Geoff Brumfiel

Certain birth defects in male children are on the rise, and nobody knows why. Scientists say basic research into how external genitalia evolved in reptiles and rodents might offer a few clues.

On Friday, an experimental space plane crashed in the Mojave desert, killing one of its pilots. Now new details have emerged about what went wrong in the moments before the crash.

Scientists working to create the perfect atomic clock have a fundamental problem: Right now, on the ceiling, time is passing just a bit faster than it is on the floor.

The Virgin Galactic Spaceship Two was undergoing a test flight when it crashed in the California Desert. The spaceship is designed to take tourists to space.

In what could be a major setback for commercial space tourism, a manned spaceship has crashed in California.

The Virgin Galactic Spaceship Two was on a test flight this morning, with two pilots aboard. Minutes after its rocket fired, the company announced on Twitter that spacecraft experienced an "anomaly."

...

A 700-year-old caribou dropping from northern Canada holds surprisingly well-preserved viruses. There's no evidence the viruses are dangerous, but they are scientifically interesting.

A European spacecraft has picked up a foul odor emanating from a comet called 67P/C-G. Imagine sharing a stable with a drunk person and a dozen rotten eggs.

One of Latin America's poorest countries is building the world's longest urban cable car system. The aim is to transform the lives of commuters who battle chronic traffic problems.

The DNA in this ancient Siberian leg bone shows that the man had Neanderthal ancestors — yet more proof that humans and Neanderthals interbred. And he lived much farther north than expected.

The time has never been better to invest in LED lighting, with the price of LED bulbs — which use the Nobel-winning blue LEDs — now below $10 each.

Scientists — 2 from Japan and 1 from the U.S. — have won the Nobel Prize in physics for the invention of blue light-emitting diodes — a new energy efficient and environment-friendly light source.

Modern medicine offers no easy way to spot Ebola early. The key to preventing an outbreak is still old-fashioned detective work.

Federal, state and county health officials in Dallas are trying to figure out how many people had contact with the first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States.

Health officials in Texas say they will be looking at up to 100 people who may have come in contact with the Dallas Ebola patient or people close to him.

Earlier this week, two spacecraft arrived at the planet Mars. One came from India, the other from the U.S. Both are now in orbit and collecting data. But the Indian probe is conducting its mission at a tiny fraction of the cost of its NASA counterpart.

"Some of the publicly ...

The tiny, island nation of Iceland is in the middle of a growth spurt. For the past month, the country's Bardarbunga volcano has been churning out lava at a prodigious rate. And the eruption shows no signs of abating.

It all began with a swarm of earthquakes in late ...

Earlier this week, NASA awarded two contracts for new spaceships to commercial companies. Here's how they compare.

On Tuesday, President Obama announced a larger U.S. response to the Ebola outbreak that will put 3,000 troops on the front line. What can the military can provide and how quickly they can do it?

Over the past month, the U.S. has begun to ramp up aid to Ebola-stricken countries in West Africa. U.S. contributions could soon top $250 million dollars, according to the White House National Security Council.

You might wonder what kind of aid is being provided. So did we. Here's a sampling, ...

Some say our military has a big role to play in bringing Ebola under control. But sending in troops is trickier than it sounds.