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This Business of Exploring, by Roy Chapman Andrews,1935 Putnam's Sons, 288 pages. I first read This Business of Exploring about fifty years ago, when I was attending high school in Hayward, Wisconsin.  The book is a classic and deserves far more attention than it now receives. Libraries are discarding older books for newer ones. My brother found the copy we both had read at a library book sale. He picked it up for a dollar or two. It is in an honored place in his collection. The book covers Roy Chapman Andrews explorations in central Asia and outer Mongolia...

WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) - The Senate Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee is considering requiring the U.S. Air Force to study the viability of creating an export version of the Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-22 fighter jet, a source closely following the issue told Reuters on Monday. "There may be language inserted into the fiscal 2010 appropriations bill that would at least look at the possibility," said the source, who asked not to be identified since the legislative language is still being finalized. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in April said the Pentagon would halt production of the radar-evading F-22 fighter at...

Explorer hopes Scout experience fuels career as federal agent http://bgdailynews.com/articles/2007/05/16/features/features2.txt http://tinyurl.com/yst7ut Last modified: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 11:22 AM CDT By NATALIE JORDAN, The Daily News, njordan@bgdailynews.com/783-3243 Andria Vansickle is planning to make a name for herself in the world of law enforcement. Vansickle, 20, is one of 300 selected from more than 2,000 applicants to attend the FBI Leadership Academy, a program through the Boy Scouts of America Explorers. “I sent the application off in February after finishing it in January. I had to write an essay about what law enforcement meant to me and get letters of reference,”...

Exploring the wolves in dogs' clothing By Helen Briggs BBC News science reporter Fox terrier (Canis familiaris) A boggle-eyed pooch tucked into a Balenciaga handbag; an elite greyhound tearing around the track in a flash of fur and claws; a sniffer dog on the trail of illicit drugs. Given that dogs come in every shape, size and colour, it is strange to think they are all wolves under the skin. According to DNA studies, domestic dogs owe their origins to a wolf cub that probably fell into the hands of humans some 40,000 years ago somewhere in Southeast Asia. Over...

Exploring the mysteries of Xi'an's imperial tombs By David Fullbrook (That's Beijing) Updated: 2004-09-03 13:49 Dynasties and empires rose and fell along the Wei He River valley, where Xi'an lies. While the emperors are gone, their legacy awaits the spades and brushes of archaeologists exploring this crucible of Chinese history and culture. Terra-Cotta Warriors in the surburb of Xi'an [file photo] The terracotta warriors, one of archaeology's greatest accidental finds, hint at what else could lie under the barely scratched fields where emperors and aristocrats lie interred beneath 500 burial mounds. These tombs rise out of a fertile plain where...

On Aug. 27, Mars will make its closest approach to Earth in at least 60,000 years, a time well before the beginning of recorded human history. The Red Planet will be 34.7 million miles away, offering an opportunity for scientists to dispatch spacecraft more cheaply on smaller rockets. Three exploratory missions already have been launched -- two from the U.S. and another from Europe. These explorers aren't meant to find definitive evidence of life, but their work could push scientists further along in answering one of humanity's fundamental questions: Is there life outside of Earth? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Instrument on rover malfunctions...