SCIENCE

Scientists warn that omicron’s whirlwind spread across the globe practically ensures it won’t be the last worrisome coronavirus variant.

Scientists have concluded that a meteorite from Mars contains no evidence of ancient Martian life.

Two U.S. science agencies say 2021 was the sixth hottest year on record globally, part of a long-term warming trend.

British scientists hunting down coronavirus variants have a new mission: sharing their expertise with others around the world.

As smoke poured through the halls a New York City high-rise on Sunday, killing 17 people, tenants were faced with a life or death decision: Should they stay put or try to escape.

A snowy owl apparently touring iconic buildings of the nation’s capital is captivating birdwatchers who manage to get a glimpse of the rare, resplendent visitor from the Arctic.

“We’re working like the dickens to make sure we get a deal done today so I’m hopeful,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Sunday during a nationally-televised interview.

NASA's new space telescope has opened its gold-plated, flower-shaped mirror, the largest and most sensitive ever launched.

The tallest mountain in the Galapagos islands is erupting, spewing lava down its flanks and clouds of ash over the Pacific Ocean.

Twenty of Yellowstone National Park’s renowned gray wolves roamed from the park and were shot by hunters in neighboring states in recent months.

The White House’s top official on environmental justice is stepping down a year after President Joe Biden took office with an ambitious plan to help disadvantaged communities and overhaul policies that have historically hurt them.

China has recommitted itself to completing its orbiting space station by the end of the year and says it is planning more than 40 launches for 2022, putting it roughly level with the United States.

Californians won't be able to water their lawns for 48 hours after rainstorms or let their sprinkles run onto the sidewalk under new mandatory water restrictions.

In a story published January 4, 2022, about the James Webb Space Telescope, The Associated Press erroneously reported when the universe’s first stars and galaxies were created.

Scientists say a meteor that caused an earthshaking boom across suburban Pittsburgh on New Year’s Day exploded in the atmosphere with an energy blast equivalent to an estimated 30 tons of TNT.

NASA's new space telescope is doing well more than a week after liftoff, following a pair of problems overcome by ground controllers.

Paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey, known for his fossil-finding and conservation work in his native Kenya, has died at 77.

A 16-year-old with autism recently got the chance to meet the first mice in the world engineered to have the same genetic abnormality he has.

The immune-compromised patient could benefit from Paxlovid. So might the unvaccinated. Here’s why there won’t be enough for everyone.

A thaw-out is coming for the frozen Seattle and Portland, Oregon, but not before another round of snow that could compound problems for a region more accustomed to winter rain than arctic blasts.

Edward O.

Louisiana researchers have identified 14 new species of shrews on an Indonesian island where seven in that genus were previously known.

Authorities on one of Spain’s Canary Islands have declared an official end to a volcanic eruption that started in September.

The world's largest and most powerful space telescope has blasted off on a high-stakes quest to behold light from the first stars and galaxies.

Authorities rescued one driver early Thursday but were unable to save two more from a submerged car in a flooded underpass south of San Francisco as a storm rolled through California.

Pfizer’s vaccine has been authorized by U.S. regulators for younger children, and millions of teens already safely received the shot.

Two new British studies provide some early hints that the omicron variant of the coronavirus may be milder than delta.

Researchers studying the wreckage of the last U.S. slave ship on the Alabama coast have made a surprising discovery.

The Israel Antiquities Authority says it's discovered remnants of two shipwrecks off the Mediterranean coast, replete with a sunken trove of hundreds of silver and bronze coins and Roman and medieval artifacts.

A Japanese space tourist says he felt his 12-day mission to the International Space Station was too short and he would love to stay a week more.

China is defending its international scientific exchange programs in the wake of the conviction of a Harvard University professor charged with hiding his ties to a Chinese-run recruitment program.

A Harvard University professor charged with hiding his ties to a Chinese-run recruitment program has been found guilty on all counts in a federal court in Boston.

After delays due to high wind, NASA is launching their newest telescope - the James Webb Space Telescope - into space on Christmas Day.

