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SpaceX Postpones First Satellite Launch

Private U.S. company SpaceX postponed the launch of a rocket carrying its first telecommunications satellite on Thursday after two unsuccessful attempts at take-off.

The launch at a U.S. Air Force base in Cape Canaveral, Florida was moved to Thursday after an attempt on Monday was aborted.

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China Desert Lake Shrinks by One-Third in 13 Years

China's largest desert freshwater lake has shrunk by one-third in the last 13 years, state media said Thursday, as the country's breakneck modernization continues to damage the environment.

Northern China's Hongjiannao Lake covers 32.16 square kilometers (12.86 sq miles), less than half its size in 1969 and two-thirds of its area in 2000, Xinhua news agency said.

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Heat is On as Comet ISON Races Toward Sun

It's crunch time for a comet from the fringes of the solar system as it hurtles toward a close encounter with the sizzling sun.

Comet ISON is expected to get closest to the sun at 1837 GMT (1:37 p.m. EST) on Thursday.

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Misty the Dinosaur Skeleton Sells for £400,000

A rare full skeleton of a huge diplodocus dinosaur sold in Britain for £400,000 ($630,000, 470,000 euros) on Wednesday, an auction house said.

Nicknamed Misty, the 150-million-year-old fossil was bought to go on public display, said Summers Place Auctions in Billingshurst, southern England.

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Israeli New VP for Science Project that Includes Iran

A Jordan-based scientific research project whose members include Iran and the Palestinian Authority has chosen an Israeli as vice president, the candidate's university confirmed.

Scientists from states participating in the project elected Eliezer Rabinovici, a physics professor at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, as vice-president of the Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME), the university told AFP.

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Beijing is Waging a War Against Air Pollution, One Barbecue at a Time

Authorities in the capital have destroyed more than 500 open-air barbecues "to cut PM2.5" — the tiny particulate matter in the air that can enter deep into the lungs.

Photos carried by state media showed workers on Tuesday cutting pieces of metal with sparks flying as city wardens looked on.

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Why the Seahorse Wins by a Head

Close examination of the seahorse has shown that the cute little fish is a master of stealth, using streamlined features in its head to sneak up on its prey, scientists reported on Tuesday.

At first glance, the seahorse is an unlikely candidate for hunter of the year.

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Will Comet ISON Survive its Near Brush With the Sun?

U.S. astrophysicists are split over what will happen when the comet ISON passes near the sun Thursday, but a majority think it will break apart.

Comets are frozen balls of space dust left over from the formation of stars and planets billions of years ago.

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Study: U.S. Spewing 50% more Methane than EPA Says

The United States is spewing 50 percent more methane — a potent heat-trapping gas — than the federal government estimates, a new comprehensive scientific study says. Much of it is coming from just three states: Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.

That means methane may be a bigger global warming issue than thought, scientists say. Methane is 21 times more potent at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the most abundant global warming gas, although it doesn't stay in the air as long.

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China to Send 'Jade Rabbit' to Moon

China will launch its first ever moon rover early next month, state media said Tuesday, with the vehicle named "Jade Rabbit" in a nod to Chinese folklore.

The name derives from an ancient Chinese myth about a white rabbit which lives on the moon as the pet of Chang'e, a lunar goddess who swallowed an immortality pill.

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