AP Science News

Seattle team wins $900,000 in Space Elevator Games
A space elevator may not be rocket science but it can be just as complicated _ and rewarding.

Sea lions killed, but Columbia salmon toll rises
Killing or removing 25 California sea lions over the past two years has not reduced the toll on salmon at the base of Bonneville Dam in the Columbia River.

Genetic tests for UK asylum seekers draw criticism
Britain is using genetic tests on some African asylum seekers in an effort to catch those who are lying about their nationality, drawing criticism from scientists and provoking outrage from rights groups.

World leaders needed at talks to cut climate deal
After two years of tough U.N. climate talks often pitting the world's rich against the poor, negotiators said Friday a new global agreement now rides on industrial nations pledging profound emissions cuts next month in Copenhagen.

New gene therapy halts 2 boys' rare brain disease
French scientists mixed gene therapy and bone marrow transplants in two boys to seemingly halt a brain disease that can kill by adolescence. The surprise ingredient: They disabled the HIV virus so it couldn't cause AIDS, and then used it to carry in the healthy new gene.

Study: Man-eating lions consumed 35 people in 1898
The nightly attacks by two man-eating lions terrified railway workers and brought construction to a halt in one of east Africa's most notorious onslaughts more than a hundred years ago. But the death toll, scientists now say, wasn't as high as previously thought.

Snow cap disappearing from Mount Kilimanjaro
The snows of Kilimanjaro may soon be gone. The African mountain's white peak _ made famous by writer Ernest Hemingway _ is rapidly melting, researchers report.

France hunts for security driver in big bank heist
French police conducted a nationwide search Friday for a security driver who vanished with euro11 million ($7.4 million) in cash from a bank in the central city of Lyon, authorities said.

Over 17,000 species threatened by extinction
A rare Panamanian tree frog, a rodent from Madagascar and two lizards found only in the Philippines are among over 17,000 species threatened with extinction, a leading environmental group said Tuesday.