AFP - Scientists have isolated two genes which may prevent people from contracting HIV or at least slow the rate at which they develop AIDS, a new study has found.

AP - Just as John F. Kennedy set his sights on the moon, Al Gore is challenging the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace.

AFP - The heads of five agencies building the International Space Station staged talks here Thursday on tackling a looming transport problem for the ISS and gave positive signals for extending the orbital outpost's life beyond 2015.

AFP - Powerful wind and torrential rain disrupted air traffic and forced offices and schools to close in Taiwan Thursday as Typhoon Kalmaegi approached the island.

AP - Dishing the dirt has a long history in Washington, but the Smithsonian Institution is taking it to new depths.

AP - The House on Wednesday approved extending federal "wild and scenic" environmental protection to the lower Taunton River in Massachusetts, dealing a blow to developers who want to build a liquefied natural gas terminal on an urbanized stretch of riverbank.

AFP - Tiger skins and rare caged primates openly sold at markets in the heart of Indonesia's capital are the most brazen and visible aspect of a thriving illegal wildlife trade.

SPACE.com - NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has successfully drilled into the rock-hard ice layer below the Martian surface and collected the frozen shavings in its robotic arm scoop, NASA said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Inflation accelerated in June to its fastest rate since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 while workers' earnings slumped, compounding the stagflationary dilemma facing the Federal Reserve.

AP - Money problems will likely force NASA to abandon its ambitious internal goal of having a new moon spaceship ready by 2013, a top space agency official told The Associated Press Wednesday.

AP - The first archaeological dig at one of the nation's oldest cathedrals has turned up a mix of new finds in the heart of the French Quarter. Discoveries behind St. Louis Cathedral include a small silver crucifix from the 1770s or 1780s and traces of previously unknown buildings dating back to around the city's founding in 1718.