Science News

AP - The helicopter passes over the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico — with surprisingly little oil visible on its surface — when out of the sea rises a skyscraper-like structure nearly 350 feet above the waves. The $600 million rig, nearly 100 miles off Louisiana's coast, has a hull larger than a football field and can drill more than 5 miles beneath the ocean floor.

AP - Tropical Storm Bonnie left crews working to plug the Gulf oil gusher a little memento that is expected to push their work back about a day.

AFP - Incoming BP boss Bob Dudley will next week fly to Moscow to meet shareholders of its Russian joint venture TNK-BP, as relations thaw between the two companies, the Financial Times said on Saturday.

AP - Severe storms were expected to continue sweeping through the Central U.S. on Saturday following a low pressure system moving eastward.

AP - Officials investigating the cause of a huge oil spill along a major river in southern Michigan say it will take months to clean up the mess, and damage to wetlands and wildlife may last considerably longer.

AP - The most threatened tortoise in the world is being sold openly at a plant and animal exposition in the heart of Indonesia's capital, highlighting concerns about the rampant — and growing — illegal pet trade.

AP - One of every 15 New Yorkers battled bedbugs last year, officials said Wednesday as they announced a plan to fight the spreading infestation, including a public-awareness campaign and a top entomologist to head the effort.

AP - Scientists from around the world are providing even more evidence of global warming, one day after President Barack Obama renewed his call for climate legislation.

AFP - European regulators authorised on Wednesday the import of six types of genetically-modified maize for use in animal feed after governments were deadlocked over whether to ban or approve them.