Ring discovered around 'potato-shaped' dwarf planet Haumea

A ring system has been found around a dwarf planet for the first time — the distant, potato-shaped Haumea, which lies beyond Neptune.

Volcanic eruptions may have contributed to war in ancient Egypt

Distant volcanic eruptions may have indirectly triggered a series of revolts by the people of ancient Egypt against their despised Ptolemaic overlords.

Diprotodon may have been seasonal migrant

The largest marsupial to have ever lived, Diprotodon optatum, a 3,000-kilogram herbivore that stood 1.8 metres tall at the shoulder, may have been a migratory species, an analysis of a fossil tooth suggests.

Gravitational waves detected for fourth time

Scientists have detected gravitational waves — tiny ripples in the fabric of space-time — for the fourth time. Just like the first three detections, these ripples were caused by the merging of two black holes.

How Therapod Dinosaurs Swapped Teeth for Bird Beaks

Using fossils and a large comparative analysis of modern animals, a team of evolutionary biologists has found that the loss of teeth and the emergence of beaks are connected processes in theropods. As the beak grew across the dinosaur’s face, it also inhibited the growth of teeth. On an evolutionary scale this transition happened until theropods developed mouths that resembled the bird beaks seen today.

The source of high-energy cosmic rays finally detected

Scientists confirm for the first time that high-energy cosmic rays come from a galaxy-dense area of sky 100-200 million light years away.

Scientists build 'DNA robots' that transport molecular cargo

Researchers have built a team of robots, made entirely out of DNA, that can walk around and sort molecules.

Baleen whales are descended from predatory carnivores

The ancestors of baleen whales were equipped with the razor-sharp teeth and could have hunted seals and penguins, rather than the tiny krill they eat today.

Chimpanzees understand circular hierarchies

Chimpanzees of all ages can learn the simple circular relationship between the three different hand signals used in the well-known game rock-paper-scissors.

Organic molecule found in Titan's atmosphere

A compound that may form cell wall-like structures has been detected in the dense atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan.

Canaanites survived Biblical 'slaughter', ancient DNA shows

The ancient Canaanites, who the Bible says were commanded to be exterminated, did not die out, but lived on to become modern-day Lebanese, according to the first study to analyse their DNA.

First exomoon may have been discovered

NASA’s Kepler space telescope has received signal of what could potentially be the first discovered “exomoon,” a moon orbiting a planet beyond our solar system. Astronomers believe the candidate moon, which lies some 4000 light-years from Earth, is about the size and mass of Neptune, and is orbiting a planet the size of Jupiter but with 10 times the mass. Further observations of the exomoon using the Hubble Space Telescope will take place in October.

Indigenous rock shelter pushes Australia's human history back to 65,000 years

New excavations of a rock shelter near Kakadu National Park indicate humans reached Australia at least 65,000 years ago — up to 18,000 years earlier than archæologists previously thought.

Scientists create 3D-printed brain-like tissue from stem cells

Scientists have used a 3D printer to create nerve cells found in the brain using a special bio-ink made from stem cells.

New particle Xi-cc++ opens up physics mystery

A new particle detected in the atom smasher at CERN called Xi-cc++ has rekindled interest in an experiment that claimed evidence for a similar Xi particle, back in 2002.

Milky Way's fast-moving stars may have come from another galaxy

The fastest-moving stars in our galaxy may have been shot off the bow of a passing smaller galaxy. These so-called "galactic hypervelocity stars" are large and short-lived but travel up to 1,000 kilometres per second. Strangely, most of them appear to be in an unusual cluster in the northern hemisphere sky, and the origin of these huge speedsters has been a bit of a puzzle. But now, researchers from the University of Cambridge argue these stars may have been flung off the front of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy travelling at high speed past the edge of the Milky Way galaxy.

Bee brain formula for seeing colours more effectively could be used in drones, robots

Scientists investigating how bees see colours say the insect's highly efficient visual system could revolutionise the way robots and drones view the world.  The way humans see colour is heavily affected by the changing light around them, such as during a sunset or in the middle of the night, but bees see the same colour regardless.  The Melbourne-based team has studied how bees solve this problem, by using three special eyes on top of their head, in addition to two main eyes at the front. The three eyes point skyward, and they directly sample the colour of the light above us.

