An interesting bit on efforts to clone a giant redwood tree and plant saplings from that tree in an effort to increase the amount of carbon absorbed from the environment.

Over the last few days a thick, grey fog has enveloped the Chinese capital, sending levels of particulate matter - the unit of measuring air pollution - into deeply hazardous territory. Levels of particulate matter 2.5, which can penetrate human lungs and cause respiratory ailments, heart attacks and other health impacts, peaked near 600 micrograms per cubic meter of air in the city. The World Health Organization standard for healthy air is just 25 micrograms per cubic meter.

Since its inception in 1958, NASA has accomplished some pretty spectacular feats of science. Our country has landed humans on the Moon six times. We've successfully put laboratories onto the surface of Mars, and we've flown by every single planet in our solar system, including the recently promoted asteroid-turned-dwarf planet, Ceres.
Despite decades of scientific and technological achievements, some people still think that funding NASA is a waste of money. However, when you do the calculations, it turns out we are actually getting a great value from this government-run agency.

As soon as NASA announced finding evidence of liquid water on Mars last month, speculation erupted that scientists may be able to answer the age-old question: Is there life on Mars?

Technically, we already know the answer.

"The answer is, 'Yes,' and it's probably our own life," says David J. Smith, a scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View.

Here on Earth, bacteria cover every surface we touch. And despite efforts to keep spacecraft as clean as possible, bacteria have likely hitchhiked all the way to Mars on NASA missions. Bacterial contamination was detected on the rovers that have driven across the red Martian desert.