News

  1. Tech

    Dawn of the commercial space age

    On Oct. 4, a privately funded, piloted craft called SpaceShipOne reached a height of 378,000 feet (115.1 kilometers), breaking a world altitude record for rocket-powered planes and claiming the $10 million Ansari X prize.

    By Sid Perkins
  2. Astronomy

    Planet Signs? Sifting a dusty disk

    Infrared spectra of a disk of debris surrounding the young star Beta Pictoris reveals three distinct bands of dust, suggesting the location of a possible planet flanked by belts of asteroids or comets.

    By Ron Cowen
  3. Health & Medicine

    Carotid Overhaul: Stents and surgery go neck and neck

    Mesh cylinders called stents work as well as or slightly better than surgery in opening blocked carotid arteries in high-risk patients.