Reuters - Scientists have sequenced the genome of the giant panda, an achievement which may aid efforts to protect the endangered species, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

AP - Unseasonably cold temperatures, rain and snow were forecast for much of the West on Saturday, while showers and thunderstorms were expected in parts of the Southeast.

AP - Pick up a Mississippi gopher frog and it covers its eyes with its forefeet, like someone afraid to see what's coming next. And for at least a decade, it's had a good reason not to look.

AP - A tortoise, a hare, a mouse and a half-dozen mussels are some of the creatures that a conservation group hopes to save through a "Western Ark" project aimed at petitioning the government for federal protection.

AP - The ongoing global economic turmoil and increasingly strained ties between Moscow and Washington will not stand in the way of further space exploration, Russia's space agency chief said Saturday.

AFP - Peruvian President Alan Garcia accepted Friday the resignation of his entire 13-member cabinet, in a bid to avert an opposition censure resolution in Congress over a oil-industry kickback scandal.

AFP - US space agency NASA said Friday it still plans to launch an ambitious mission to Mars late next year despite technical hurdles and budget difficulties.

AP - Light snow fell in high elevations of the northern Rockies on Friday, with overnight accumulations of about 4 inches expected in some areas.

AP - NASA said Friday it will press ahead with plans to launch a supersized rover to Mars next year despite spiraling costs and schedule pressures.

AFP - Palm oil companies are clearing massive swathes of untouched forest in Indonesia's remote easternmost Papua region, environmental group Greenpeace said Friday.