How did cap and trade, hatched as an academic theory in obscure economic journals half a century ago, become the policy of choice in the debate over how to slow the heating of the planet? And how did it come to eclipse the idea of simply slapping a tax on energy consumption that befouls the public square or leaves the nation hostage to foreign oil producers?

From a Theory to a Consensus on Emissions - NYTimes.com

Editor's note: NASA Watch has learned that Major General Charles F. Bolden will most likely be named NASA's next administrator according to our sources. He will still need to be confirmed by the Senate.

NASA's Next Administrator - Charles F. Bolden | NASA Watch

In this tightly cropped image, the NASA space shuttle
Atlantis is seen in silhouette during solar transit, Tuesday, May 12, 2009, from Florida. This image was made before Atlantis and the crew of STS-125 had grappled the Hubble Space Telescope.

Space Shuttle Transits the Sun | SpaceRef - Space News as it Happens

On Tuesday, Ms. Girard, 39, who lives in the Austin, Tex., area, filed a lawsuit against Myriad and the Patent Office, challenging the decision to grant a patent on a gene to Myriad and companies like it. She was joined by four other cancer patients, by professional organizations of pathologists with more than 100,000 members and by several individual pathologists and genetic researchers.

The lawsuit, believed to be the first of its kind, was organized by the American Civil Liberties Union and filed in federal court in New York. It blends patent law, medical science, breast cancer activism and an unusual civil liberties argument in ways that could make it a landmark case.

Cancer Patients Challenge the Patenting of a Gene - NYTimes.com

An English chemist has found the hidden gateway to the RNA world, the chemical milieu from which the first forms of life are thought to have emerged on earth some 3.8 billion years ago.

Chemist Shows How RNA Can Be the Starting Point for Life - NYTimes.com

Marking its first major effort to overhaul financial regulation, the Obama administration will seek new authority to supervise the virtually unregulated complex financial instruments, known as derivatives, that were a major cause of the market crisis, Congressional aides and others who have been briefed on the decision said Wednesday.

Obama Pushes Broad Rules for Oversight of Derivatives - NYTimes.com

Aurora Flight Sciences announced today that the company has been selected for a NASA Phase II award to develop technology to support autonomous control and protection of space-based nuclear reactor systems.

OMG, a .aero domain seen in the wild!

Apparently, nasa hasn't given up on space-based fission reactors either which is good news for deep space exploration.

Aurora Flight Sciences - Aurora Wins NASA Contract for Autonomous Control of Space-Nuclear Reactors

Better Place unveiled its battery swap system today and said the $500,000 gadget can replace a dead battery and get you back on the road in less time than it takes to fill your gas tank.

The prototype revealed in Japan is the first of what the Silicon Valley startup promises will be countless automated battery exchange stations that will one day dot our cities. The technology will make it possible to travel long distances in an EV without the hassle of stopping to recharge your battery, company founder and CEO Shai Agassi said.

Check out the video!

Better Place Unveils an Electric Car Battery Swap Station | Autopia | Wired.com

On Jan. 15, 2009, a few Canadian geese with bad timing became snarge, a steely pilot became a hero, and the world became fascinated with images of a jet splashing into the Hudson River and then floating calmly as passengers crowded its wings.

But until now, few people have seen the equally surprising pictures of the second half of this story: when a salvage team used the biggest floating crane on the East Coast to pluck the ill-fated Airbus A320 from the frigid water.

Photographer Stephen Mallon was at a happy hour with his wife on the evening US Air Flight 1549 made the news. As people in the bar chatted about what was going on, he realized that he knew exactly who the authorities would turn to for help. Mallon specializes in documenting industrial subjects, and had been photographing the work of maritime contractor Weeks Marine, a company that had been hired to dump derelict subway cars into the ocean to create artificial reefs.

The Unlikely Events of a Water Landing: New Photos From Flight 1549

The French National Assembly on Tuesday approved a plan by President Nicolas Sarkozy to punish digital pirates with the possible suspension of their Internet connections, a little more than a month after the same body had rejected the proposal in a surprise vote.

France Approves Crackdown on Internet Piracy - NYTimes.com