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AP Science NewsBrief at 7:17 p.m. EDT
(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Mars lander poised to bake soil, then test itLOS ANGELES (AP) _ The Phoenix lander is getting ready to sniff the Martian soil for signs of life-friendly elements after scooping up a handful of dirt near the north pole, researchers said Friday. New photos sent back by the spacecraft show its 8-foot-long robotic arm hovering over a miniature oven, ready to dump seven tablespoons inside where the soil sample will be heated and studied for its chemistry.
Japan's space lab about to get biggerCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) _ The space station's huge new Japanese lab got even bigger Friday when the astronauts attached an attic to it for extra storage. The attic _ essentially a 14-foot shed, or closet, for spare tools and equipment _ was popped atop the 37-foot Kibo science laboratory by astronauts operating the international space station's robot arm. "Nice work," Mission Control radioed.
Eagle wounded by poacher gets new beak, new lookST. MARIES, Idaho (AP) _ More than three years after a poacher shot off her upper beak, a bald eagle named Beauty can finally live up to her name _ with the help of volunteers. A team attached an artificial beak to the 15-pound eagle in mid-May, improving her appearance and, more importantly, helping her grasp food. "She's got a grill," joked Nate Calvin, the Boise engineer who spent 200 hours designing the complex beak.
Endangered bird in Australia making comebackBANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ Australian officials say they are having success with a captive breeding program aimed at saving an endangered native bird, the regent honeyeater. Twenty-seven of the yellow and black birds were fitted with radio transmitters and released May 1 into Chiltern Mount Pilot National Park in Victoria state. The site, about 300 miles (500 kilometers) southwest of Sydney, was picked because it is home to the box and ironbark forests the birds prefer.
NOAA: Caribbean monk seal becomes extinctHONOLULU (AP) _ The Caribbean monk seal has gone extinct. The sea mammal had long been thought to be extinct, but the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration on Friday said it was official.
Ancient Greek grave found during subway workATHENS, Greece (AP) _ Greek authorities say subway construction work in the northern city of Thessaloniki has unearthed an ancient grave with a wealth of golden jewelry. The 2,300-year old grave contained a female skeleton, accompanied by four gold wreaths and gold earrings in the shape of dogs' heads set with semiprecious stones.
Egypt uncovers 'missing' pyramid of a pharaohSAQQARA, Egypt (AP) _ Egyptian archaeologists unveiled on Thursday a 4,000-year-old "missing pyramid" that is believed to have been discovered by an archaeologist almost 200 years ago and never seen again. Zahi Hawass, Egypt's antiquities chief, said the pyramid appears to have been built by King Menkauhor, an obscure pharaoh who ruled for only eight years.
NASA chief urges Europe to build manned spaceshipPARIS (AP) _ NASA encouraged Europe on Thursday to develop its own manned spaceship, which would give the world _ and particularly the U.S. _ another way of reaching the international space station. Europe became "a full-fledged space power," the agency's administrator said, when flight controllers at a European Space Agency center guided an unmanned cargo ship to the international space station in April, successfully delivering food, water and clothes.
Study: $45 trillion needed to combat warmingTOKYO (AP) _ The world needs to invest $45 trillion in energy in coming decades, build some 1,400 nuclear power plants and vastly expand wind power in order to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to an energy study released Friday. The report by the Paris-based International Energy Agency envisions a "energy revolution" that would greatly reduce the world's dependence on fossil fuels while maintaining steady economic growth.
Toyota develops new fuel cell hybridTOKYO (AP) _ Toyota has developed a new fuel cell hybrid, a green car powered by hydrogen and electricity, that can travel more than twice the distance of its predecessor model without filling up, the automaker said Friday. The improved model's maximum cruising range is 516 miles (830 kilometers) compared with 205 miles (330 kilometers) for Toyota's previous fuel cell model, the maker of the Camry sedan and Lexus luxury cars said in a statement.
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