Authorities Sunday imposed restrictions on the water supply to several towns and cities in northwest Mexico, after toxic substances from a nearby mine reportedly turned a river orange, killing fish and livestock.

A monster earthquake that struck Chile in 2010 also unleashed minor "icequakes" in Antarctica nearly 4,700 kilometers (2,900 miles) to the south, scientists said on Sunday.

China will launch its first recoverable moon orbiter later this year, the government announced Sunday, in the latest step in its ambitious space program.

The mission will be launched before the end of the year and will travel to the moon before returning to earth, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) said in a statement on Sunday.

A group of wine cooperatives in southwest France has joined forces with leading scientists to "liberate" the flavors most prized by consumers in growing wine markets, from China to the U.S.

Russia's drastic ban on food imports from Europe has claimed it first victims -- the rather choosy animals at Moscow zoo.

Keepers at the zoo, one of Europe's oldest, are scrambling to adjust the menus for its animals, which rely heavily on Dutch vegetables and Polish apples.

Sending heavier vehicles and, eventually, humans to Mars requires first testing new technologies to see if they actually work.

But it's infeasible to conduct experiments on the red planet, so to mimic Mars' low-density atmosphere, NASA sent a saucer-like test vehicle high above the Earth.

Canada has sent two icebreakers to the High Arctic to gather scientific data in support of its plan to bid for control of the sea floor under and beyond the North Pole.

The coast guard vessels Terry Fox and Louis St. Laurent set out Friday on a six-week journey that will take them to the eastern side of the Lomonosov Ridge, a long undersea feature that runs from near Ellesmere Island in Nunavut northward over the pole.

Paleontologists are completing their first excavation in 30 years inside an unusual U.S. cave thought to hold the remains of tens of thousands of ancient animals that fell to their deaths.

Bones they've found in the Wyoming cave could include those of North American lions, short-faced bears and other now-extinct species from 25,000 years ago.

The last raindrop fell three months ago, forcing Carlos Roman to take his cattle further and further away to find water and keep them alive in Nicaragua's northeastern farmlands.

Widespread use of sleeping pills by slumber-deprived astronauts could hamper vigilance in the high-risk environment of space, a study warned on Friday.