
Trump’s NASA nominee, Jim Bridenstine, is confirmed by the Senate on a party-line vote
Seven and a half months after being nominated to lead NASA, Mr. Bridenstine finally gets to start his new job.

NASA’s TESS embarks on a quest to find planets around neighboring stars
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s TESS spacecraft embarked Wednesday on a quest to find new worlds around neighboring stars that could support

One of the solar system’s early planets didn’t survive, but its diamonds are now on Earth
Scientists have found the first hard evidence of a protoplanet embedded in extraterrestrial diamonds that fell to Earth about 10 years ago.

Pa. among states to receive pouches that render opioids inert
Armstrong, Clarion, Indiana, are among the counties in Pennsylvania that are receiving 17,000 of the pouches.

Ticks begin emerging unfazed following an extremely snowy winter
New England hikers and dog lovers may be thinking the subzero winter temperatures will put a dent in this year's tick population. Not so.

NASA’s TESS spacecraft will remain on the launchpad until Wednesday as SpaceX conducts rocket tests
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite was set to take off at 3:32 p.m. Pacific time Monday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Immunotherapy scores a big win against lung cancer in a new study
New research suggests that many more lung cancer patients may benefit from treatments that boost the immune system.

NASA is about to step up its planet-hunting game with the launch of TESS
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite could start scanning almost all of the sky for neighboring stars as soon as Monday afternoon.

Blame geology and weather: Landslides a common annoyance in Western Pennsylvania
Landslide that closed Route 30 in East Pittsburgh is just the latest inconvenience caused by permanent geological impairment

Another top leader leaves Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
Marcia Crawley, hired to help with museum fundraising, leaves after just a few months.

A large international study says adults should limit alcohol to one drink a day
The study found that people who down more than seven drinks a week can expect to die sooner than those who drink less.

Studies say the Atlantic Ocean’s circulation hasn’t been this sluggish in 1,000 years
The assertion suggests one of the most feared consequences of climate change is already coming to pass.

PETA opposes Pittsburgh Zoo application to import elephant semen from Canada
The Pittsburgh Zoo says it is trying to increase the genetic diversity of African elephants in the U.S. by importing semen from Canada.

A finger bone from an unexpected place and time upends the story of human migration out of Africa
The object in question is a fossilized piece of a bone, probably the middle portion of a middle finger.

Risks are seen for Scott Pruitt in his rush to kill Obama-era regulations
Experts and White House officials say his poorly crafted legal efforts risk being struck down in court.

Routinely freezing human eggs only began for Pittsburgh-area fertility clinics three years ago
Three Pittsburgh-area women sued a Cleveland hospital this week for destroying their frozen eggs.

A planned space hotel hopes to welcome guests by 2022 — for a cost of almost $800,000 a night
Orion Span hopes to launch Aurora Station, the “first luxury hotel in space,” by late 2021 and bring guests on board the following year.

This star is the farthest ever seen. It’s 9 billion light-years away.
The discovery of MACS J1149+2223 Lensed Star 1 — aka Icarus — required the fortuitous alignment of a massive galactic cluster.

Scientists find signs of new brain cells in adults as old as 79
However, the researchers did uncover some differences in the brains of young people and older people.

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake is recorded at California’s Channel Islands
The quake was the strongest to occur in Southern California in several years. There have been no reports of significant injuries or damage.

Astronomers say the center of the Milky Way is teeming with black holes
Scientists say they found a dozen black holes in the center of the galaxy and that thousands of others are likely at our galactic core.

Studies link legal marijuana with fewer opioid prescriptions
New studies suggest that legalizing marijuana might help the fight against opioid addiction and fatal overdoses.

Drug-resistant ‘nightmare bacteria’ pose a growing threat, the CDC says
Bacteria with unusual resistance to antibiotics of last resort were found over 200 times in the U.S. last year in a first-of-a-kind hunt.

A supersonic jet with less noise? Lockheed wins a NASA award to try.
It’s a step toward developing planes that can whisk passengers around the globe much more quickly.

