TOKYO – Japan‘s oldest giant panda, Ling Ling, a longtime star at Tokyo‘s largest zoo and a symbol of friendship with China, died Wednesday of heart failure, zookeepers said. Ling Ling was 22 years and seven months old, equivalent to about 70 human years, the Ueno Zoo said. It said he was the fifth-oldest known […]

««  Read More      Comments Off on Ling Ling, Japan’s oldest giant panda, dies of heart failure

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Marine scientists studying the carcass of a rare colossal squid said Wednesday they had measured its eye at about 11 inches across — bigger than a dinner plate — making it the largest animal eye on Earth. One of the squid’s two eyes, with a lens as big as an orange, […]

««  Read More      Comments Off on Giant squid has world’s largest eyes

CHICAGO (UPI) — The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered major retailers to pull certain types of Scotts Miracle-Gro products from their shelves. The EPA ordered Home Depot, Lowe’s, Wal-Mart, Ace, Do-It-Best, True Value, Sam’s Club, Meijer and K-Mart to stop selling and distributing “illegal, unregistered and misbranded” Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed All Purpose […]

««  Read More      Comments Off on EPA calls for Miracle-Gro pesticide recall

WASHINGTON (UPI) — The United States’ three-ship space shuttle fleet faces “significant challenges” in its future orbiter work, the U.S. government has warned. The Government Accountability Office told Congress that completing construction and continuing operation of the $31 billion International Space Station raised the possibility of severe cutbacks, the Houston Chronicle reported from Washington. Cristina […]

««  Read More      Comments Off on NASA faces long odds in shuttle schedule

COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (UPI) — U.S. scientists say they have clarified a complex series of biochemical steps involved in abnormal cell proliferation that can lead to cancer. The Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.) Laboratory researchers said they used the adenovirus — a DNA tumor virus that causes the common cold, but whose genome contains known […]

««  Read More      Comments Off on Cancer scientists study the adenovirus

WASHINGTON (UPI) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first prodrug designed for once-daily treatment of adults with ADHD. Although ADHD — attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder — is often thought of as a childhood malady, it’s estimated 4.4 percent of U.S. adults ages 18-to-44 suffer from it. The new drug, Vyvanse, has been […]

««  Read More      Comments Off on New adult ADHD drug receives FDA approval

HOUSTON (UPI) — A U.S. optometrist says he has developed a series of tests designed to replace the standard eye chart to gauge athletes’ special visual abilities. University of Houston Assistant Professor Kevin Gee said athletes need above average vision to engage their special skills. To that end, Gee founded the Sports Vision Performance Center, […]

««  Read More      Comments Off on Special eye tests are created for athletes

NORWICH, England (UPI) — A British scientist says he’s developed a mathematical model that suggests the odds of finding life on another Earth-like planet are very low. University of East Anglia Professor Andrew Watson said an evolutionary limit is the habitability of Earth-like planets that will end as their star brightens. Scientists say the future […]

««  Read More      Comments Off on Study: Alien life might be non-existent

CLEVELAND (UPI) — U.S. biologists say a Swinhoe’s soft-shell turtle — thought to be extinct in nature — has been found in northern Vietnam. Vietnam researchers, sponsored by the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and the Cleveland Zoological Society, identified the only known specimen living in the wild of the critically endangered giant soft-shell turtle Rafetus swinhoei. […]

««  Read More      Comments Off on Turtle believed extinct found in Vietnam

OTTAWA (UPI) — Canada became the first country to declare the widely used chemical bisphenol A unsuitable for use in baby bottles and set a ban mechanism in motion Friday. Health Minister Tony Clement and Environment Minister John Baird made the announcement in Ottawa, and said there will 60 days of public consultations before further […]

««  Read More      Comments Off on Canada to ban BPA baby bottles