Science

In New York, Video Chat Trumps Quarantine To Combat TB

7:21pm December 05, 2014

by Fred Mogul

Ebola isn't the first dangerous microbe to spur calls for quarantine in American cities. But as New York City's experience with drug-resistant tuberculosis suggests, isolation isn't always best.

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Lots Of Work Remains After Successful Orion Launch

6:30pm December 05, 2014

by Geoff Brumfiel

NASA successfully launched and landed a test version of its next-generation Orion spacecraft on Friday morning. The unmanned test is the first for the follow-on to the shuttle.

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Gas prices in Oklahoma City have dipped under $2.

Coming Soon To A Filling Station Near You: $1.99 Gasoline

5:50pm December 05, 2014

by Scott Neuman

OnCue in Oklahoma City was the first place in the country to drop its price per gallon below $2. Several other cities are likely to get similarly cheap gas soon, an expert says.

Anthony Keels, bar manager at Verbena in San Francisco, serves up a cocktail made with barrel-aged, dark gin. Keels calls this gin a game-changer.

It's Brown, It's Barrel-Aged, It's ... Gin?

3:01pm December 05, 2014

by Stacy Adimando

Barrel-aged gin resembles young whisky in color and flavor. It's quickly becoming the new darling of distillers and craft bartenders across the U.S.

Science

Rosetta: Space probe drops robotic lander on comet 67P

2:34pm December 05, 2014

by Shawn Fitzmaurice

SciWo

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Rotten, fermented fruit has some nutritional value, and may have looked pretty good to our hungry ancient ancestors. Evolving the ability to metabolize the alcohol in fermented fruit may have helped us adapt to a changing climate 10 million years ago, res

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Our Ability To Digest Alcohol May Have Been Key To Our Survival

10:51am December 05, 2014

by Eliza Barclay

Our primate ancestors could consume alcohol 10 million years ago in the form of fermented fruit, researchers have discovered. The finding suggests that our relationship with alcohol is ancient.

Marina owner Mitzi Richards carries her granddaughter in September as they walk on their boat dock at the dried up lake bed of Huntington Lake in California, which was at only 30 percent capacity as a severe drought continued. The state was in the grip of

2014 To Be Warmest Year On Record, U.N. Weather Agency Says

11:10pm December 04, 2014

by Scott Neuman

The World Meteorological Organization says that so far, 2014 is 1.03 degrees Fahrenheit above a benchmark average. It would be the 38th consecutive year with an above normal global average, it says.

The 1962 Nobel Prize Medal in Medicine or Physiology that James Watson won has been sold at auction.

Science

DNA Pioneer Watson's Nobel Prize Sells For $4.75 Million

7:54pm December 04, 2014

by Bill Chappell

The Nobel Prize that James Watson won for helping explain how DNA is structured has a new owner. Watson has said he'll donate much of the $4.75 million sales price to educational institutions.

HIV is like a jack-in-the-box: When it binds to a cell, its shell (yellow) pops open, and its genetic material (reds) comes out.

Is HIV Evolving Into A Weaker Virus?

3:05pm December 04, 2014

by Michaeleen Doucleff

In parts of southern Africa, HIV has picked up mutations that slow down its ability to grow inside a person's blood. That's a good sign. But will it be enough to make a difference in the epidemic?

NASA's Orion spaceship early Thursday in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

NASA Scrubs Launch Of Orion Spacecraft

2:38pm December 04, 2014

by Scott Neuman

After several issues, including high winds, stuck engine valves and a boat downrange of the launch site, the space agency said it would cancel today's planned launch of the new vehicle.