NEW YORK -- Every horse in the world can be traced to a single mare that trotted the earth about 130,000 to 160,000 years ago, scientists have discovered for the first time. (Today)

The Sierra Club's president, Michael Brune, has acknowledged in a blog post that beginning five years ago, the club accepted $26 million from people connected with Chesapeake Energy, the country's second-largest natural gas producer. He added that the club had turned down $30 million pledged by those donors since August 2010. Chesapeake uses a natural gas extraction method called hydraulic fracturing, which environmental groups say can pollute water sources. The club's position on fracking, as it is called, has been nuanced, calling for "rigorous best-management practices to limit environmental damage." Some club members reacted to the news with outrage -- one response to Mr. Brune's post called the club "as corrupt as the worst politicians" -- but many praised him for banning further donations. The donations were first reported by Time and the blog Corporate Crime Reporter. (Yesterday)

The space shuttles are headed for museums, but NASA said Friday that more than 6,300 people responded to its latest call for would-be astronauts, the second highest in its history and about double the 2,500 to 3,500 applications it usually gets. (Yesterday)

Fishermen from Cape Cod, Mass., to northern Maine would have to reduce the amount of cod they catch under an emergency proposal by the New England Fishery Management Council. The proposal, a nonbinding request to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, would reduce the catch of Gulf of Maine cod by as much as 20 percent in the fishing year that starts May 1. It would be an interim step, meant to delay a much steeper cut that federal regulators believe is needed to end overfishing. If regulators approve the interim measure, they will revisit the possibility of more severe restrictions next year. (02/03/2012)

Last fall, weather experts were predicting our region and the Midwest would be experiencing a harsh winter due to record-breaking snowfall averages and blasts of Arctic air. So far this winter, our average temperatures are above normal and snowfall totals are below normal. (02/02/2012)