How a Cartoonist Raised $1 Million (and counting) for a Tesla Museum – 8/27 KQED Science News Roundup

How a cartoonist raised $1 million (and counting) for a Tesla museumMatthew Inman, a cartoonist who runs theoatmeal.com, posted a tribute titled "Why Nicola Tesla is the Greatest Geek Who Ever Lived.' A jolt of support from a popular Web cartoonist has re-energized a decades-long effort to restore a decrepit, 110-year-old laboratory once used by Nikola Tesla, a visionary scientist who was a rival of Thomas Edison and imagined a world of free electricity.

Warm Arctic sets record for summer sea ice meltWASHINGTON (AP) - Scientists say critical ice in the Arctic Ocean melted to record low levels this overheated summer. The National Snow and Ice Data Center reported Monday that the extent of Arctic sea ice shrank to 1.58 million square miles and is likely to melt more in the coming weeks.

Lone California wolf's fascination with a wildfireThe famous lone wolf of California has been roaming curiously close to a large wildfire in Plumas County this week in what experts think might be a fiendishly clever ploy to pick off prey fleeing the flames.

USDA panel gets altered-crops pay planthe Department of Agriculture is already tied in knots over how to deal with the contamination of organic and conventional foods by biotech crops. On Monday, a USDA advisory panel will consider a draft plan to compensate farmers whose crops have been contaminated by pollen, seeds or other stray genetically engineered material.

Hellbenders indicate water qualityFor a moment, no one said anything, their eyes drawn to the slithery thing they'd discovered in a mountain stream - the eastern hellbender, long on slime, short on personality, 13 inches of cold-blooded indignation. In North America, no amphibian is bigger than this creature that hides under rocks in cold streams, and remember: North Georgia may have more eastern hellbenders than anywhere on Earth.

Zoos and Aquariums Struggle With Ways to Discuss Climate ChangeThe children's faces turned up expectantly. "The ocean absorbs one-third of the world's carbon dioxide emissions," Ms. Jordan said, explaining that it upsets the food chain. "When you turn on your car, it affects them." Downstairs, next to the jellyfish tanks, a rhyming video told how the jellyfish population was exploding in the wild because they thrive in warmer waters.

Extra pounds tied to breast cancer recurrence, deathNEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Among women who have been treated for breast cancer, heavier women are more likely to have their disease come back and more likely to die of cancer, according to a new study.