Satellite launcher Arianespace seeks to boost US business (AFP)

   

AFP - Europe's satellite launch group Arianespace hopes to boost its US business on rising demand for high-definition television, but said Thursday it remains locked out of lucrative US government contracts.

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Girl, 6, killed by tiger at Chinese zoo (AP)

   AP - A six-year-old girl was bitten to death by a tiger at a south China zoo while posing for a picture with the animal, state media reported Friday.
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Cheney criticizes China's arms buildup (AP)

   

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney said Friday that China's recent anti-satellite weapons test and a rapid military buildup were "not consistent" with its stated aim of a peaceful rise as a global power.

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Chimps use spears to hunt bushbabies (AP)

   

AP - Researchers have witnessed a chimpanzee skewering a lemur-like creature for supper, but it's unclear whether the spectacle was a bit of luck or an indication that chimps have a more advanced ability to hunt than was thought.

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Geometry meets arts in Islamic tiles (AP)

   AP - Those wondrously intricate tile mosaics that adorn medieval Islamic architecture may cloak a mastery of geometry not matched in the West for hundreds of years.
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No. 1 milk company says 'no' to clones (AP)

   AP - The nation's biggest milk company, Dean Foods, said Thursday it will refuse milk from cloned cows. The Food and Drug Administration gave preliminary approval to meat and milk from cloned animals and could grant final approval by the end of the year. Federal scientists say there is virtually no difference between clones and conventional cows, pigs or goats.
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New Zealand fishermen catch rare squid (AP)

   

AP - A fishing crew has caught a colossal squid that could weigh a half-ton and prove to be the biggest specimen ever landed, a fisheries official said Thursday.

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Indonesia eyes cement balls to stop mud (AP)

   

AP - Indonesian authorities will drop hundreds of giant concrete balls into a fissure Friday to try to stem a gushing mud eruption that has inundated villages and factories, an official said.

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Pair of snowy owls cause a flap

   Snowy owls have been seen together for the first time in more than 30 years, according to RSPB Scotland.
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Pair of snowy owls cause a flap

   Snowy owls have been seen together for the first time in more than 30 years, according to RSPB Scotland.
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Japan may resume whaling trip

   The fire on Japan's ship Nisshin Maru may not have ended its Antarctic whaling operations for this season.
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Car company demise hits science

   UK science becomes an unexpected victim of the Rover collapse as funds are clawed back from research.
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Russia funds health crisis plan

   Russia sets aside $3bn (£1.53bn) to tackle falling life expectancy rates and an epidemic of ill-health.
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Aborigines' court fight delayed

   A High Court case to stop tests on the remains of 17 Tasmanian Aborigines is deferred until 7 March.
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Chimpanzees 'hunt using spears'

   Chimpanzees have been observed making and using wooden spears to hunt other primates.
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Experts tackle the devil's tumour

   Scientists meet to discuss ways of saving the Tasmanian devil, which is being ravaged by an unusual cancer.
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Russia tackles mortality 'crisis'

   Russian ministers meet to tackle the problem of falling life expectancy, especially among men.
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Threat to ocean sharks increases

   Several species of ocean-going shark are more threatened than previously thought, scientists conclude.
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MPs urge sport drug test changes

   Britain's anti-doping chiefs hit back after an influential group of MPs said that an independent agency should take control of UK drugs testing.
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NZ fishermen land colossal squid

   New Zealand fishermen have caught what is expected to be a world-record-breaking colossal squid.
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Record power for military laser

   A laser designed for military use is close to hitting a power threshold thought necessary to turn it into a battlefield weapon.
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S&E Librarians @ Research Expo

   Where will the S&E Librarians be Thursday morning? Hanging out at the Jacobs School of Engineering Research Expo, of course!! We'll be checking out the grad student posters and selecting 2 posters to award Best Use of the Literature. Prize...
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