New alarms are sounding over signs that China may be developing space weapons, reinforcing suspicions that the People's Liberation Army is increasingly interested in the final frontier as a theater of war.
Scientists say they are more confident than ever that they can successfully build and operate a planned experimental fusion reactor, a necessary step for fusion energy to prove the technology's commercial potential.
Scientists hope to speed space travel by using a series of satellites, each emitting a high-powered plasma beam. That beam can push a spacecraft forward rapidly from satellite to satellite. Researchers say that MagBeam technology can reduce the travel time to Mars from roughly six months to 40 days.
Peter N. Spotts argues that better technology and robust funding is the required fuel to help in the search for intelligent life beyond Earth.
Researchers are experimenting with mosquito genetics to see if the creature's genes can be changed or controlled in ways that destroy the malaria parasites it carries before it can pass them on to people.
Orbiting junk, from old satellites to space gloves, has scientists worried for spacecraft - and engineers working on ways to clean it up.
As nanotech goes commercial, environmental groups worry about its effect on health and safety. Long term, analysts say, society will have to confront a broad set of ethical and social issues as it deals with humanity's growing ability to manipulate atoms, molecules, and biology's genetic code. The real crunch may come if researchers manage to merge nanotechnology and biotechnology.
Military and civilian researchers are paying increased attention to turbulence in Earth's ionosphere, which can weaken navigation, intelligence, and other signals until they vanish under useless noise. While solar storms can aggravate these effects, they can appear almost daily with or without a major solar eruption.
A smoldering global debate over human cloning is likely to flare following a report this week that researchers in South Korea have for the first time cloned human embryos and used them to produce a type of cell widely regraded as a potential key to treating a range of diseases.
New research on weather modification is forcing scientists to take another look at the ethical and policy questions involved including its use as a weapon.