A fossil uncovered in northwestern China has been identified as a new species of small bipedal theropod dinosaur, probably carnivorous, researchers said. George Washington University biologist James Clark and a team of international researchers, found the dinosaur specimen in a remote region...

Young people who send more than 100 texts a day are more likely than others to be shallow and uninterested in living an ethical life, Canadian researchers said. Psychologists in Winnipeg, Manitoba, conducted surveys for three consecutive years with freshmen psychology students at the...

A medical sensor attached to the skin like a temporary tattoo could help doctors detect metabolic problems, University of California, San Diego researchers say. The sensor that comes in a thin, flexible package shaped like a smiley face could also help coaches fine-tune athlete’s...

When a NASA official said last week data from an instrument on the Mars Curiosity rover suggested something “for the history books,” many people thought an announcement was imminent of the possible discovery of life on the Red Planet — until the space agency began to...

The United Nations, observing international World Science Day for Peace and Development Saturday, called for a greater global focus on scientific development. The day’s theme this year is ‘Science for Global Sustainability Interconnectedness, Collaboration, Transformation,”...

China is set to launch a manned spacecraft in June 2013, a space program official said Saturday. The spacecraft, Shenzhou-10, will likely have a crew of two male astronauts and one female astronaut, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported. “They will stay in space for 15 days,...

The giant pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus may have sported a 34-foot wingspan, but it needed to taxi down a slope to take off, U.S. researchers say. With that huge wingspan and a weight of 155 pounds the ancient flying reptile is the largest flying animal ever discovered — any larger, and it...

The Nokia Lumia 920 smartphone entered the U.S. market Friday, giving Microsoft another chance to garner some elusive smartphone market share, analysts say. The Nokia device is the first phone to be available with the Windows Phone 8 operating system on which Microsoft has spent hundreds of...

Corals attacked by toxic seaweed send out chemical calls for help to fish “bodyguards” that respond to trim back the poisonous seaweed, U.S. researchers say. Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology said these “mutualistic” inch-long fish called gobies respond...

British badgers could be vaccinated against tuberculosis that can spread to cattle — instead of being culled as planned — a parliamentary committee suggests. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said Friday it would examine the feasibility of giving the badgers and...

Customs officials in Russia say they’ve thwarted an attempt to smuggle 29 rare falcons, worth a total of about $127,000, out of the country. The Siberian customs department said two men, one from the United Arab Emirates and the other from Bangladesh, brought 29 falcons into Russia...

NASA says it is renaming a mission to study Earth’s radiation belts after James Van Allen, the U.S. astrophysicist who discovered them in 1958. The new name, the Van Allen Probes, replaces the previous name of Radiation Belt Storm Probes launched in August and was announced Friday during...

The British government says 11-year-old students taking primary school math tests will be banned from using calculators beginning in 2014. Education and Childcare Minister Elizabeth Truss said an over-reliance on calculators meant children were not being given a strong grounding in mental and...

Wikipedia says it has added video technology to its website, allowing users to add multimedia content to articles on the online encyclopedia. The video player, based on the HTML5 video protocol, has been in the works since 2008, but its introduction has suffered numerous delays caused by...

A South Korean nuclear power plant will be shut down for weeks as regulators investigate cracks found in control rod tunnels, officials said. The Korean Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. said there is no risk of radiation leaks but the shutdown of the Yonggwan reactor will present problems for...

Russia’s telecommunications watchdog said it has blacklisted more than 180 websites for offensive content and will block access to the sites within Russia. The Roskomnadzor agency, operating under a law approved by the Russian parliament in July, is creating a register of blacklisted...

NASA and the European Space Agency say they have tested an “interplanetary” communication network replicating some of the functions of the Internet. As part of the experiment, the crew of the International Space Station Expedition used a NASA-developed laptop to operate a small...

A court in South Africa sentenced a Thai man to 40 years in prison for organizing rhino poaching expeditions. Chumlong Lemtongthai, said by officials to be a “leading figure” in international rhino poaching, pleaded guilty to hiring prostitutes to take part in fake hunts during...

Britain’s government says it will increase its spending on space technology by $95 million in each of the next two years. Chancellor George Osborne announced the increase as part of a plan to expand Britain’s contribution to the European Space Agency, based in Paris. The plan will...

A University of Utah engineering professor say her smart insole design using sensors and gyroscopes can help correct walking abnormalities. Stacy Bamberg of the university’s department of mechanical engineering says her insole, which she calls the Rapid Rehab system, will eventually help...

A British designer says his fishing net dubbed SafetyNet could make the practice of commercial fishing far more sustainable by saving millions of fish annually. Millions of smaller non-target fish around the world die in current fishing nets every year, designer Dan Watson says, but the...

The top United Nations environment official has called on Kenya to act on a roadmap for reversing deforestation in the East African country. “Kenya has already signaled its intent to build up this natural capital as a vibrant and sustainable engine for growth and prosperity,” U.N....

U.S. and New Zealand officials say they’ve reached agreement on a proposal to establish the world’s largest marine protected area in the Antarctic’s Ross Sea. The two countries tentatively agreed on the joint proposal at the 31st meeting of the Commission for the Conservation...

European astronomers say they’ve discovered a planet orbiting a nearby sun at just the right distance for an Earth-like climate that could support life. The star, 44 light years away has three planets, they said, and one of them is in the so-called Goldilocks Zone, the limited band of...

Democrats and Republicans find common ground when it come to purchasing consumer electronics devices like cellphones and MP3 players, a U.S. survey found. A survey by the Consumer Electronics Association found no partisan divide among Americans on spending for technology and ownership of...

Ash trees dying in a fungal disease epidemic in Britain should not be chopped down but allowed to live, as they are still good for wildlife, experts say. Ash dieback disease, or chalara fraxinea — thought to have come to Britain on the wind and in tree imports from continental Europe...

A British man who lost his right arm in an accident says the bionic arm he’s been given is so precise he can dress himself for the first time in six years. Nigel Ackland, 53, has been fitted with a carbon fiber mechanical hand he can control with muscles in his upper arm to type on a...

Crocodile and alligator jaws are more sensitive than human fingertips and their sense of touch is among the most acute among animals, U.S. researchers say. Scientists, writing in the Journal of Experimental Biology, say the animals’ jaws, covered with small, pigmented bumps that dot...

MasterCard says it is introducing a credit card with an LCD display and a keyboard with touch-sensitive buttons that would allow entering banking passwords. The high-tech card, which will be launched in Singapore in January before being offered globally, features the ability to create a...

Work to re-purpose a launch complex at Florida’s Cape Canaveral to support human space flights could create 250 to 300 new jobs, officials say. United Launch Alliance, the company that provides launch services for NASA, said it has selected Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Orlando to...