Reuters - Volcanic activity has played a central role in forging the surface of Mercury, scientists said on Thursday based on data collected by a NASA spacecraft that zoomed past the closest planet to the sun in January.

AP - Tropical Storm Bertha has formed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa.

AP - The Phoenix lander's first chemical sniff of Martian soil did not turn up any trace of the building blocks of life. Its next whiff could be its last.

AP - Syria has returned a marble artifact to Iraq that was stolen from one of the country's archaeological sites.

AP - France will build a second new-generation nuclear reactor, President Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday, pledging a "new industrial revolution" in an era in which fossil fuels have grown too expensive.

AP - A slice of cool, fresh watermelon is a juicy way to top off a Fourth of July cookout and one that researchers say has effects similar to Viagra — but don't necessarily expect it to keep the fireworks all night long.

Reuters - A Chinese man who bought an emaciated pig who survived for 36 days under rubble after May's massive Sichuan earthquake and promised to care for it for life has been given an award by an animal rights group.

Reuters - The solar system may not be a nice round shape, but rather a bit squashed and oblong, according to data from the Voyager 2 spacecraft exploring the solar system's outer limits, scientists said on Wednesday.