Science News

The ash cloud that rose from a volcano in Iceland last week to halt air traffic in the U.K. and much of the rest of Europe appears to be easing its stranglehold on transportation. EUROCONTROL , an intergovernmental air traffic control organization based in Brussels, announced Monday that its member states were designating a limited "no-fly zone" beyond which airlines would be permitted to operate by Tuesday morning. [More]

Last year 17 Florida panthers ( Felis concolor coryi ) were killed when they were struck by vehicles, an all-time high and a terrible blow to one of North America's most endangered mammals. Only 100 or so panthers remain in Florida, and the species shows signs of heavy inbreeding due to its limited population.

Panthers are already protected by law, and drivers face heavy fines for speeding in known panther zones, but that hasn't done much to stop these unnecessary deaths.

By Geoff Brumfiel

By pushing a cluster of just 60 ions with a tiny electric field, researchers have measured the most minuscule force ever.

The result, measuring mere yoctonewtons (10^-24 newtons), beats previous record lows by several orders of magnitude. [More]

By Geoff Brumfiel

By pushing a cluster of just 60 ions with a tiny electric field, researchers have measured the most minuscule force ever.

The result, measuring mere yoctonewtons (10^-24 newtons), beats previous record lows by several orders of magnitude. [More]

Thousands of budding engineers and roboticists from around the world converged in Atlanta's Georgia Dome this past weekend to see whose robot was the best of the best in the 19th annual FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) championship. The tournament's three different robotics competitions were the culmination of months of hard work and commitment for the students and their mentors. [More]

Scientists have finally verified something that Jersey Shore stars Snooki and Pauly D have probably known all along--that getting your bronze on at the tanning salon may be addictive. And the more often you tan, the more likely you are to get hooked, according to a study in the Archives of Dermatology . [Catherine Mosher and Sharon Danoff-Burg, http://bit.ly/bulE8u ]

The researchers started with two questionnaires commonly used to assess patients for alcohol abuse and substance-related disorders. But they modified the questions to focus on indoor tanning habits. For example: "Do you try to cut down on the time you spend in tanning beds or booths but find yourself still tanning?" [More]

LONDON (Reuters) - An ash cloud from a volcano in Iceland has spread across the Atlantic Ocean and brushed the Canadian coast, but is not expected to drift much further across North America, British forecasters said on Monday.

Britain's Met Office, the national weather service, said the vast cloud that has grounded thousands of flights across northern Europe reached Newfoundland on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States released a new draft report on climate change on Monday, one week before the expected unveiling of a compromise U.S. Senate bill that aims to curb heat-trapping greenhouse emissions.

The report, a draft of the Fifth U.S. Climate Action Report that will be sent to the United Nations, says bluntly: "Global warming is unequivocal and primarily human-induced ... Global temperature has increased over the past 50 years. This observed increase is due primarily to human-induced emissions of heat-trapping gases."