The new omicron variant took only a few weeks to live up to dire predictions about how hugely contagious it is but scientists don’t yet know if it causes more severe disease even as the world faces exploding cases just before Christmas.

“We do the science and they do the suspects,” said Larry Langford, spokesman for the Chicago Fire Department, of the distinct roles both the police and fire departments play while investigating arson.

A federal agency on Monday granted a license for a launchpad that would fly commercial rockets from coastal Georgia.

Biogen is slashing the price of its Alzheimer’s treatment months after the drug debuted to widespread criticism for an initial cost that can reach $56,000 annually.

Moderna said Monday that a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine should offer protection against the rapidly spreading omicron variant.

A Japanese billionaire, his producer and a Russian cosmonaut have safely returned to Earth after spending 12 days on the International Space Station.

A SpaceX rocket has carried 52 Starlink internet satellites into orbit from California.

The Senate hearing lasted more than three hours and witnessnes and lawmakers weren't wearing masks.

NASA is shooting for next Friday to launch its newest space telescope.

Federal wildlife officials say two species of rare, winged insects in the Rocky Mountains will need several thousand acres of glaciers and snowfields if they are to survive a warming world that’s threatening them with extinction.

U.S. health officials are endorsing “test-to-stay” policies that allow close contacts of students infected with the coronavirus to remain in classrooms if they test negative.

In Germany, a train passes a railroad crossing surrounded by floodwaters.

Health officials say pets and another animals can get the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, but the risk of them spreading it to people is low.

Residents on the Spanish island of La Palma are daring to hope that a volcanic eruption is over after almost three months.

Water leaders in California, Arizona and Nevada have signed an agreement to further reduce their take of Colorado River water to help stave off wider, mandatory cuts in the future.

Melting glaciers, deadly floods in Germany, record high summer temperatures in generally mild Oregon, more urgent pleas for help from Pacific island nations.

Montana wildlife officials have advanced plans that could allow grizzly bear hunting in areas around Glacier and Yellowstone national parks if states in the U.S. northern Rockies succeed in their attempts to end federal protections for the bruins.

Next week's launch of NASA's new space telescope is delayed for at least two days because of a communication problem between the observatory and the rocket.

A NASA spacecraft has officially “touched” the sun, plunging through the unexplored solar atmosphere known as the corona.

Captain Kirk finally made it into space this past year.

The Arctic continues to deteriorate as global warming increases.

Washington must enforce phase one trade deal with China, and will raise broader policy concerns with Beijing, USTR Katherine Tai is expected to say on Monday.

University of California San Francisco researchers have developed a method of translating signals from the brain to the vocal tract into words on a screen.

Merrick Garland said investigating the source of a massive leak of taxpayer information behind a ProPublica article will be one of his top priorities.

Hundreds of choirs have had to cancel rehearsals after the government said singing poses a health risk.

SAN ANTONIO — A 24-year-old Plant City woman was arrested Saturday after leading troopers on a high-speed chase in a stolen Cadillac, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Rachael Stefancich was “nearly fully unclothed,” troopers say, and may have been driving for more than two hours when she was captured after a highway patrol cruiser pushed the stolen vehicle off State Road 52. It was ...

Researchers at the site of the catastrophic 1986 nuclear explosion in Ukraine have detected a spike of neutrons in an underground room at the power plant.

A vehicle mileage tax could be on the table in talks about how to finance the White House's expected multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure proposal, according to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "When you think about infrastructure, it's a classic example of the kind of investment that has a return on that investment," he said. This is a jobs vision as much as it is an infrastructure vision, a climate vision and more." "A so-called vehicle-miles-traveled tax or mileage tax, whatever you want to call it, could be a way to do it," he said. Democrats have slowly pivoted away from a gasoline tax in favor of a mileage tax amid a simultaneous, climate friendly effort to encourage consumers to drive electric cars.

