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U.S. Army Seeks 'Iron Man' Armor for Commandos

U.S. Army researchers are working on building hi-tech body armor that would give soldiers "superhuman strength" in a real-life version of the suit featured in "Iron Man" films.

The blueprint for the "revolutionary" Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS) would include an exoskeleton to allow a soldier to carry heavy equipment, built-in computing power, beefed up protection to stop bullets and a system to monitor vital signs, officials said.

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Jupiter-Bound Craft Running Normally Again

Scientists say NASA's Jupiter-bound spacecraft that looped around Earth to catapult to the outer solar system, is operating normally again.

The Southwest Research Institute, which leads the mission's science operations, said Friday that Juno is out of "safe mode." That's a state a spacecraft is programmed to go into when it senses something is wrong.

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Bionic Man' Walks, Breathes with Artificial Parts

Gentlemen, we can rebuild him, after all. We have the technology.

The term "bionic man" was the stuff of science fiction in the 1970s, when a popular TV show called "The Six Million Dollar Man" chronicled the adventures of Steve Austin, a former astronaut whose body was rebuilt using artificial parts after he nearly died.

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Stone Age Hunters and Farmers Co-Existed in Europe

Farmers and hunter-gatherers lived side by side in Europe for about 2,000 years and sometimes intermingled, according to genetic research Thursday that counters the notion that farmers swiftly overtook foragers.

This co-existence persisted until about 5,000 years ago, much later than previously thought, said a pair of studies by international researchers in the journal Science.

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Space 'Graveyard' Reveals Bits of an Earth-Like Planet

Astronomers have autopsied a distant, broken apart planet and revealed signs of water and a rocky surface together for the first time, delighting scientists on the hunt for alien life.

In a planetary system some 150 light years away, the right conditions for life appear to have once existed, and planets like Earth may have orbited a star known as GD 61, British astronomers reported in the journal Science.

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Brazil to Start Work on New Antarctic Base Next Year

Brazil said Thursday it will start work early next year on a new Antarctic base to replace the one gutted by a 2012 fire.

The new station would be modern, newer and built with more resistant material, Navy Admiral Julio Soares de Moura told reporters as he unveiled the $54 million project.

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Execution Drugs Spark Controversy as Supplies Dwindle

The United States is turning to new drugs for lethal injections as supplies of the current standard dwindle, sparking lawsuits from death row prisoners that the changes will cause undue suffering.

Two men were put to death Wednesday in Texas and Arizona, using a lethal dose of an animal anesthetic customized by a compounding pharmacy -- which has not been approved at the federal level.

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Russian PM Fires Space Agency Chief, Appoints New Head

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday replaced the head of the state space agency Roscosmos after a series of high-profile setbacks including a deeply embarrassing rocket explosion upon takeoff.

Oleg Ostapenko, previously deputy defense minister, was appointed the new chief, replacing Vladimir Popovkin who lasted only 2.5 years at the post.

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3 in US Win Chemistry Nobel for Computer Models

Three U.S.-based scientists won a Nobel Prize on Wednesday for developing a powerful new way to do chemistry on a computer.

They pioneered highly sophisticated computer simulations of complex chemical processes, giving researchers tools they are now using for a wide variety of tasks, such as designing new drugs and solar cells.

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Study: Radical Climate Change Just around the Corner

Earth may experience a radically different climate already within 34 years, forever changing life as we know it, said a study Wednesday that aims to bring the dangers of global warming into sharper focus.

On current trends of greenhouse-gas emissions, 2047 will mark the year at which the climate at most places on Earth will shift beyond documented extremes, it said.

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