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  • In this photo taken on Nov. 4, 2007, the feet of King Tutankhamen are seen at the moving of the linen-wrapped mummy of King Tut from his stone sarcophagus in his underground tomb in the famed Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt. Egypt’s famed King Tutankhamen suffered from a cleft palate and club foot, likely forcing him to walk with a cane, and died from complications from a broken leg exacerbated by malaria, according to the most extensive study ever of his mummy.

    New study sheds light on meat, mummies in ancient tombs Dec 29, 2013 12:00 AM
    So you’ve gone through all the trouble of mummifying a loved one. You’ve hired embalmers to remove her organs, treat her body with a precise mixture of oils and balms, and carefully wrap her in bandages. You’ve spared no expense on a lavish tomb, beautifully decorated and stuffed with riches. You’ve even mummified her pets, all to make sure she will fully enjoy her afterlife. There’s just one last question: What is your beloved mummy going to eat for the rest of eternity? For some ancient Egyptians, the answer included meat.

     
  • The state legislature allowed last year, for the first time, a highly regulated river otter trapping season.

    Otters make major comeback in Illinois Dec 25, 2013 12:00 AM
    Illinois’ largest member of the weasel family has made one of the biggest comebacks in the state’s endangered species history. Their ranks have gone from only 100 in pockets of extreme southern and western Illinois in the late 1970s to 15,000-plus statewide today.

     
  • A microscope set to 10-times magnification shows a marijuana leaf covered with mold.

    University to test pot for contaminants Dec 24, 2013 12:00 AM
    A number of labs around the country are testing marijuana for contaminants using different methods, many of which have been around for decades and used to test other plants, including food crops, for harmful substances.The health effects of marijuana tainted with mold, pesticides and other contaminants aren’t clear, said Mason Tvert, a Colorado-based spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C.

     
  • Associated Press/provided by NASA Astronauts Rick Mastracchio, top, and Michael Hopkins work Tuesday to repair an external cooling line on the International Space Station.

    Astronauts complete rare Christmas Eve spacewalk Dec 24, 2013 12:00 AM
    Space station astronauts repaired a crippled cooling system during a rare Christmas Eve spacewalk Tuesday, braving a “mini blizzard” of noxious ammonia as they popped in a new pump.It was the second spacewalk in four days for U.S. astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins, and only the second Christmas Eve spacewalk ever.NASA ordered up the spacewalks to revive a critical cooling loop at the International Space Station.

     
  • In this image made from video provided by NASA, astronaut Rick Mastracchio performs a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Saturday, Dec. 21. Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins ventured out of the station to try to revive a crippled cooling line.

    NASA astronauts tackle urgent spacewalking repairs Dec 21, 2013 12:00 AM
    Astronauts removed an old space station pump Saturday, sailing through the first of a series of urgent repair spacewalks to revive a crippled cooling line. The two Americans on the crew, Rick Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins, successfully pulled out the ammonia pump with a bad valve —— well ahead of schedule. That task had been planned for the next spacewalk on Monday.

     
  • A northern spotted owl.

    Feds begin killing barred owls to help spotted owl Dec 20, 2013 12:00 AM
    It is not unusual to kill one species to help a threatened or endangered one. Cormorants and sea lions are regularly killed to help salmon. Biologist Robin Bown said blood and genetic samples are taken from each barred owl that is killed, and the frozen carcasses are sent to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, where they are available for further research.

     

  • Durbin, Kirk support Argonne mass transit study Dec 20, 2013 12:00 AM

     
  • The International Space Station

    Illini grad to go for a walk in space Dec 18, 2013 12:00 AM
    A University of Illinois graduate who is an astronaut on the International Space Station is scheduled to walk in space to make repairs to a pump with a bad valve.

     
  • A researcher tags a blue whale off the coast of Southern California. Two recent studies found certain endangered blue whales and beaked whales stopped feeding and fled from recordings of noise similar to military sonar.

    Navy expands sonar testing despite troubling signs Dec 15, 2013 12:00 AM
    The U.S. Navy plans to increase sonar testing over the next five years, even as research it funded reveals worrying signs that the loud underwater noise could disturb whales and dolphins.

     
  • Naturalist Jack Pomatto leads a group of Kane County Certified Naturalists on a birding class at Fermilab in Batavia. From left are graduates Kim Haag, Barb McKittrick and student Alan Roberston.