Pete Buttigieg speaks at the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation nomination hearings to examine his expected nomination to be Secretary of Transportation in Washington. The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Pete Buttigieg as Transportation secretary, handing the former presidential candidate a wide array of challenges — from President Joe Biden's environmental priorities to the Covid-19 pandemic. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, last week easily won approval from the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, following a largely friendly hearing. In its first two weeks, the Biden administration has already taken a hard line on transportation measures that aim to curb the spread of Covid-19. On Tuesday, the U.S. government started requiring passengers to wear masks on airplanes, trains, buses, ferries and other forms of transportation.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said on Wednesday that banning President Donald Trump was the "right decision for Twitter," but admitted that the internet shouldn't be controlled by a handful of private companies. He wrote that if a company like Twitter makes a decision that people don't like, they can go elsewhere, creating an inherent check on its power. "This concept was challenged last week when a number of foundational internet tool providers also decided not to host what they found dangerous," Dorsey wrote. Dorsey said the inconsistent policies and lack of transparency undermine the efforts to create an open internet. "The reason I have so much passion for #Bitcoin is largely because of the model it demonstrates: a foundational internet technology that is not controlled or influenced by any single individual or entity," Dorsey wrote.

China has successfully launched a pair of satellites into space to learn more about gravitational waves , or echoes in space-time from huge mergers or cosmic events. China has successfully launched a pair of satellites into space to learn more about gravitational waves, or echoes in space-time from huge mergers or cosmic events. (Image credit: VCG/VCG via Getty Images)From their orbits, the satellites will monitor the entire sky for events that generate gravitational waves , which could include cosmic confluences such as neutron stars merging or black holes coming together, Science said. The new mission launched on a Long March 11 rocket developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., and the launch was the 355th mission of the Long March series, Chinese state sources said. The moon mission was performed by the China National Space Administration, while the new gravitational waves mission is under the science-focused National Space Science Center.

Gianni De Zuccato a well-preserved colorful mosaic floor of an ancient Roman villa archaeologists have revealed among vineyards near the northern city of Verona, Italy. (Soprintendenza ABAP Verona via AP)SOAVE Archaeologists have briefly revealed a well-preserved mosaic floor of an ancient Roman villa first discovered almost a century ago near the northern Italian city of Verona. The recent discovery of two nearby mosaic floors confirmed the villa extended north and south of the original site. The unearthed mosaic from the villa's servants' quarters dates from the 3rd century and has since been covered back up. The city said archaeological officials would decide with landowners and Negrar officials the best way to make the site accessible to the public.

The Falcon 9, with the Crew Dragon spacecraft on top of the rocket, is scheduled to liftoff from Launch Pad 39-A Saturday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. SpaceX pressed ahead with its second attempt to launch astronauts for NASA a historic first for a private company but more stormy weather threatened more delays. Elon Musks company came within 17 minutes Wednesday of launching a pair of NASA astronauts for the first time in nearly a decade from the U.S., before the threat of lightning forced a delay. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said managers were debating whether to bump the next launch attempt from Saturday to Sunday to take advantage of a slightly improved forecast at Kennedy Space Center. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex reopened Thursday, after a 2 1/2-month shutdown, and within a few hours, all 4,000 tickets were snapped up for Saturdays launch attempt.

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A SpaceX rocket is ready to boost two NASA astronauts into orbit Wednesday, the first launch of Americans from the U.S. in nearly a decade. Riding aboard the brand new SpaceX Dragon capsule for the historic flight: veteran NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. SpaceX is controlling the vehicle, theres no fluff about that, said Norm Knight, a NASA flight operations manager. The last time astronauts launched from Florida was on NASAs final space shuttle flight in July 2011. Development of SpaceXs Dragon and Boeings Starliner capsules took longer than expected, however, and the U.S. has been paying Russia to launch NASA astronauts in the interim.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. NASA is rolling out the International Space Stations red carpet for Tom Cruise to make a movie in orbit. Bridenstine said hell leaving it to Cruise and SpaceX to provide the mission details. I will tell you this: NASA has been in talks with Tom Cruise and, of course, his team, and we will do everything we can to make it a successful mission, including opening up the International Space Station," he told The Associated Press. Asked about Cruise filming on the space station, Musk told CBS This Morning, Actually, I think that remains to be seen. The question is, Can Tom Cruise make a new movie that inspires the next generation Elon Musk. And if he can do that, then were all for it.

