March 24, 2023

Solar storm sparks dazzling northern

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A storm from the broiling sun turned the chilly northernmost skies of Earth into an ever-changing and awe-provoking art show of northern lights on Tuesday. Even experienced stargazers were stunned by the intensity of the aurora borealis that swept across the night sky in northern Scandinavia after the biggest solar flare in […]

Prep kids robotics success

Cyber Rays, the Cayman Prep High School robotics club win at Clearwater, FL, qualifier. The  Cyber Rays, a team of five students from year 7 and 8 of Cayman Prep High School, competed in a qualifier First Lego League tournament in Clearwater, Florida. The tournament was the culmination of five months of hard work by […]

Rocks from Mars

WASHINGTON (AP) — They came from Mars, not in peace, but in pieces. Scientists are confirming that 15 pounds of rock collected recently in Morocco fell to Earth from Mars during a meteorite shower last July. This is only the fifth time in history scientists have chemically confirmed Martian meteorites that people witnessed falling. The […]

Now you see it, now you don’t: Time cloak created

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s one thing to make an object invisible, like Harry Potter’s mythical cloak. But scientists have made an entire event impossible to see. They have invented a time masker. Think of it as an art heist that takes place before your eyes and surveillance cameras. You don’t see the thief strolling into […]

Two Earth-size planets spotted around distant star

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have found two Earth-sized planets orbiting a star outside the solar system, an encouraging sign for prospects of finding life elsewhere. The discovery shows that such planets exist and that they can be detected by the Kepler spacecraft, said Francois Fressin of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. […]

Comet defies death, brushes up to sun and lives

WASHINGTON (AP) — A small comet survived what astronomers figured would be a sure death when it danced uncomfortably close to the broiling sun. Comet Lovejoy, which was only discovered a couple of weeks ago, was supposed to melt Thursday night when it came close to where temperatures hit several million degrees. Astronomers had tracked […]

Planet in sweet spot of Goldilocks zone for life

WASHINGTON (AP) — A newly discovered planet is eerily similar to Earth and is sitting outside our solar system in what seems to be the ideal place for life, except for one hitch. It’s a bit too big. The planet is smack in the middle of what astronomers call the Goldilocks zone, that hard to […]

Study shows experiment is working

Scientists, attempting to halt Dengue fever, for the first time released mosquitoes into the wild that had been genetically modified to pass on deadly DNA that kills their offspring. About 19,000 lab-altered insects were released into 25 acres on Grand Cayman Island in 2009, according to a study, published yesterday in the journal Nature Biotechnology. […]

Cloning method may help make personal stem cells

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists used a cloning technique to create the type of customised stem cells that show promise for treating disease. But the first-of-its-kind result comes with a big hitch. The newly created stem cells have too much genetic material to function properly. They include DNA from two people, not just the patient the […]

Dream is over for Virgin Galactic space tourist

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Venture capitalist Alan Walton has trekked to the North Pole, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and skydived over Mount Everest. A hop into space to enjoy a few minutes of weightlessness would have been the ultimate adventure. After waiting seven years to fly aboard Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic spaceline, Walton gave up […]