Heating oil and natural gas futures rose sharply yesterday, as long-term forecasts for much colder temperatures in key heating regions raised fears of insufficient supplies capable of meeting the demand this winter. 

Travelers from Earth to Mars would have to endure low levels of gravity for long periods of time, avoiding large doses of radiation, plus contending with the chemically reactive Martian soil, and perhaps even ward off contamination by Martian life-forms.

As with ants, the elaborate social structure of termites includes a few individuals reproducing and the rest serve the colony by tending juveniles, gathering food, building the nest, or battling intruders.

In a speech before the Senate Banking Committee, the chairman of the Federal Reserve painted an optimistic picture of the economy, suggesting to investors the central bank in the near future is not lowering interest rates.

According to some critics, watching television not only undermines one’s ability to think critically but also impairs one’s overall ability to perceive.

Early administrative decisions in China’s Ming Dynasty eventually caused a drastic fall in tax revenues, a reduction in military preparedness, the collapse of the currency system, and failed to make sufficient investment in vital transportation infrastructure.

The North American moose's long legs enable it to move quickly through the woods, stepping easily over downed trees, but predators pursuing it must leap or go around them.

Carbon dioxide, which traps heat in the atmosphere and helps regulate the planet’s surface temperature, is constantly being exchanged between the atmosphere on the one hand and the oceans and terrestrial plants on the other.

By using a process called echolocation to analyze the echoes of the high-pitched sounds they produce, bats can determine not only the distance to an object, but they also can determine its shape and size and the direction in which it is moving.

The growth projected for these storms in different computerized weather models varies widely.