The two astronauts are set to travel on the SpaceX test flight to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)TITUSVILLE, Fla. For the spectators gathered along the Space Coast on Wednesday for an astronaut launch, the rumbling thunder and darkening clouds were more worrisome than any pandemic. They turned out to watch the first launch with astronauts from Florida in almost a decade, and the first by a private company, SpaceX. About half of the spectators at the Titusville park wore masks as encouraged by health officials to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. I wanted them to see the flip side and get to see the next era of space travel," said Gatz, who lives about an hour away in Deltona.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON President Donald Trump is hoping the first launch of American astronauts from U.S. soil in nearly a decade will give the nations spirit a boost after months of battling the coronavirus. Its the latest visit to an important 2020 battleground state as the president emerges from his White House bubble and expands his travel itinerary. Trump is encouraging states to loosen restrictions on economic activity put into place to slow the spread of the coronavirus. A Quinnipiac University poll last month found older Florida voters divided on Trumps handling of the coronavirus outbreak, with 47% saying they approved and 50% disapproving. Vice President Mike Pence got to Florida ahead of Trump and was to meet with the astronauts families and NASA officials before the launch.

DENVER Nearly two dozen states and several cities on Wednesday filed a legal challenge to the Trump administrations rollback of Obama-era mileage standards, saying science backed up the old regulations developed with the help of the nation's car makers. The new mileage standards require automakers to achieve 1.5% annual increases in fuel efficiency. The Obama-era standards called for 5% annual increases and were seen as the government's most forceful initiative against climate-changing fossil fuel emissions. The states and cities claim the rule violates the Clean Air Act, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. Opponents claim dirtier air from the rollback will kill and injure more people than the rollback claims to save in roadway accidents.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Stormy weather is threatening to delay SpaceXs first astronaut launch. It will be the first time astronauts launch from Florida in nine years and a first for a private company. We're continuing to be vigilant and careful and make sure we do this right.Forecasters put the odds of acceptable launch weather at 40%. Hans Koenigsmann, a vice president for SpaceX, said the launch control team will incorporate global weather patterns and models to determine whether it's safe to launch. If the weather gods are working with us," he said, liftoff will occur at 4:33 p.m. SpaceX has a split-second launch window.

Veteran NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken were set to make history Wednesday afternoon, riding SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule to the International Space Station on a test flight. On the eve of the launch, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said from Kennedy Space Center that both the space agency and SpaceX have been diligent about making sure everyone in the launch loop knows they're free to halt the countdown if there's a concern. SpaceX has been launching cargo capsules to the space station since 2012. NASA hired SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to transport astronauts to the space station, after commercial cargo shipments had taken off. Development of SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's Starliner capsules took longer than expected, however, and the U.S. has been paying Russia to launch NASA astronauts in the interim.

Blood clots that can cause strokes, heart attacks and dangerous blockages in the legs and lungs are increasingly being found in COVID-19 patients, including some children. Some hospitals have found 40% of deaths in COVID-19 patients are from blood clots. Spyropoulos said thats been true at his 23-hospital system in the New York City area, Northwell Health, which has treated over 11,000 COVID-19 patients. Some COVID-19 patients, like Gildersleeve, develop dangerous clots when their infections seem to have subsided, Spyropoulos said. Concerns about blood clots in COVID-19 patients prompted a recent 30-page consensus statement from an international group of physicians and researchers.

