Borders shares fall sharply on e-reader fears 
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Borders Group Inc (BGP.N) shares fell sharply on continued fears that the U.S. bookseller was missing out on the burgeoning electronic-reader market during the crucial holiday shopping season.
Border's stock fell as low as $1.08, before closing down 13 cents, or 10.1 percent, at $1.16 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Online retailer Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) said on Monday its Kindle electronic reader had a record sales month in November, putting pressure on bricks-and-mortar bookseller Borders, which does not have its own e-reader, and its rival, Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS.N).
US Proposes Climate Adaptation Fund for Poor Nations
The United States has proposed a new global fund that would direct billions of dollars to help poor countries prepare for climate disasters and adjust to low-carbon economies.
The fund would likely operate under the World Bank, U.S. Treasury officials said, and would be the main vehicle to deliver emissions reduction and adaptation measures throughout the world.
William Pizer, deputy assistant secretary for environment and energy at the U.S. Treasury Department, explained that the fund would contribute to a spectrum of projects from "building a solar park or creating a financial vehicle to support investments in energy efficiency to creating an insurance mechanism for disasters or crops."
UK Climate Scientist Steps Down After E-Mail Flap
Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Claims that scientists suppresseddata about global warming prompted the head of a Britishuniversity’s climate research center to step down pendingcompletion of an investigation.
Phil Jones, a professor and director of the ClimaticResearch Unit at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, willtemporarily relinquish his post, the U.K. school said yesterdayin a statement. Private e-mails from Jones were among thousandsof correspondences between scientists debating climate changethat were stolen and posted on the Internet last month.
The e-mails, dating back as far as 1996, have been cited byskeptics of man’s contribution to global warming as evidence ofa conspiracy to manipulate data to support research. TheClimatic Research Unit has said the e-mails were taken out ofcontext and allegations of data manipulation are unfounded.
Hacked messages about global warming caused controversy
A scientist who is one of the central figures in the uproar over pirated e-mails from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit announced Tuesday that he is stepping down as the unit's director while the university investigates the incident.
Climate skeptics have seized on several e-mails from Phil Jones to other researchers as evidence that prominent scientists have sought to silence their voices in the debate over global warming. Jones's e-mail account was apparently hacked and his e-mails were posted online last month.
"What is most important is that CRU continues its world leading research with as little interruption and diversion as possible," Jones said in a statement. "After a good deal of consideration I have decided that the best way to achieve this is by stepping aside from the Director's role during the course of the independent review and am grateful to the University for agreeing to this. The Review process will have my full support."
UK climate expert steps aside after hacked e-mails
* University of East Anglia to investigate hacked e-mails
* Sceptics say undermines evidence of climate change
* US EPA head says flap won't stop possible regulations (Adds U.S. reaction)
Space station crew land safely in Kazakhstan
ARKALYK, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - Three astronauts landed safely in the frozen steppe of northern Kazakhstan on Tuesday after six months orbiting the world on the International Space Station.
The Russian Soyuz space capsule, carrying Belgian Frank de Winne, Canadian Robert Thirsk and Russian Roman Romanenko, landed as planned at 10:17 a.m. Moscow time (0717 GMT/2:17 a.m. EST) about 85 km (50 miles) north of the town of Arkalyk in Kazakhstan.
De Winne waved as he was helped from the scorched TMA-15 capsule which took more than three hours to descend from the space station orbiting about 400 km (250 miles) above earth.
International Space Station crew lands safely
MOSCOW — Russian Mission Control says astronauts from Canada and Belgium and a Russian cosmonaut have landed safely in Kazakhstan, wrapping up a six-month stint on the International Space Station.
Mission Control spokesman Valery Lyndin says the Russian Soyuz TMA-15 capsule carrying Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, and Belgium's Frank De Winne touched down without a hitch Tuesday near the town of Arkalyk in Kazakhstan's barren north.
Parachutes slowed the craft to a soft touchdown as scheduled and Russian helicopters carrying medical experts headed to the area to help the crew out.
Amazon says Kindle sales hit monthly record in Nov
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amazon.com said on Monday that its Kindle electronic book reader posted its best sales yet in the month of November, as rivals struggle with fulfilling their customer orders.
The online retailer said shoppers were buying several Kindles at once as holiday gifts, while businesses and organizations were buying the device "in large quantities" for employees or clients. Amazon does not provide precise data on Kindle sales.
Amazon's statement on Kindle's success this holiday season follows notices by Barnes & Noble and Sony Corp to their customers that they had sold out of their e-readers before the start of the holiday shopping season due to high demand.
"Trailblazing" website reveals 350 years of science
LONDON (Reuters Life!) - A gruesome account of a 1666 blood transfusion and amusing notes about how an 8-year-old Mozart responded to tests of his genius were published on Monday as part of an online history of scientific endeavor.
The "Trailblazing" website was created by Britain's influential science academy the Royal Society, and includes handwritten papers on some of the most important scientific discoveries of the past three and a half centuries.
Benjamin Franklin's studies on flying a kite in an electrical storm from 1752 show the first time anyone had proposed that lightning is electricity and not a supernatural force.
Intrigue and Plot Twists in Global Climate Talks
In the otherwise ponderous and unhurried context of global climate negotiations, the past two weeks have seen a variety of gripping twists.
It started this month in Singapore, where Barack Obama, the U.S. president, and other leaders used the sidelines of an economic forum to deflate expectations for a treaty at the December climate summit meeting in Copenhagen.
“There was an assessment by the leaders that it is unrealistic to expect a full internationally, legally binding agreement could be negotiated between now and Copenhagen,” Michael Froman, a deputy U.S. national security adviser, said at the time.
