The French nuclear submarine Emeraude today joined the search off the coast of Brazil for Air France flight 447's flight recorders, which may help investigators understand why the Airbus A330 went down on May 31 with 228 people on board. A research vessel from the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea is expected to arrive Friday carrying the Nautile mini-submarine and a remote-controlled robot called Victor 6000 to help locate the black boxes before they stop emitting locating signals, ABC News reports. [More]

Scientists have mathematically analyzed the mutator hypothesis and compared the cancer-generating efficiency of mutator and nonmutator pathways to cancer.

Most people’s experience with 3D involves wearing tinted glasses in a cinema. But a new technology, which does not require glasses and may enable 3DTV, is being developed.

In this study outward and inward irritability of peri- and postmenopausal women were found to be related to the presence of chronic disease. Moreover, outward irritability correlated with FSH and LH levels, independently of specific menopausal symptoms, such as vasomotor problems or insomnia. Further research is needed to clarify the meaning of irritability in the context of women’s mental health.

Researchers have developed a new method for using computer graphics to simulate and render an accurate visualization of a lunar eclipse. The model uses celestial geometry of the sun, Earth, and moon, along with data for the Earth's atmosphere and the moon's peculiar optical properties to create picture-perfect images of lunar eclipses.

Scientists have developed a new cleaning protocol for space hardware, such as the scoops of Mars rovers, which could be used on future "search for life" missions on other planets.

To win the favor of females, male Anna's hummingbirds (Calypte anna) dive at record speeds of 385 body lengths per second--and pull some extreme in-flight maneuvers--reports a new study in the U.K. journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. [More]

To win the favor of females, male Anna's hummingbirds (Calypte anna) dive at record speeds of 385 body lengths per second--and pull some extreme in-flight maneuvers--reports a new study in the U.K. journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. [More]

A little over a decade ago, the major players in the environmental movement tried to take on Florida's sugar producers. The industry's fertilizers were polluting the Everglades, and the environmentalists asked Florida voters to approve a penny-per-pound tax on sugar companies that would yield $35 million a year for cleanup work.

But "Big Sugar" responded with a multimillion-dollar campaign to portray the environmentalists as white elitists attempting to weaken an industry that employed blacks and Latinos. Jesse Jackson joined forces with the industry, telling Floridians, "We should never have a showdown between alligators and people." With the help of minority group blocs, voters soundly rejected the tax.

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Clonal reproduction of crop species took a step closer to being realized with new research. The advantage of clonal reproduction is that it produces an individual exactly like an existing one -- very useful for farmers who could replicate the best of their animals or crops without the lottery of sexual reproduction.