Scientists analyzing the surface of a giant asteroid are puzzling over bright spots that represent some of the purest materials seen so far by a NASA spacecraft.

NASA on Wednesday released new images of the asteroid Vesta taken by the orbiting Dawn spacecraft that show some places on the surface twice as bright as others.

Russian authorities said Wednesday they planned to start cleaning up toxic waste that was illegally dumped near a town after outraged residents appealed to the Kremlin.

A chemical company dumped 163 tons of carbon tetrachloride in an abandoned asphalt plant near the small town of Balezino in the Udmurtia region of central Russia.

Scientists are developing a robotic jellyfish which uses the limitless energy of sea water to power its movement, according to US Navy-backed research published on Wednesday.

"Robojelly" mimicks the action of the jellyfish, which uses a circular muscle to open out a bell-like body and then sharply close it, which expels water and moves the creature forward.

A powerful earthquake Tuesday that centered along the Pacific coast of southern Mexico occurred in a region with a history of unleashing damaging jolts, scientists say.

Since 1973, the seismically active coast has been rocked by 15 major quakes magnitude-7 or larger. The deadliest occurred in 1985 when a magnitude-8 struck, sending shock waves to Mexico City that killed thousands.

British billionaire Richard Branson said Monday his venture to launch paying tourists into space has netted its 500th customer, and it's none other than Ashton Kutcher.

Branson made the announcement on his blog, saying he gave the actor a quick call to congratulate him.

Greenhouse gases are likely to result in annual costs of nearly $2 trillion in damage to the oceans by 2100, according to a new Swedish study

The estimate by the Stockholm Environment Institute is based on the assumption that climate-altering carbon emissions continue their upward spiral without a pause.

Physicists looking at anomalies in Earth's gravity have turned to a garden gnome named Kern, which has been shipped around the globe to have himself weighed at locations ranging from Lima, Mumbai and Mexico to Sydney, New Caledonia and the South Pole.

The experiment is a twist on the "travelling gnome" prank, in which a garden ornament is mysteriously stolen, photographed at various locations -- with the pictures posted on the Internet -- and then returned home.

A former expert at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) claimed Monday he was falsely accused of harassing co-workers about religion, as he took the stand at an unfair dismissal trial.

Computer administrator David Coppedge, who describes himself as an evangelical Christian, was fired last year after expressing support for intelligent design to fellow employees.

An American archaeologist has used satellite images and a computer program to uncover thousands of ancient human settlements in Syria, according to a research study published Monday.

Software developed jointly by Harvard University professor Jason Ur and Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers can identify the remains of homes from the satellite images.

NASA has postponed the launch of a new X-ray telescope to allow more time to check an issue with the rocket that will boost it into orbit.

The space agency said Friday the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array will not launch this month as planned. A new launch date has not been set, but NASA expects it to occur sometime in the next two months.