A Virgin Orbit Boeing 747-400 aircraft named Cosmic Girl takes off from Mojave Air and Space Port in the desert north of Los Angeles Monday, May 25, 2020. Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit failed Monday in its first test launch of a new rocket carried aloft by the Boeing 747 and released over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California. (AP Photo/Matt Hartman)LOS ANGELES Virgin Orbit engineers were analyzing data Tuesday to find out what caused the maiden flight of its air-launched satellite booster to fail. Virgin Orbit, founded by billionaire Richard Branson, is among several new companies developing rockets specifically for launching small satellites. Chief Executive Officer Dan Hart said in a statement there was a treasure trove of data from flight instruments.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Its back to the future as NASA astronauts launch again from the U.S. aboard a retro-style Right Stuff capsule. SpaceXs Dragon crew capsule outshines NASAs old Apollo spacecraft in virtually every way. This fresh take on a vintage look will be on full display Wednesday when SpaceX plans to launch NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station a first for a private company. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the crew capsule atop will soar from the same pad used for both of those earlier missions. Russias workhorse Soyuz capsules, still in use after a half-century plus, have kept NASA astronauts flying to the space station.

In this photo released by Nucleus Network/ABC, clinical trial participants are given a coronavirus vaccine in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, with hopes of releasing a proven vaccine this year. Novavax will inject 131 volunteers in the first phase of the trial testing the safety of the vaccine and looking for signs of its effectiveness. (Patrick Rocca/Nucleus Network/ABC via AP)CANBERRA A U.S. biotechnology company began injecting a coronavirus vaccine candidate into people in Australia on Tuesday with hopes of releasing a proven vaccine this year. Novavax used genetic engineering to grow harmless copies of the coronavirus spike protein in giant vats of insect cells in a laboratory. The way we make a vaccine is we never touch the virus, Novavax told The Associated Press last month.

It will be the first astronaut launch from NASAs Kennedy Space Center since the last shuttle flight in 2011. They'll catch a ride to the launch pad in a Tesla Model X electric car. It will be the first astronaut launch from NASAs Kennedy Space Center since the last shuttle flight in 2011. The worm adorns the Astro-Tesla, Falcon and even the astronauts' suits, along with NASAs original blue meatball-shaped logo. The white-suited Hurley and Behnken will transfer from the white Tesla to the white Dragon atop the equally white Falcon 9.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The first astronauts launched by SpaceX are breaking new ground for style with hip spacesuits, gull-wing Teslas and a sleek rocketship all of it white with black trim. They'll catch a ride to the launch pad in a Tesla Model X electric car. It will be the first astronaut launch from NASAs Kennedy Space Center since the last shuttle flight in 2011. The worm adorns the Astro-Tesla, Falcon and even the astronauts' suits, along with NASAs original blue meatball-shaped logo. The white-suited Hurley and Behnken will transfer from the white Tesla to the white Dragon atop the equally white Falcon 9.

Starting with the dream of growing a rose on Mars, Musks vision morphed into a shake-up of the old space industry, and a fleet of new private rockets. But for Musks company, SpaceX, its also the latest milestone in a wild ride that began with epic failures and the threat of bankruptcy. There are many space companies and like all of them, SpaceX is designed for profit. The idea of bigger roles for private companies has been around for more than 50 years, but the market and technology werent yet right. A 2005 pilot project helped private companies develop ships to bring cargo to the station.

(Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)STERLING, Va. President Donald Trump plans to be on the Florida coast Wednesday to watch American astronauts blast into orbit from the Kennedy Space Center for the first time in nearly a decade. It will be the first time since the space shuttle program ended in 2011 that U.S. astronauts will launch into space aboard an American rocket from American soil. Elon Musks SpaceX is the conductor and NASA the customer as businesses begin chauffeuring astronauts to the International Space Station. The NASA/SpaceX Commercial Crew flight test launch will carry NASAs newest test pilots, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Vice President Mike Pence, who is chairman of the National Space Council, also plans to attend Wednesday's launch.

(SpaceX via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The two astronauts who will test drive SpaceXs brand new rocketship are classmates and friends, veteran spacefliers married to veteran spacefliers, and fathers of young sons. Retired Marine Col. Doug Hurley will be in charge of launch and landing, a fitting assignment for the pilot of NASAs last space shuttle flight. Hurley, 53, and Behnken, 49, are NASAs first test pilot crew in decades. Crippen and the late John Young rode NASAs first space shuttle, Columbia, into orbit on April 12, 1981. Hurley and Behnken both two-time space shuttle fliers were among four astronauts chosen in 2015 for NASAs commercial crew program.

