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40,085 articles from Guardian Unlimited Science

Beagle 2 has landed, 11 years after it went missing on Mars - video

Britain's infamous Beagle 2, which went missing on Christmas Day 2003, has been found, more than 11 years after it went missing. Speaking at London's Royal Society scientific institution on Friday, David Parker, of the UK space agency, says there is good evidence of Beagle 2 resting on the surface of Mars. Parker says it does not appear to be a crash site suggesting the probe at least partially...

‘Superman’ pill deaths spark calls for dangerous-drugs alert system

The Netherlands issued early warnings about lethal pills believed to have subsequently killed four in UK over the festive breakFive days before the first of four people in Britain died of a drug overdose, researchers at a Dutch laboratory organised a nationwide alert over the “Superman” pills that are now believed to have killed those who thought they were taking ecstasy.But although Public...

Lost Beagle 2 spacecraft found intact on surface of Mars after 11 years

British Beagle 2 probe had not been seen or heard from since December 2003 and had been presumed destroyedSo near and yet so far. New images show that the UK’s Beagle 2 successfully landed on the surface of Mars in 2003 but failed to fully deploy its solar panels. Without these, it could not communicate with Earth and scientists lost contact.The discovery images come from the HiRISE camera on...

This is what a 'rapid unscheduled disassembly' looks like

Elon Musk’s released pictures of his Falcon 9 rocket’s failed landing - and used a wonderful euphemism for it Private spaceflight company SpaceX has released new pictures of its Falcon 9 rocket attempting to land on a floating platform in the Gulf of Mexico before undergoing what its chief executive, Elon Musk, euphemistically referred to as “RUD” – that’s “Rapid Unscheduled...


THURSDAY 15. JANUARY 2015


Rate of environmental degradation puts life on Earth at risk, say scientists

Humans are ‘eating away at our own life support systems’ at a rate unseen in the past 10,000 years, two new research papers sayHumans are “eating away at our own life support systems” at a rate unseen in the past 10,000 years by degrading land and freshwater systems, emitting greenhouse gases and releasing vast amounts of agricultural chemicals into the environment, new research has...

Scientific advice to UK government is ‘increasingly diluted’, warns senior MP

Lack of well-qualified scientific advisers threatens policymaking, says Andrew Miller, chair of the Commons science and technology committee A senior MP has criticised the quality of scientific advice being given to ministers across government and called on the Cabinet Office to intervene.Andrew Miller, the chair of the House of Commons science and technology committee, said scientific advice to...


WEDNESDAY 14. JANUARY 2015


Nasa: no evidence of ammonia leak on International Space Station - video

Nasa officials say they believe no ammonia has been leaked inside the International Space Station (ISS), but have moved the US crew as a precaution. ISS manager Mike Suffredini says there is no 'hard evidence' of a leak and the issue may instead be a sensor error. In the meantime, two Americans and an Italian astronaut have taken refuge with three cosmonauts in the Russian section of the station...

Hidden in plain sight

A recent study by a research team in Scotland reveals that birds intentionally choose colour-matching materials to camouflage their nests thereby reducing predation risk. Continue reading...