A comet is thought to have caused Tunguska explosion
The mysterious 1908 Tunguska explosion that leveled 830 square miles of Siberian forest was almost certainly caused by a comet entering the Earth’s atmosphere, says new Cornell University research. The conclusion is supported by an unlikely source: the exhaust plume from the NASA space shuttle launched a [...]

 
This is the first of a pair of artist’s representations showing what one of the
galaxies inside a blob might look like if viewed at a relatively close distance.
The “coming of age” of galaxies and black holes has been pinpointed, thanks to new data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes. This discovery helps resolve [...]

 
Enlarged microscopic image of sand grains
University of Chicago researchers recently showed that dry granular materials such as sands, seeds and grains have properties similar to liquid, forming water-like droplets when poured from a given source. The finding could be important to a wide range of industries that use “fluidized” dry particles for oil refining, plastics [...]

 
Animals all around the globe are dying from fibropapillomatosis,
a disease that causes tumors on the skin
While cancer touches the lives of many humans, it is also a major threat to wild animal populations as well, according to a recent study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

 
Illustration of Enceladus
For the first time, scientists working on NASA’s Cassini mission have detected sodium salts in ice grains of Saturn’s outermost ring. Detecting salty ice indicates that Saturn’s moon Enceladus, which primarily replenishes the ring with material from discharging jets, could harbor a reservoir of liquid water — perhaps an ocean — beneath its [...]

 
Eating more vegetables, fruits, nuts, pulses and olive oil, and drinking moderate
amounts of alcohol, while not consuming a lot of meat is linked to people living longer
Some food groups in the Mediterranean diet are more important than others in promoting health and longer life according to new research published on the British Medical Journal website.

 DUSEL
Far below the Black Hills of South Dakota, crews are building the world’s deepest underground science lab at a depth equivalent to more than six Empire State buildings – a place uniquely suited to scientists’ quest for mysterious particles known as dark matter.

Jim Carrey has memories of a painful relationship wiped from his brain in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 
We may think we are asleep – but deep in the recesses of our mind a “memory editor” is working overtime, replaying the experiences of the day and storing the highlights on our brain’s version of a [...]

 The surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus shows evidence of ongoing geological activity 
Alien life could have evolved on one of Saturn’s moons, scientists say.
They have found evidence that seas may lie beneath the frozen surface of Enceladus  – the planet’s sixth biggest moon.
 

A cheeky monkey decided to spend a penny on Zambian President Rupiah Banda – as he held a news conference on the economy in the capital Lusaka.

China to build largest amphibious airplane
The development and production of the Dragon 600, intended to be the world’s largest amphibious aircraft, has received government approval, AVIC General Aircraft Company Ltd. said Wednesday.

Jellyfish can be as beautiful as they are dangerous and artist James Pan shows off that fact through his colorful and captivating artistic endeavors. Simply stunning!
(more art after jump…)

Is This a Horrible or Fantastic Idea?

Luxury ocean liners in Russia are offering pirate hunting cruises aboard armed private yachts off the Somali coast.
Wealthy punters pay £3,500 per day to patrol the most dangerous waters in the world hoping to be attacked by raiders.

 
Endothelial progenitor cells can become Endothelial cells (pictured),
which make up the lining of blood vessels. 
A new credit-card sized device could provide a way to test people for heart disease using a pinprick of blood. Developed by a team of researchers from Harvard and Northeastern universities in Boston the device can measure and collect a type [...]