Science - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Claim of mammoth bones brings treasure hunters to New York City river

Ask people what you might find buried in the muck at the bottom of New York City's East River and they'd likely say "mob boss" before thinking of mammoth bones.

By DEEPTI HAJELA / Associated Press January 14, 2023

A skeleton of Mammuthus, the mammoth, is on display at the American Museum of Natural History, Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in New York. The mammoths were larger than their relatives the wooly mammoths and lacked their long hair. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Alzheimer’s drug approval ‘rife with irregularities,’ investigation finds

The Food and Drug Administration's contentious approval of a questionable Alzheimer's drug took another hit Thursday as congressional investigators called the process "rife with irregularities."

By The Associated Press December 30, 2022

A sign for the Food and Drug Administration is displayed outside their offices in Silver Spring, Md., on Dec. 10, 2020. The FDA’s contentious approval of a questionable Alzheimer’s drug took another hit Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022, as congressional investigators called the process “rife with irregularities.” (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Fusion breakthrough is a milestone for climate, clean energy

Scientists announced Tuesday that they have for the first time produced more energy in a fusion reaction than was used to ignite it — a major breakthrough in the decades-long quest to harness the process that powers the sun.

By MATTHEW DALY, MICHAEL PHILLIS, JENNIFER McDERMOTT and MADDIE BURAKOFF / Associated Press December 13, 2022

This undated image provided by the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory shows the NIF Target Bay in Livermore, Calif. The system uses 192 laser beams converging at the center of this giant sphere to make a tiny hydrogen fuel pellet implode. Officials at the Department of Energy say on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, there will be an announcement of a “major scientific breakthrough” on nuclear fusion. (Damien Jemison/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory via AP, File)

Could trawler cams help save world’s dwindling fish stocks?

For years, Mark Hager's job as an observer aboard New England fishing boats made him a marked man, seen as a meddling cop on the ocean, counting and scrutinizing every cod, haddock and flounder to enforce rules and help set crucial quotas.

By JOSHUA GOODMAN / Associated Press December 9, 2022

Mark Hager, left, positions a camera with the help of Anthony Lucia, right, as captain Al Cottone watches the feed on a monitor from his boat, the Sabrina Maria, in Gloucester, Mass., May 11, 2022. Hager's Maine-based startup, New England Maritime Monitoring, is one of a bevy of companies seeking to help commercial vessels comply with new federal mandates aimed at protecting dwindling fish stocks. But taking the technology overseas, where the vast majority of seafood consumed in the U.S. is caught, is a steep challenge. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Oldest DNA reveals life in Greenland 2 million years ago

Scientists discovered the oldest known DNA and used it to reveal what life was like 2 million years ago in the northern tip of Greenland.

By MADDIE BURAKOFF / AP Science Writer December 9, 2022

This illustration provided by researchers depicts Kap Kobenhavn, Greenland, two million years ago, when the temperature was significantly warmer than northernmost Greenland today. Scientists have analyzed 2-million-year-old DNA extracted from dirt samples in the area, revealing an ancient ecosystem unlike anything seen on Earth today, including traces of mastodons and horseshoe crabs roaming the Arctic. (Beth Zaiken via AP)

NASA capsule on way to moon after launch by giant new rocket

NASA's mightiest rocket lifts off 50 years after Apollo

By Marcia Dunn November 16, 2022

NASA's new moon rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Solar panel trouble on cargo capsule bound for space station

A Northrop Grumman cargo capsule ran into trouble with a solar panel after Monday's liftoff to the International Space Station.

By MARCIA DUNN / Associated Press November 8, 2022

Northrup Grumman's Antares rocket lifts off the launch pad at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, in Wallops Island. Va. The rocket is scheduled to deliver a supply capsule to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Equipment that’s designed to cut methane emission is failing

As Sharon Wilson pulled up to the BP site in Texas last June, production tanks towered above the windblown grass roughly 60 miles southeast of San Antonio. Cows and pumpjacks lined the roadsides.

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ / AP Energy Writer November 6, 2022

The screen on a thermal imaging camera shows methane leaking from tanks at a compressor station in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

NASA’s moon rocket returns to pad for next launch attempt

NASA's moon rocket is back on the pad for another launch attempt, following more repairs.

By Marcia Dunn November 5, 2022

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop the mobile launcher as it rolls out to Launch Pad 39B, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP)

Closest known black hole to Earth spotted by astronomers

Astronomers have discovered the closest known black hole to Earth, just 1,600 light-years away.