Astronomers in England have discovered a supermassive black hole many times larger than should be possible.
In astrophysics, very few rules are hard and fast. There are mostly just loose parameters, theories and informed expectations -- expectations that are constantly being subverted by newly discovered phenomena.
Supermassive black hole bigger than scientists thought was possible
FDA: Start-up's cancer blood test may be harmful
A San Diego company selling an early cancer detection test was notified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration it can find no evidence the test actually works, and is concerned it could prove to be harmful for some people.
Pathway Genomics debuted its CancerIntercept test in early September with claims it can detect cancer cell DNA in the blood, picking up mutations linked to as many as 10 different cancers. The goal is to catch cancer early in people who are "otherwise healthy" and not showing symptoms of the disease.
Brain-computer connection helps paralyzed man walk
A man's ability to walk using direct brain control of his legs was restored after years of being paralyzed, researchers reported in a proof-of-concept study.
The system uses electrical signals from the man's brain, sending them to electrodes placed on his knees, allowing him to voluntarily move his legs.
Previous research has shown paralysis patients can be made to move their legs with noninvasive treatments, however this study used virtual reality training and a harness system, rather than an exoskeleton to help the man support his weight.
Caterpillar says it could cut 10,000 jobs to reduce costs
Caterpillar is planning another round of job cuts that could exceed 10,000 people through 2018, as the construction and mining equipment maker adjusts to downturns in key markets that it serves.
That could amount to more than 8 percent of the 126,800 employees it had globally as of June.
The Peoria, Illinois, company said Thursday that it will cut as many as 5,000 people mostly by the end of this year from its salaried and management workforce. It then could cut thousands more, raising the total cuts above 10,000, as it figures out which factories and manufacturing sites to close through 2018.
Turing Pharmaceuticals decreasing Daraprim drug price after outrage
Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, announced he will reduce the price for Daraprim, a drug used to treat toxoplasmosis, after an earlier 5,000 percent price increase that generated mass criticism and accusations of drug-price gouging.
Shkreli, 32, told NBC News the new price would be determined in the coming weeks. He said lowering the price was a decision taken in reaction to the outrage over Daraprim's price surge.
The pope at White House: Climate change action can't wait
Jumping into the issues of the day, Pope Francis opened his visit to the United States with a strong call Wednesday for action to combat climate change, calling it a problem that "can no longer be left to a future generation." President Barack Obama, in turn, hailed the pontiff as a moral force who is "shaking us out of our complacency" with reminders to care for the poor and the planet.
The White House mustered all the pageantry it had to offer as the pope arrived at the White House before an adoring crowd of thousands and a nation that seemingly cannot get enough of the humble pontiff who is rejuvenating American Catholicism while giving heartburn to some of its conservatives.
Clinton comes out against Keystone XL
Hillary Clinton says she opposes building the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Clinton, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for president, made the announcement Tuesday after years of pressure from environmentalists to oppose the project.
“I think it is imperative that we look at the Keystone pipeline, as what I think it is, as a distraction to the important work we have to do on climate change,” Clinton said Tuesday at a campaign event in Iowa. "And unfortunately, from my perspective, on that interferes with our ability to move forward with all the other issues."
Building the Bomb: The full story of the Nevada test site
The US conducted most of its early nuclear tests in the Pacific, but they became too costly to continue so in 1950, the US government began to look for a safe place to test nuclear weapons on its mainland.
The Nevada Test Site was established a few years after the end of the second world war, against the fear of an all-out nuclear attack from the Soviet Union. As the Cold War took hold, America needed a convenient place to design and build its nuclear arsenal.
In clash with pope's climate call, U.S. Church leases drilling rights
Casting the fight against climate change as an urgent moral duty, Pope Francis in June urged the world to phase out highly-polluting fossil fuels.
Yet in the heart of U.S. oil country several dioceses and other Catholic institutions are leasing out drilling rights to oil and gas companies to bolster their finances, Reuters has found.
And in one archdiocese -- Oklahoma City -- Church officials have signed three new oil and gas leases since Francis's missive on the environment, leasing documents show.
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