The Independent - Science RSS Feed

Tom Choularton: Can we really control the weather?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:44:46 GMT

Recently both Russia and China have claimed to be able to use cloud seeding to increase rainfall and snowfall, or change the location of where it falls. In the past, snow-making experiments have been carried out in North American ski resorts in the past with little evidence of success. So how have the Russian and Chinese scientists achieved this feat and what evidence is there that it is in fact due to cloud seeding?

How the elephant got its trunk (and other wonders of nature)

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

An ambitious plan to map the genomes of 10,000 species of vertebrates – animals with backbones – has been announced by scientists.

Scientists unearth evidence of centuries-old aftershocks

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:55:36 GMT

Some of the most violent earthquakes that have occurred unexpectedly in places with no recent record of tremors may be the aftershocks of previous earthquakes that took place decades or even centuries ago, scientists have discovered.

$1m lunar lander 'X prize' awarded

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:18:32 GMT

A team of California rocketeers has won a $1 million (£604,000) prize in a simulated lunar landing contest backed by Nasa.

Scientific adviser backs sacked drug 'tsar'

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:29:32 GMT

The Government’s chief scientific adviser said today that he agreed with the sacked drugs “tsar” Professor David Nutt when he said that cannabis is less dangerous than alcohol and cigarettes.

Space hotel 'on schedule to open in 2012'

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:53:02 GMT

A company behind plans to open the first hotel in space says it is on target to accept its first paying guests in 2012 despite critics questioning the investment and time frame for the multi-billion dollar project.

Space hotel 'on schedule to open in 2012'

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:53:02 GMT

Steve Connor: When ministers have a beef with scientists

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The row over the sacking of the drugs 'tsar' Professor David Nutt does not look like it's going to go away soon. Professor Nutt now has the support of a growing number of scientists who have expressed concern about the Government's seemingly selective attitude to the science advice it seeks. As Professor Sir John Krebs, a former Food Standards Agency boss, puts it, it's a "pick'n'mix" approach, hiding behind science when policy decisions are difficult to stomach, and rejecting the science when the policy it supports may offend sections of the press.

Teenage tantrums of the T rex

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Tyrannosaurus rex had terrible teenage tantrums that ended in fierce fights between bickering adolescents which left scars that can still be seen in fossils tens of millions of years old.

How scientists cracked puzzle of the Falklands wolf

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:54:27 GMT

The origin of the mysterious Falkland Islands wolf, which was persecuted to extinction in the late 19th century, may finally have been solved – 175 years after Charles Darwin puzzled over the nature of this curious fox-like creature.

Veterans return to Iraq – virtually

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The haunting sound of an Islamic call to prayer echoes around you as you walk through the Iraqi town, litter blowing across the street and market traders standing next to their stalls. Glance down and your rifle comes into view, look to the right and you spot the Black Hawk helicopter.

Why the Nasca's big mistake was to cut down the huarango tree

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

At the height of their power, the Nasca had mastered the craft of weaving elaborate textiles and the art of painting fine, multicoloured pottery. They etched giant figures in the desert that only made sense if seen from the air, and they irrigated their crops with a network of underground aqueducts.

Government drugs advisor quits in protest

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:51:20 GMT

A prominent member of the government's drugs advisory panel has resigned in protest over the treatment of the committee's chairman Professor David Nutt.

Six drugs service scientists may resign over sacking of chairman

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Leading members of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) are expected to resign over the sacking of its chairman, leaving the service in disarray, one of its leading scientists has warned.

The appliance of science

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

1. Scientists last week claimed to have solved the problem of a leaky teapot spout. Boffins from Lyon found that coating the inside with a spray of microscopic bumps encourages liquid to roll off and stops irritating dribbling when pouring.

Hajj pilgrims may be told to take swine flu vaccine

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

British Muslims may be required to provide flu vaccination certificates if they want to participate in the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca at the end of November, Saudi Arabia has warned.

The Big Question: Are scientists now really able to make sperm and egg cells in the lab?

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Nasa peers back into the 'cosmic dark ages'

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The most distant object ever observed in space has provided scientists with an unprecedented insight into the "cosmic dark ages" following the birth of the Universe some 13.7 billion years ago.

Paternal grandmothers: good for girls, bad for boys

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The importance of grandmothers in the lives of their grandchildren is underlined in a study published today.

Grandmothers: good for girls, bad for boys

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The importance of grandmothers in the lives of their grandchildren is underlined in a study published today.

Found in Dorset, the giant sea monster that was armed to the teeth

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

A prehistoric sea monster with gigantic jaws that could swallow a man whole and snap a car in half has been unearthed by an amateur fossil hunter at the foot of a cliff on the Jurassic Coast of southern England.

Dr Hwang and the stem cell swindle

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

It is not often that a country issues a commemorative stamp in honour of a living scientist. But, in South Korea, Hwang Woo-suk became an instant national hero when he claimed to have grown stem cells from the world's first cloned human embryos.

Revealed: why children of older men are more likely to have health problems

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Scientists may have discovered the reason why older men are at greater risk than younger men of fathering a child who develops serious health problems such as congenital deformities, autism, or schizophrenia.

Scientists identify new cluster of galaxies

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:12:58 GMT

Scientists have identified a cluster of galaxies further from earth than anything else that has ever been detected in the skies.

Scientists identify new galaxy

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:12:58 GMT

Scientists have identified a cluster of galaxies further from earth than anything else that has ever been detected in the skies.