    Register now for Kane County Certified Naturalist program Dec 13, 2013 12:00 AM
    It's never too late to learn more about nature -- and yourself. Classes for the 2014 Kane County Certified Naturalist program begin in January, and include lectures and discussions on local ecology, and field trips to natural areas.

     
  • This handout photo provided by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Arctic sea ice earlier this year. The Arctic took a bit of a break from its rapid melting this year. But a federal Arctic report card says global warming is still massively altering the top of the world.

    Mild 2013 cuts Arctic a break, warming woes remain Dec 12, 2013 12:00 AM
    The rapid melting in the Arctic eased up this year. But the government says global warming is still dramatically altering the top of the world, reducing the number of reindeer and shrinking snow and ice, while increasing certain fish and extending the growing season.

     
  • Europa, a moon of Jupiter first discovered by Galileo, has long been a subject of interest to scientists because of the presence of water there. Water is believed to be a necessary ingredient for life to exist.

    Geysers spotted on Jupiter’s moon Europa Dec 12, 2013 12:00 AM
    The search for life in the solar system took a turn Thursday with the announcement that Europa, a moon of Jupiter first discovered by Galileo, shows signs of water geysers erupting from its south pole.

     
  • It may be a bit chilly, but Friday will be the peak night to observe the annual Geminids meteor shower, the most intense of the year.

    Geminid meteor shower ramps up Friday night Dec 11, 2013 12:00 AM
    The annual Geminids (JEM’-i-nids) meteor shower — the most intense of the year — will peak Friday night. But the best viewing may be early Saturday, once the moon sets.

     
  • Though not to scale, this is an artist’s impression of the Rosetta orbiter deploying the Philae lander to comet 67P/ChuryumovñGerasimenko. The European Space Agency has set a tentative date for the first landing of a spacecraft on a comet: next Nov. 11.

    European probe on course for a landing on a comet Dec 10, 2013 12:00 AM
    The European Space Agency is planning to land an unmanned spacecraft on a comet next year in an unprecedented and exquisitely tricky mission that has been underway for almost a decade and is about to enter a critical new phase.

     
  • This is a self portrait of the Mars rover, Curiosity. NASA’s Curiosity rover has uncovered signs of an ancient freshwater lake on Mars that may have teemed with microbes for tens of millions of years, far longer than scientists had imagined, new research suggests.

    NASA: Ancient Mars lake may have supported life Dec 9, 2013 12:00 AM
    NASA’s Curiosity rover has uncovered signs of an ancient freshwater lake on Mars, which scientists say could have been a perfect spot for tiny primitive organisms to flourish if they ever existed on the red planet.

     
  • Scientists taught two groups of male mice to fear odors by zapping their feet with an electric shock every time they blew scented air into their cages. The experimental group became afraid of cherry blossoms with a hint of almond, and the control group feared alcohol. The experimental groups’ offspring also feared cherry blossom smells from birth.

    Study finds mice DNA passes learned fear through generations Dec 7, 2013 12:00 AM

     
  • A woman walks Thursday near a radiation head that was part of a radiation therapy machine, in the patio of the family who found the abandoned equipment in a nearby field in the village of Hueypoxtla, Mexico.

    Police seal off hospital treating radiation victims Dec 6, 2013 12:00 AM
    An official confirmed Mexican media reports that six have been admitted to the general hospital in the city of Pachuca and may have been exposed to a stolen source of cobalt-60.

     

  • Crews make rare dinosaur find Dec 2, 2013 12:00 AM
    Federal officials say Illinois paleontology crews working in southeastern Montana excavated the remains of a dinosaur rarely found in North America.

     
  • In a composite image provided by NASA, Comet ISON nears the sun in an image captured at 9:51 a.m. on Thursday. The sun was imaged by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, and an image from ESA/NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory shows the solar atmosphere, the corona. Scientists are studying spacecraft images to find out whether a small part ISON survived its close encounter with the sun.

    Did Comet ISON survive? Scientists see tiny hope Nov 29, 2013 12:00 AM
    A comet that gained an earthly following because of its bright tail visible from space was initially declared dead after essentially grazing the sun. Now, there is a silver of hope that Comet ISON may have survived.

     
  • California brown pelicans fly off after being released by the International Bird Rescue Research Center at the beach in San Pedro, Calif.

    Sardine crash may be hurting brown pelicans Nov 28, 2013 12:00 AM
    One study found 7,018 brown pelicans, half the average of the past decade, and the lowest number since 1999.

     
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