space official resigns after failed launch
Russia's space chief says the head of the country's leading rocket manufacturer has stepped down after a failed launch.
Study off Mass. coast finds noise harming whales
Researchers say increasing amounts of underwater noise, largely from shipping traffic, are enveloping rare right whales in "acoustic smog" that makes it harder for them to communicate.
Unmanned military aircraft fails in Mach 6 attempt
An unmanned experimental aircraft failed during an attempt to fly at six times the speed of sound in the latest setback for hypersonic flight.
Star births seen on cosmic scale in distant galaxy
Scientists have found a cosmic supermom. It's a galaxy that gives births to more stars in a day than ours does in a year.
Mexico's monarch butterfly reserve stops logging
Illegal logging has practically been eliminated in the western Mexico wintering grounds of the monarch butterfly, according to a research report released Wednesday, and Mexican officials now hope to use the successful program of anti-logging patrols and payments to rural residents to solve other forestry conflicts throughout the country.
Cayman's imperiled blue iguanas on the rebound
The blue iguana has lived on the rocky shores of Grand Cayman for at least a couple of million years, preening like a miniature turquoise dragon as it soaked in the sun or sheltered inside crevices. Yet having survived everything from tropical hurricanes to ice ages, it was driven to near-extinction by dogs, cats and cars.
India plans to send craft to orbit Mars next year
India plans to send a spacecraft to Mars next year on a scientific mission critics say shows the governing party's skewed priorities when people lack electricity and safe drinking water.
From Bill Gates, a toilet challenge spills forth
These aren't your typical loos. One uses microwave energy to transform human waste into electricity. Another captures urine and uses it for flushing. And still another turns excrement into charcoal.
Biggest Asian wildlife traffickers are untouchable
Squealing tiger cubs stuffed into carry-on bags. Luggage packed with hundreds of squirming tortoises, elephant tusks, even water dragons and American paddlefish. Officials at Thailand's gateway airport proudly tick off the illegally trafficked wildlife they have seized over the past two years.
17th century shipwreck to be freeze-dried, rebuilt
More than three centuries ago, a French explorer's ship sank in the Gulf of Mexico, taking with it France's hopes of colonizing a vast piece of the New World _ modern-day Texas.
New geek chic: Mohawks in, pocket protectors out
Known to the Twitterverse and the president of the United States as "Mohawk Guy" of the Mars mission, Bobak Ferdowsi could be the changing public face of NASA and all of geekdom.
Study: Multitasking can actually hurt your brain
People who balance all their "irons in the fire" can put an average person to shame. But new research suggests that not only is multitasking bad, people can't actually do it.
Listening to music at work aids concentration
Think the guy in the next cubicle is being rude by wearing his earbuds and listening to music? He may just be sharpening his brain.
WTOP Guide: How regional sharks feed (VIDEO)
In the wake of shark-killing fury spurred on by the 1975 movie "Jaws," the aquarium serves as a respository for information about a misunderstood beast that is critical to the entire marine ecosystem.
Obama cheers 'mind-boggling' Curiosity mission
Hailing NASA's "mind-boggling" Mars landing of the Curiosity rover, President Barack Obama urged the scientists operating the craft on Monday to phone home immediately if they find any extra-terrestrials.
Shark Week's humble start yields carnivorous ratings
"Shark Week" began on a cocktail napkin, says Brooke Runnette, Discovery executive producer. "All of us are a little surprised, too," she says.
NASA's mega-rover landed on Mars. What's next?
After a spectacular landing on Mars, the rover Curiosity wasted no time embracing its inner shutterbug, delighting scientists with vistas of Gale Crater complete with sand dunes, mountain views and even haze.
SC scientists trim years in conserving artifacts
Clemson University scientists have trimmed years from the time-consuming process of conserving historic artifacts ranging from an old ax head to Civil War shot and a ballast block from the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley.
Perseid meteor shower: Watch the shooting stars
Astronomer Elizabeth Warner with the University of Maryland Observatory says the best time and place to see the annual meteor shower is after midnight Sunday, in the darkest spot available.
Mass of volcanic rocks floating off New Zealand
A mass of small volcanic rocks nearly the size of Belgium has been discovered floating off the coast of New Zealand.
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CBS News Correspondent Nancy Cordes: IRS hearing on the Hill