Ancient volcanic explosions shed light on Mercury's origins
Providence RI (SPX) Apr 04, 2014 -
The surface of Mercury crackled with volcanic explosions for extended periods of the planet's history, according to a new analysis led by researchers at Brown University. The findings are surprising considering Mercury wasn't supposed to have explosive volcanism in the first place, and they could have implications for understanding how Mercury formed.
On Earth, volcanic explosions like the ...
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Gravity measurements confirm subsurface ocean on Enceladus
Pasadena CA (SPX) Apr 04, 2014 -
In 2005, NASA's Cassini spacecraft sent pictures back to Earth depicting an icy Saturnian moon spewing water vapor and ice from fractures, known as "tiger stripes," in its frozen surface.
It was big news that tiny Enceladus-a mere 500 kilometers in diameter-was such an active place. Since then, scientists have hypothesized that a large reservoir of water lies beneath that icy surface, poss ...
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White House Targets Methane Emissions
Washington DC (SPX) Apr 03, 2014 -
On March 28, the White House released a multi-pronged strategy to reduce methane emissions from a variety of sources, a step the administration says is an outgrowth of the President's Climate Action Plan announced last year. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, about 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The federal government will target four key areas of methane emissions - landfills, coa ...
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U.K. Coal may close two deep mines
Washington DC (UPI) Apr 02, 2014 -
U.K. Coal, the largest coal producer in the country, said it's on the verge of closing two of its last three deep mines in Britain because of economic woes.
U.K. Coal spokesman Andrew Mackintosh said the company needs about $16.6 million in new investments or it will be forced to close its Kellingley and Thoresby coal mines.
"Thoresby and Kellingley would have at least 18 months, ...
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Bitcoin boss flees Cyprus 'after threat': reports
Nicosia (AFP) April 03, 2014 -
The boss of a Bitcoin company in Cyprus has fled abroad days after it suddenly stopped operations, in a blow to the virtual currency's once vaunted prospects on the island.
Privately owned television channel Sigma TV said Thursday that it had repeatedly tried to contact Neo & Bee CEO Danny Brewster, but to no avail.
The firm launched a huge advertising campaign earlier this year but halt ...
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OMV enters acreage offshore Namibia
Washington DC (UPI) Apr 02, 2014 -
Austrian energy company OMV said Thursday it expanded its African footprint by joining an offshore exploration project in Namibia.
"OMV is well on track to position its assets into more high-return upstream projects," OMV Chief Executive Officer Gerhard Roiss said in a statement. "Therefore it is part of OMV's strategy to build up new exploration opportunities also in the region of Sub- ...
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Scientists unveil 'BionicKangroo Robot'
Esslingen Am Neckar, Germany (UPI) Apr 3, 2013 -
If a human tries to move around simply by jumping, he or she is likely to get very tired, very fast. The human body isn't designed to jump over and over again.
The same doesn't hold true for a kangaroo, of course - the hopping mammal, omnipresent throughout most of Australia, gets around exclusively via leaps and bounds.
Now, scientists in Germany have replicated the jumping mot ...
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