Migration is explored creatively by Carnegie Nexus
Scientists, historians, performers and artists will participate in Nexus and examine migration from all perspectives — with surprises.

An alarming 10 percent of Antarctica’s coastal glaciers are in retreat, scientists find
Their new satellite survey raises additional concerns about the massive continent’s potential contribution to rising sea levels.

NASA’s next mission to Mars will go deep beneath the red planet’s surface
The agency has launched many groundbreaking missions to Mars, but its next mission will do so literally.

Staffers in Trump’s EPA get talking points downplaying the human role in climate change
Employees crafted the email based on controversial — and scientifically unsound — statements that Administrator Scott Pruitt has made.

China’s defunct Tiangong 1 space station mostly burns up on re-entry in the central South Pacific
The China Manned Space Engineering Office said the experimental space laboratory re-entered around 8:15 a.m. Monday.

The oldest footprints in North America are right where native historians said they should be
As soon as they dug a shoebox-size test pit, they unearthed a dark impression of a foot pressed into the light brown clay.

China’s defunct Tiangong 1 space station continues hurtling toward Earth for re-entry
It’s expected to re-enter the atmosphere sometime in the coming days, although the risk to people on the ground is considered low.

Trump’s EPA may be set to roll back rules requiring cars to be cleaner and more efficient
Sources say Scott Pruitt is expected to frame the initiative as eliminating a regulatory burden on automakers.

A yucky ducky? A new study reveals the bath-time toy’s dirty secret.
Scientists have the dirt on rubber ducky, and it's clear many children's favorite bath-time friend is far from squeaky clean.

The launch of NASA’s new flagship space telescope is delayed — again
Not for the first time, the agency will postpone the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope by at least a year, to May 2020.

Baffled astronomers spy a distant galaxy that’s void of dark matter
It’s a double cosmic conundrum: Lots of stuff that was already invisible has gone missing.

Newly discovered Patagonian dinosaur once terrorized South America and Australia
Dinosaur hunter from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History co-led the team that excavated vertebrae and hip bones of the new dinosaur.

Obituary: Gary Lincoff / World-renowned expert on mushrooms
He was a Pittsburgh native who wrote the book on mushrooms and their role in the ecosystem.

Hurricane Harvey’s toxic impact is deeper than the public was told, a media investigation reveals
And questions about the long-term consequences for human health remain unanswered.

Plant-based diet can reverse chronic diseases like diabetes, some cancers, mounting evidence shows
Members of Murrysville support group are using a whole-food plant-based diet to defeat cancer, diabetes, and other chronic conditions.

Wolf again calls on legislators to create independent commission to draw electoral maps
HARRISBURG — A week after two courts decided not to intervene in a challenge to Pennsylvania’s redrawn congressional district boundaries,

An alien star sideswiped our solar system and sent comets reeling, scientists say
Even though Scholz’s star is just 20 light-years from Earth it appeared to move incredibly slowly across the night sky.

Engineers compete to detect methane leaks — a powerful climate pollutant
Finding methane leaks has been expensive. But the cost of not finding them might be even higher.

A self-taught rocket scientist who believes the Earth is flat blasts off into the California sky
“Mad” Mike Hughes propelled himself about 1,875 feet into the air before a hard-landing in the Mojave Desert that left him injured.

Arctic sea ice missed a record low this winter. Barely.
The maximum extent of Arctic sea ice cover this winter was the second-lowest since satellite record-keeping began, researchers said Friday.

New United Nations reports see a lonelier planet with fewer plants and animals
WASHINGTON — Earth is losing plants, animals and clean water at a dramatic rate, according to four new United Nations scientific reports

A tiny skeleton found in Chile might look like an alien, but her genes tell a different story
Everybody “is born with mutations,” said Stanford University geneticist Garry Nolan. “This person just happened to roll snake eyes.”

Plastic within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is ‘increasing exponentially,’ scientists find
Seventy-nine thousand tons of plastic debris, in the form of 1.8 trillion pieces, now occupy an area three times the size of France.

12,000 black engineers are in Pittsburgh to create diversity in technical careers
The organization is focused on helping to graduate 10,000 black engineers annually by 2025.
