63 Years Old Solo Balloonist Reaches North Pole

Jean-Louis Etienne has made the first solo balloon voyage to the North Pole, traveling 3,130 kilometers - 1,945 miles - in five days from Norway to the tundra of eastern Siberia.

Jean-Louis Etienne has always liked rising to new challenges, especially when they combine adventure and scientific objectives. Adventures are the stuff that dreams are made of. They reveal a new way of looking at things, especially to young people, and can be a very effective means to convey scientific knowledge that in other forms sometimes falls on unreceptive ears.

New Missing Link - Or Maybe Not


The recent suggestion that Australopithecus Sediba is an intermediate species has aroused controversy.

The following extracts are from naturenews.

Claim over 'human ancestor' sparks furore

Researchers dispute that hominin fossil is a new species.

Michael Cherry

Arctic Ice 2010 #3 - The State Of The Ice


Arctic Ice 2010 - a short series of articles.


The first part - Arctic Ice 2010 #1 - The Nature Of Sea Ice was an introduction to the behaviour of Arctic sea ice.

The second part Arctic Ice 2010 #2 - What People Are Saying discussed current media and blog reports about the state of the Arctic.

This third part describes the state of the Arctic ice as of April 2010.

Arctic Ice 2010 #2 - What People Are Saying



Arctic Ice 2010 - a short series of articles.


The first part - Arctic Ice 2010 #1 - The Nature Of Sea Ice was an introduction to the behaviour of Arctic sea ice.

This second part will discuss current media and blog reports about the state of the Arctic.

The third part will describe the state of the Arctic ice as of April 2010.

Polar ice basics

Arctic Ice 2010 #1 - The Nature Of Sea Ice


Arctic Ice 2010 - a short series of articles.

This first part is an introduction to the behaviour of Arctic sea ice.

The second part will discuss current reports about the state of the Arctic.

The third part will describe the state of the Arctic ice as of April 2010.

In order to understand the current state of Arctic sea ice it is necessary to know if it is in any way 'normal' or 'abnormal'.  In this first article I give some historical and scientific notes to show what has been observed historically.


Exploration and discovery