Elon Musk's SpaceX is the conductor and NASA the customer as businesses begin chauffeuring astronauts to the International Space Station. The drama unfolds from the exact spot where men flew to the moon and the last space shuttle soared from Kennedy Space Center. NASAs newest test pilots, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, are launching from home turf with SpaceX presiding over the countdown. Plagued with software problems, Boeings Starliner capsule is still a year from launching with Ferguson and two NASA astronauts. In terms of launch power, the relatively small Falcon 9 has far less than the space shuttle did, another layer of safety.

In ordinary times, the beaches and roads along Floridas Space Coast would be packed with hundreds of thousands of spectators, eager to witness the first astronaut launch from Florida in nine years, scheduled for May 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)ORLANDO, Fla. In ordinary times, the beaches and roads along Floridas Space Coast would be packed with hundreds of thousands of spectators, eager to witness the first astronaut launch from Florida in nine years. Earlier this month, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine asked potential spectators to watch the launch online or on TV from home. NASA astronauts have not launched from the U.S. since the space shuttle program ended in 2011. Although crowd sizes varied, a high-profile space shuttle launch could attract a half million visitors to the Space Coast.

In this Tuesday, May 19, 2020, photo, health investigator Mackenzie Bray sits in her office at the Salt Lake County Health Department in Salt Lake City. Bray normally works to track contacts for people with sexually transmitted diseases, but she was re-assigned during the coronavirus pandemic. She is now one of 130 people at this county health department assigned to track down COVID-19 cases in Utah's urban center around Salt Lake City. She is now one of 130 people at the Salt Lake County health department assigned to track coronavirus cases in the Salt Lake City area. Its normal to talk to like your doctor, but you dont ever expect the health department to call you and be like, You were exposed to a serious disease, said Anissa Archuleta.

Elon Musk's SpaceX is the conductor and NASA the customer as businesses begin chauffeuring astronauts to the International Space Station. The drama unfolds from the exact spot where men flew to the moon and the last space shuttle soared from Kennedy Space Center. NASAs newest test pilots, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, are launching from home turf with SpaceX presiding over the countdown. Plagued with software problems, Boeings Starliner capsule is still a year from launching with Ferguson and two NASA astronauts. In terms of launch power, the relatively small Falcon 9 has far less than the space shuttle did, another layer of safety.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket scheduled for May 27 will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on its first test flight with astronauts on-board to the International Space Station. The two are scheduled to blast off next Wednesday afternoon atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, bound for the International Space Station. They'll soar from the same pad where Atlantis closed out the shuttle program in 2011, the last home launch for NASA astronauts. Since then, the only way to the space station for astronauts has been on Russian rockets launched from Kazakhstan. Hurley and Behnken still dont know how long theyll spend at the space station: anywhere between one and four months.

Published: May 19, 2020, 2:34 am Updated: May 19, 2020, 10:56 amSun sets behind a patterned cloud formed over the city in Kolkata, West Bengal state, India, Monday, May 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)NEW DELHI A powerful cyclone was moving toward India and Bangladesh on Tuesday as authorities tried to evacuate millions of people while maintaining social distancing. The cyclone had winds of 220-230 kilometers per hour (136-142 miles per hour) and is forecast to weaken before it makes landfall around Indias West Bengal state and Bangladesh. Videos and photos from India and Bangladesh showed families near the coast or in other flood-prone areas being evacuated to cyclone shelters. Authorities in Bangladesh warned that the cyclone could flood vast swaths of southwestern and southern areas.

(Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)WELLINGTON Public health officials in some states are accused of bungling coronavirus infection statistics or even using a little sleight of hand to deliberately make things look better than they are. Public health experts say that can make for impressive-looking testing totals but does not give a true picture of how the virus is spreading. Still, health officials in Virginia, where Democratic Gov. In Texas, where health officials said last week that they were including some antibody results in their testing totals and case counts, Republican Gov. Health officials did not respond to requests for clarification.

