Most Emailed - Science

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - After a poignant wake-up song requested by wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords for her astronaut husband, Endeavour and the two other space shuttles each marked milestones Tuesday for the retiring fleet. Full Story »

PARIS (AFP) - A rocky world orbiting a nearby star has been confirmed as the first planet outside our solar system to meet key requirements for sustaining life, scientists said on Monday. Full Story »

The May 21 Judgment Day meme is the brainchild of an 89-year-old radio evangelist named Harold Camping. Using a mathematical system of his own creation to interpret obscure prophecies in the Bible, Camping originally predicted that Sept. 6, 1994 would be Judgment Day, or the day of the "Rapture" when Christian believers will ascend to heaven, leaving the rest of humanity to its deservedly dreary fate. Full Story »

A rocky alien planet called Gliese 581d may be the first known world beyond Earth capable of supporting life as we know it, a new study suggests. Full Story »

An archaeological team in the Bayuda Desert in northern Sudan has discovered dozens of new rock art drawings, some of which were etched more than 5,000 years ago and reveal scenes that scientists can't explain. Full Story »

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Spectators on the ground got a stunted view of space shuttle Endeavour's final launch Monday (May 16) when it vanished into a ceiling of clouds shortly after liftoff. However, some lucky passengers who happened to be in the air at the time saw the fantastic sight of the shuttle streaking its way to orbit. Full Story »

Computer users with messy desktops are more likely to be liberal, educated city-dwellers who are career-minded and good at math, while those that keep their computer icons neat and tidy are more likely to be young tech-savvy suburbanites that say their personal life is more important than work. At least according to a new survey. Full Story »

LONDON - An Egyptian princess who lived more than 3,500 years ago is the oldest known person to have had clogged arteries, dispelling the myth that heart disease is a product of modern society, a new study says. Full Story »

Even though famed physicist Stephen Hawking announced he doesn't believe in an afterlife and that heaven is a "fairy story for people afraid of the dark," that doesn't mean we'll stop believing, psychologists say. Full Story »

A newly released satellite image reveals Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey at 15 million inhabitants, is quickly becoming a "megacity" covering almost 700 square miles (1,800 square kilometers). Full Story »

BRUSSELS - The Iberian lynx that prowls the grasslands of southern Spain. The Mediterranean monk seal swimming waters off Greece and Turkey. The Bavarian pine vole that forages in the high meadows of the Alps. Full Story »

Most people go through their daily lives assuming that tomorrow will be a lot like today. No pits of fire will open up, society won't collapse, and the world, most likely, won't end. Full Story »

Ancient trees reveal that the El Niño and La Niña events that wreak havoc on climate worldwide have been even more extreme than anyone knew, a revelation that suggests wilder swings in the future as the world gets warmer. Full Story »

McDonald's restaurants in Europe will soon be swapping the chain's legendary "service with a smile" with "service with a beep." European McDonald's restaurants are preparing to replace cashiers with touch screen computers at terminals where customers will be able to order up their hamburgers and fries and pay with credit cards. Full Story »

Another day, another political sex scandal. This time, it's former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger acknowledging this week that he fathered a child with a member of his household staff more than a decade ago. Full Story »

The mysterious face of the Mona Lisa may be lying under a few feet of cement in a decrepit convent in Florence, Italy. Researchers are currently searching for the bones of what might turn out to be Lisa Gherardini Del Giocondo, the woman many art historians believe to be the inspiration of the iconic painting. Full Story »

An ancient Egyptian princess would have needed bypass surgery if she'd lived today, according to researchers who examined the mummy and found blocked arteries in her heart in what's now the oldest case of human heart disease. Full Story »

A team of researchers from Microsoft has discovered a home automation system that could eliminate costly rewiring and outsmart even the smartest appliances. Full Story »