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A giant softshell turtle known as Cu Rua that has been living in Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam, for more than a century is one of the last four members of its critically endangered species, Rafetus swinhoei . The freshwater animal weighs about 200 kilograms and is worshiped as a deity that protects the city, but neither its size nor its stature has prevented it from being injured recently by fishermen and an aggressive invasive species.

During the morning of April 6, our colleagues at Nature ran a live, online question-and-answer event about the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis . Visitors posted questions for Jim Smith, an environmental physicist from the University of Portsmouth, U.K., and Geoff Brumfiel, Nature’s senior physical sciences correspondent. Brian Owen served as moderator.

By Ewen Callaway of Nature magazine A retina made in a laboratory in Japan could pave the way for treatments for human eye diseases, including some forms of blindness. Created by coaxing mouse embryonic stem cells into a precise three-dimensional assembly, the 'retina in a dish' is by far and away the most complex biological tissue engineered yet, scientists say

Dear EarthTalk : Recently the U.N. voted to declare access to safe and clean water a “human right ” . Isn’t that a no-brainer

Battery technology hasn't kept pace with advancements in portable electronics, but the race is on to fix this.

* Nitrogen pumped into reactor to prevent hydrogen explosion * Nuclear crisis far from under control [More]

US physicists are to announce Wednesday that data from a major atom smasher lab may have revealed a new elementary particle, or potentially a new force of nature.

One of the great things about life in 2011 is the technology of television.

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Thirty years ago Alan H. Guth, then a struggling physics postdoc at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, gave a series of seminars in which he introduced “inflation” into the lexicon of cosmology

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, known for such exploits as trying to balloon around the world, said on Tuesday he planned to explore the deepest parts of the world's oceans with a jet-like submarine. The 18-foot vessel is capable of descents more than 36,000 feet below the surface, said Branson at a news conference in Newport Beach, California.

By Adam Mann of Nature magazine NASA should be revitalized "not just with dollars, but with clear aims and a larger purpose," US President Barack Obama said last April, after cancelling the previous administration's under-resourced Constellation programme of rockets and capsules for human space flight. [More]

By Declan Butler of Nature magazine Even as the damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station continue to leak radiation, researchers have begun laying the groundwork for studies that will look for any long-term effects on public health. Academic scientists face major obstacles as they try to collate baseline data on radiation doses in the face of the enormous disruption caused by the earthquake and tsunami that hit the country last month.

The 1.5-meter-long gash that opened up in the upper cabin of Friday's Southwest Airlines Flight 812 from Phoenix to Sacramento will have a deep impact on the nature and frequency of commercial aircraft maintenance. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a directive on Tuesday ordering about 175 Boeing 737 aircraft--80 of which are registered in the U.S., most of those operated by Southwest--to be inspected using an electromagnetic device that can identify metal fatigue. [More]