The world cut its daily carbon dioxide emissions by 17% at the peak of the pandemic shutdown last month, a new study found. The world cut its daily carbon dioxide emissions by 17% at the peak of the pandemic shutdown last month, a new study found. For a week in April, the United States cut its carbon dioxide levels by about one-third. The study was carried out by Global Carbon Project, a consortium of international scientists that produces the authoritative annual estimate of carbon dioxide emissions. By contrast, the study found that drastic reductions in air travel only accounted for 10% of the overall pollution drop.

FILE - In this May 18, 1980, file photo, Mount St. Helens sends a plume of ash, smoke and debris skyward as it erupts. May 18, 2020, is the 40th anniversary of the eruption that killed more than 50 people and blasted more than 1,300 feet off the mountain's peak. (AP Photo/Jack Smith, File)COUGAR, Wash. The coronavirus outbreak disrupted what had been big plans to mark the 40th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state. And Mount St. Helens may not be done yet. The first of a series of small explosions on Oct. 1 shot volcanic ash and gases into the air.

China sent scientists to climb Mount Everest while the world's highest peak is empty of commercial climbers because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Purbu Zhaxi/Xinhua via AP)BEIJING A Chinese government-backed team plans to summit Mount Everest this week at a time when the world's tallest peak has been closed to commercial climbers. Chinas network of Beidou satellites, a rival to Americas Global Positioning System, is being used to survey the mountains current height and natural resources. China has also taken advantage of the lack of climbers to collect garbage from Everest and other popular climbing peaks. Last year, too many climbers formed long lines at the summit and some died from lack of oxygen.

The U.S. militarys mystery space plane rocketed into orbit again Sunday, May 17 this time with an extra load of science experiments. Its the sixth flight of an X-37B, a solar-powered plane that's flown by remote control without a crew. (Boeing/USSF via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The U.S. militarys mystery space plane rocketed into orbit again Sunday, this time with an extra load of science experiments. Its the sixth flight of an X-37B, a solar-powered plane that's flown by remote control without a crew. Delayed a day by bad weather, this marked just the second rocket launch for the newly established Space Force.

FILE - In this Saturday, May 2, 2020 file photo community volunteer checks for appointments and directs cars lining up for coronavirus tests in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles. The city of Los Angeles is providing free coronavirus tests to anyone who wants one regardless of whether they have symptoms. Los Angeles has 75,000 tests available each week to use mainly at eight drive-thru sites open six days a week, though it also tests at homeless shelters, nursing homes and recreation centers. Its hard to mess up spitting into a tube really, or swiping the inside of your mouth.The day after Garcetti made his announcement, testing tripled to nearly 10,000 in Los Angeles, he said. In the first nine days after everybody was offered a test, sites averaged 8,900 tests a day, Garcetti's office said.

A new study published in Science magazine asks how self-driving cars should act. More than 75 percent of participants in one survey favor cars that would sacrifice one passenger rather than kill 10 pedestrians. But overall, the study found people prefer to ride in a driverless car that protects passengers at all costs. CBS News contributor Nicholas Thompson, editor of NewYorker.com, joins "CBS This Morning" to explain the study's findings and why it is challenging to program ethics into machines.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson joins CBSN to discuss the new film "The Martian" and whether or not the science in the film stands up to reality.

In this weekend's box office hit, Matt Damon plays an astronaut stranded on Mars after his crew is hit by a sandstorm. But is the drama realistic about science? Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss what the movie got right and wrong.

Can science turn back the clock on the aging process? Doctors Jon LaPook and Holly Phillips join “CBS This Morning: Saturday” to discuss the week’s top medical news including new research on the science of aging.

Investing in science pays off "The best investment is in pure science," Eduardo Hardy, ALMA's director of North American operations, tells Bob Simon. ALMA is the world's most powerful radio telescope and has cost $1.3 billion.