Viking 2, the second mission to Mars, lands on the planet and begins transmitting pictures and soil analyses.

Learn the nickname for the first synthetic organism and a derisive term for ungrammatical Tea Party signs.

Using Foursquare to stamp out sexually transmitted diseases is just the beginning of a brave new war on bothersome reality. Just think of all the amazing problems we can solve with the proper mix of badges, exclusive offers and unbridled optimism.

With long straights, fast turns and tight chicanes, it looks like an exciting track. Now they've just gotta build it.

A modern take on Gustav Holst's orchestral suite uses theremins, accordions and other unusual instruments to make a musical statement. Who's listening? For starters, the director of Hayden Planetarium.

Founded by Kai-Fu Lee, former head of Google's China division, business incubator Innovation Works is funding 12 startups amid strong demand for Web technology

Menlo Ventures and the other early venture investors in 3Par reaped a $560 million windfall amid the HP-Dell bidding war

Billionaire Venugopal Dhoot’s Videocon group may sell a controlling stake in its wireless unit to an overseas partner to help fund expansion of the business.

Hewlett-Packard Co. agreed to buy 3Par Inc. for $2.35 billion, ending an 18-day bidding war with Dell Inc. for the maker of storage systems and stepping up its rivalry with EMC Corp.

Hewlett-Packard Co. may have paid more than it needed for 3Par Inc. because it outbid a Dell Inc. offer that 3Par already rejected, said two people close to the situation.

A phone-hacking scheme involving British royals and reporters working for one of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspapers went far beyond what was previously disclosed and prosecuted. The British Prime Minister's current media adviser is accused of having encouraged the hacking.

If it's September, it's football season — which also means it's time for millions of fantasy football drafts around the world to commence. Maximize your in-season points while dealing with the setbacks that are bound to occur by following our guide.

The video site's ever-evolving terms of service drive an observer mad in this arty clip by Carlo Zanni. No charge for the 1984 references.

U.S. tax laws make cross-border takeovers attractive for American tech companies. Targets are not all that plentiful—or affordable

Intel is counting on its Atom embedded processors to help break its dependence on the slowing PC market

Zomm and Phone Halo aim to prevent the agony of the lost cell phone

The EPA chief is using her authority under the Clean Air Act to control carbon emissions

This week’s big Apple announcement featured one big disappointment: Apple TV’s relative lack of, well, TV. Out of all of the hundreds of channels available on cable and satellite, only ABC and Fox agreed to offer their programs for rent on Apple TV. The fact that Steve Jobs is the largest single shareholder in, and on the board of, Disney — owner of ABC — perfectly illustrates this digital divide.

Unlike infectious disease and information, behavior change spreads faster through online networks that have many close connections instead of many distant ties. Redundancy is key, as people are more likely to engage in a behavior if they see many others doing it. "There has been a lot of theory about the difference between information and behavior spreading," said economic sociologist Damon Centola of MIT and author of the study published Sept. 3 in Science. "We've assumed that they are the same, but you can imagine that behavior is not really like that, that you need to be convinced."

Verizon Communications Inc., the second-largest U.S. phone company, increased its quarterly dividend by the smallest amount in four years today amid slowing sales growth.