NASA to address foam issues

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida -- NASA will replace cracked adhesive beneath the insulation foam on the tanks of the space shuttles, hoping to eliminate a problem that damaged Endeavour's heat shield during its launch earlier this month, the U.S. space agency said Friday. The work is not expected to delay the shuttle Discovery's launch to install a new module on the International Space Station, currently scheduled for Oct. 23, said shuttle program manager Wayne Hale.

Hole in the universe

WASHINGTON -- A giant hole in the universe is devoid of galaxies, stars and even lacks dark matter, astronomers said on Thursday. The team at the University of Minnesota said the void is nearly a billion light-years across and they have no idea why it is there.

Signs of life on Mars

LONDON -- The soil on Mars may contain microbial life, according to a new interpretation of data first collected more than 30 years ago. The search for life on Mars appeared to hit a dead end in 1976 when Viking landers touched down on the red planet and failed to detect biological activity.

A green little battery

TOKYO -- Sony has developed an environmentally friendly prototype battery that runs on sugars and that can generate enough electricity to power a music player and a pair of speakers, the Japanese company said. The bio battery's casing is made of a vegetable-based plastic. It measures 1.5 inch along each edge and works by pouring sugar solution into the unit, where enzymes break it down to generate electricity.

Smog smothering Japan

TOKYO --Smog is menacing Japanese cities for the first time in 30 years and cropping up in rural areas for the first time ever, alarming the government and prompting experts to point the finger at neighboring China. Warnings for high levels of hazardous smog have been issued in a record 28 prefectures so far this year, from sparsely populated isles in southern Japan to Niigata, western Japan, where 350 people have suffered stinging eyes and throats.

Out-of-body experiences

LONDON -- Researchers have found a way to induce out-of-body experiences using virtual-reality goggles, helping to explain a phenomenon reported by about one in 10 people. The illusion of watching oneself from several feet away while awake is often reported by people undergoing strokes or epileptic seizures or using drugs.

Whale quotas halted

REYKJAVIK --Nearly a year after ending its ban on commercial whaling, Iceland will not issue new whale-hunting quotas until market demand increases and it gets an export license from Japan. Iceland's fisheries minister, Einar K. Guofinnsson, told Reuters this week it made no sense to issue new quotas when the present quota period expires on Aug. 31 if the market for whale meat was not strong enough.