Mars

Dust devils greet Mars lander; Carbon nanotubes measure spiciness; Autism linked to schizophrenia ... and more

Wind gusts might be rare in the thin Martian atmosphere, but that doesn't stop the Red Planet from kicking up a mean sandstorm every five years or so.

Planetary scientist resigns less than a year after being appointed to run NASA's budget-strapped science office

Mainstream Economics and the Environmental Crisis

Andrew Knoll, professor of earth and planetary sciences at Harvard, points out the reason we know so much about the conditions that might have or probably wouldn't have supported any microbial life on Mars: food scientists trying to keep our food free of deadly microbes. Steve Mirsky reports from the AAAS conference in Boston.

Organic molecules inside space rock were probably the result of plain old chemistry

Devoting all the funding to just one mission would be a mistake

Extended missions to the moon or Mars mean that astronauts may need improved medical care and even the ability to perform surgery in space

New pix throw cold water on reports of recently flowing streams

Will the sun destroy Earth? Astronomers come closer to an answer.

A reinterpretation of old Mars lander data leads a researcher to conclude that the tests actually may have found life signs. Steve Mirsky reports.

Mars and Its Canals. By Percival Lowell. Illustrated. The Macmillan Company. New York and London, 1907. Octavo. Pp. 393.