AP - They haven't rechristened a ship the Irony, but federal researchers are canceling and cutting back on voyages aimed at studying climate change and ocean ecosystems so they can save money on boat fuel.

AP - Tim Williams' goal was to create a device to test soil moisture around peanut pods, but his modest invention is now helping probe the soil of the Red Planet for traces of water.

AP - The Phoenix lander stopped digging soil near Mars' north pole Wednesday as engineers on Earth worked to fix a glitch that caused the loss of a day's worth of photos.

Reuters - President George W. Bush on Wednesday urged Congress to end a ban on offshore oil drilling, responding to consumer anxiety over record-high gasoline prices with a plan sure to anger environmentalists.

Reuters - President George W. Bush on Wednesday will call on Congress to pass legislation lifting a ban on offshore oil drilling as he seeks remedies to record-high energy prices, the White House said.

Reuters - China has posted hundreds of police and rescue officials to shore up dams threatening to burst under torrential rain that has already flooded 9,000 square miles of crops and homes.

AP - Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo have revealed they reversed a vasectomy on an endangered horse to allow it to reproduce naturally — the first-known operation of its kind on an endangered species.

AP - At least 80 percent of the habitat for giant pandas in China's earthquake-hit province was destroyed or damaged, a forestry official said Tuesday.