One-way ticket on Mars
In what could be a journey of no return, the Mars rover Opportunity plunged over the rim of Endurance crater, a bowl the size of a football stadium, to study exposed bedrock. The crater walls may be too steep and dusty for it to climb, so NASAhas devised a route back up that will try to keep the rover on rock rather than loose soil.
CJD in Italy
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A second case of vCJD, the human form of mad cow disease, is suspected in Italy. Brain scans of a 30-year-old woman admitted to a Palermo clinic matched those of a 27-year-old woman who last August became the first Italian victim.
More fish in the sea
Fish stocks in US coastal waters are showing some signs of recovery. The number of species being overfished dropped from 66 to 60 last year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told Congress on Wednesday. Populations of 76 species remain depleted, a drop of 10 from 2002.
Anthrax mix-up
Researchers have been exposed to live anthrax bacteria following an mix-up with a supplier. 杏吧原创s at the Children鈥檚 Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California had ordered dead anthrax bacteria as part of a project to develop a vaccine, but were mailed live bacteria instead. They found out when several lab mice died after receiving jabs. Exposed staff are being given antibiotics and are doing well, the institute said on 10 June.
Off-road rampage
Off-road vehicles damage wilderness areas, but government agencies cannot be compelled by US courts to stop them. The unanimous ruling by the Supreme Court dashed the hopes of environmental groups, who had sought to force the Bureau of Land Management to safeguard some 800,000 hectares of undeveloped land in Utah popular with off-roaders.