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AP Science NewsBrief at 3:16 p.m. EST(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Humans may have left Africa earlier than thoughtWASHINGTON (AP) _ Modern humans may have left Africa thousands of years earlier than previously thought, turning right and heading across the Red Sea into Arabia rather than following the Nile to a northern exit, an international team of researchers says. Stone tools discovered in the United Arab Emirates indicate the presence of modern humans between 100,000 and 125,000 years ago, the researchers report in Friday's edition of the journal Science. Challenger: 25 years later, a still painful woundCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) _ For many, no single word evokes as much pain. Challenger. NASA honors astronauts lost from Apollo, shuttlesCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) _ NASA paused Thursday to remember the 17 astronauts lost in the line of duty. The so-called Day of Remembrance _ always the last Thursday of January _ has special meaning this year. Friday marks the 25th anniversary of the shuttle Challenger launch disaster. Google's Android tablet software inches closerSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Google Inc. is getting closer to releasing a version of the Android software meant for tablet computers, one that will include a fresh look and updated Web browser and keyboard. The online search leader said Wednesday that it released a preview version of the software development kit for Honeycomb, also known as Android 3.0. It's for developers to test out their applications on the software and learn about its new capabilities. Obama seeks new path to environmental goalsWASHINGTON (AP) _ Facing a Congress that is more hostile to environmental regulation, President Barack Obama is moderating his environmental goals: a clean energy standard that mixes nuclear, natural gas and "clean coal" with wind, solar and other renewable sources. In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Obama called for 80 percent of the nation's electricity to come from clean sources by 2035. That goal represents a new strategy to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide blamed for global warming, following the death of cap-and-trade legislation that Obama pushed in Congress for the last two years. Astronomers claim earliest galaxy yet from HubbleWASHINGTON (AP) _ An international team of astronomers say they've glimpsed the earliest galaxy yet, a smudge of light from nearly 13.2 billion years ago _ a time when the cosmos was a far lonelier place. The research hasn't been confirmed, and some astronomers are skeptical. The new findings are based on an image from the Hubble Space Telescope and are published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. The scientists calculate the new-found galaxy dates to just 480 million years after the Big Bang. Mixed results shown from dispersants in BP spillWASHINGTON (AP) _ Dispersants injected deep in the Gulf of Mexico to counter an oil gusher last spring seemed to keep some oil from fouling the water's surface, but the chemicals lingered underwater, raising concerns about long-term problems, a new study found. The first extensive research into what happened to 770,000 gallons of dispersants used a mile deep near the busted BP well found a mixed bag of results. The new research appears in the journal Environmental Science & Technology and focused on the fate of the controversial chemicals rather than their toxicity. Study of cell 'clocks' looks at what makes us tickNEW YORK (AP) _ What makes us tick? Anybody who's ever suffered jet lag knows all about the body's internal clock, which is driven by a cluster of brain cells. But even the cells throughout our body have their own 24-hour clocks to coordinate activities at the cellular level. Now new research suggests that these internal timepieces may be more complicated than scientists thought. Ark. fish deaths still a mystery after testsLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ The mystery of what killed tens of thousands of fish that washed up along the Arkansas River late last year can't be solved, state wildlife officials announced Wednesday, but they do have a theory about what caused birds to fall out of the sky in a small Arkansas town on New Year's Eve. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission issued separate news releases on the Dec. 29 fish kill and the New Year's Eve event in which red-winged blackbirds began raining down, evoking images of the apocalypse. The agency issued the releases after autopsies and multiple tests were conducted on the fish and birds. Malaysia releases lab mosquitoes to fight dengueKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) _ Malaysia released about 6,000 genetically modified mosquitoes into a forest in the first experiment of its kind in Asia aimed at curbing dengue fever, officials said Wednesday. The field test is meant to pave the way for the use of genetically engineered Aedes aegypti male mosquitoes to mate with females and produce no offspring or ones with shorter lives, thus curtailing the mosquito population. Only female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes spread dengue fever, which killed 134 people in Malaysia last year. (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |