Conspiracy theories and Mars probes

Physics Org

NASA Undersea Mission Begins - Three astronauts and a Constellation Program aerospace engineer began a 10-day NASA mission in the ocean depths off the Florida coast Aug. 6. They will test lunar exploration concepts and a suite of long-duration spaceflight medical objectives.

Phoenix Heads for Mars - A Delta II rocket lit up the early morning sky over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida as it carried the Phoenix spacecraft on the first leg of its journey to Mars. The Phoenix Mars lander's assignment is to dig through the Martian soil and ice in the arctic region and use its onboard scientific instruments to analyze the samples it retrieves.

Gore: Polluters Manipulate Climate Info - Research aimed at disputing the scientific consensus on global warming is part of a huge public misinformation campaign funded by some of the world's largest carbon polluters, former Vice President Al Gore said Tuesday. Gore likened the campaign to the millions of dollars spent by U.S. tobacco companies years ago on creating the appearance of scientific debate on smoking's harmful effects.

Scientists Make Flexible, Polymer-Based Data Storage - The future of the electronics industry is believed by many to lie in organic materials – polymers that conduct electricity. Because they are ultra lightweight, flexible, and low-cost, they may lead to a whole new class of electronic technologies. As part of this movement, scientists recently developed a polymer-based, flexible type of data storage that displays promising information-storing characteristics.

New Scientist - Energy and Fuels

Buoys flex artificial muscles for renewable energy - Artificial muscles are being used to turn the ocean's waves into electrical power in a novel pilot project off the coast of Florida, US. The "muscles" produce electricity as they bob up and down attached to buoys. Although they only generate enough power to light a small light bulb currently, the scientists involved see it as a first step to implementing a new, cheap technology for harvesting renewable energy from the ocean.

New Scientist Tech - Weapons Technology

Bush's push for new nuclear weapons - A statement just submitted to Congress by the Secretaries of Energy, Defense, and State argues that if the "Reliable Replacement Warhead" plan isn't approved, the US might have to re-test cold war stocks, breaching its moratorium. Critics say the new nukes are not needed and will antagonise other countries. So far, Congress has sided with the critics, slashing the proposed budget and calling for detailed preliminary studies.

National Geographic News

Russia Plants Underwater Flag, Claims Arctic Seafloor - Russia has laid claim to the seafloor at the North Pole, planting its national flag underwater in the hopes of securing the Arctic's potential motherlode of natural resources. In an unprecedented dive beneath the ice, two three-person submersibles descended 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) to the bottom, where one symbolically dropped a titanium capsule containing a Russian flag.

Photo Gallery: Ancient Rome Reborn in 3-D - In a view fit for the ancient gods, the buildings and monuments of Rome sprawl across the countryside circa A.D. 320, arguably the height of the city's glory as the capital of the Roman Empire. The scene is part of a recently completed project called Rome Reborn, a detailed digital reconstruction said to be the world's largest computer simulation.