Articles By Roxanne Palmer

What We've Left On The Moon: Flags, Space Probes, Golf Balls And Statues

If the Chinese bring a flag to plant when they land on the moon in 2013, they won't be the first: American astronauts on the Apollo missions have planted six flags already. And according to recent scientific observations, five of them still stand upright.

Baby Seal Deaths Attributed To New Bird Flu Strain

A virus that jumped from birds to seals turns out to have adaptations that could make it transmissible to humans as well.

Was Chivalry Lost At Sea? Study Says Shipwrecked Women And Children Were Often Left Behind

A new study looking at shipwrecks across 300 years finds that male passengers and crew members were much more likely to survive accidents at sea than women and children.

Water On Mars? Polygons Likely Formed Underneath Ancient Sea

Researchers compared images of deep-water polygonal formations on Earth's sea floor to data on similar Martian formations, and conclude that they were likely formed by similar geological processes.

Samples from competing athletes at London 2012 will be taken to laboratory in Harlow for testing

London Olympics Drug Testing Aims To Cast Widest Net Of Any Games

More than 5,000 blood and urine samples will be tested for banned substances at this year's Olympics, more than any previous games.

Peering Deep Into Space With ... A Roll Of Tape?

One NASA scientist thinks that tape could be good for more than just fixing book pages -- we could use it to make a mirror that could allow us to glimpse the fiery hearts of galaxy clusters.

Queer Science, From Alan Turing To Sally Ride

We may think of academics as a liberal, open-minded lot, but lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender scientists have had as rocky a road to acceptance in the scientific community as they've had in other segments of society.

Beetle Horns Get Size Enhancement From Insulin: Study

Researchers found that interfering with insulin signaling pathways made the horns of rhinoceros beetles significantly smaller than normal.

Runners Going Barefoot For Injury Prevention, Many Without Coaching, Survey Finds

Even though the jury's still out on the health benefits of barefoot or minimalist-shoe running, a new survey found that runners are primarily interested in barefoot running because they think it will help them avoid future injury.