Deep-sea coral reef glow-in-the-dark secrets revealed in new research

Scientists have discovered the reason why some deep-sea coral reefs glow in the dark.  Researchers from the University of Southampton found corals in deep water survived by making a special type of fluorescent protein.  The research found the proteins responsible for acting as sunblock in corals in shallow waters worked differently in deep-sea reefs.  The protein absorbs blue light and converts it, to help improve the photosynthetic capacity of algae living in the coral.

Palm cockatoos drum a regular rhythm to attract a mate

Just like a human drummer, male palm cockatoos (Probosciger aterrimus) use drumsticks from branches and seed pods to beat out a steady rhythm. And it appears they use their drumming, along with a complex array of calls and wing-flapping, to attract female birds.

Scientists use satellite to smash quantum entanglement distance record

Scientists have used satellite technology for the first time to generate and transmit entangled photons — particles of light — across a record distance of 1,200 kilometres on Earth.

Kepler mission finds 10 Earth-size exoplanets, 209 others

The NASA Kepler mission has discovered 219 more exoplanets, including 10 Earth-size planets.  Ten of the planets are potentially rocky, close to the size of Earth and within the habitable zone of the stars they orbit — meaning they could support liquid water on their surface.

First Use Of Gravitational Lensing To Measure Mass Of Star

Astronomers have used the gravitational warping of light, predicted by Einstein nearly a century ago, to measure the mass of a distant star for the first time.

Oldest Fossils of Homo Sapiens Found in Morocco, Altering History of Our Species

Fossils discovered in Morocco are the oldest known remains of Homo sapiens, scientists reported on Wednesday, a finding that rewrites the story of mankind’s origins and suggests that our species evolved in multiple locations across the African continent.

KELT-9b: most extreme planet ever discovered

A hellish alien Jupiter-like world that is hotter than most stars and glows like a comet has been discovered by an international team of astronomers. The most extreme world ever discovered is so hot it's likely that molecules break apart and atmosphere evaporates.

Third gravitational wave detection puts new spin on black holes

For the third time, physicists have detected a gravitational wave: a tiny ripple in the fabric of space-time.  Like the two previous detections, it came from two colliding black holes, but this pair was much further away and may have been spinning in different directions.

Mummy DNA reveals ancestry of the ancient Egyptians

Mummies from ancient Egypt have revealed that some of them share very little of the sub-Saharan African ancestry that dominates the genetic heritage of modern Egyptians.  Their DNA more closely resembles the genetic heritage of people from the Near East and Levant.

Jupiter: First data from Juno mission reveals massive cyclones and aurorae

The first close-up glimpse of Jupiter's poles reveals massive cyclonic storms, some as large as 1,400 kilometres in diameter, and powerful aurorae — the planet has a magnetic fields 10 times that of Earth.

The earliest-known life on land 3.5 billion years ago

Ancient red rocks in Western Australia's Pilbara contain traces of a hot spring that hosted the earliest-known life on land 3.5 billion years ago. A team of researchers discovered evidence of fossil stromatolites — structures formed by layers of cyanobacteria — in what appears to be an ancient freshwater hot spring.

Study claims humans reached the Americas 130,000 years ago

Some 130,000 years ago, scientists say, a mysterious group of ancient people visited the coastline of what is now Southern California. More than 100,000 years before they were supposed to have arrived in the Americas, these unknown people used five heavy stones to break the bones of a mastodon.

Key ingredient for life found spewing from Saturn's icy moon Enceladus

The likelihood of one of Saturn's moons harbouring life has received a huge boost, thanks to a new discovery made by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The probe has detected traces of molecular hydrogen (H2) in icy plumes spewing from fissures on the surface of Enceladus.

Astronomers detect ultra-faint galaxy from the very early universe

Astronomers have discovered the faintest galaxy ever detected in the early universe. No more than a few pixels in Hubble images, the galaxy appears as it did 13.1 billion years ago — just 700 million years after the big bang.

Dreaming Found To Occur In NREM Sleep

A new study has found a so-called "hot zone" near the back of the brain that is always active during dreaming. The study also confirmed that dreaming does not just happen in the rapid eye movement (REM) phase, associated with fast rhythms of brain activity, but can also take place in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, when brain activity is slower.

Ancient dental plaque shows some Neanderthals ate plants and used drugs

DNA from prehistoric dental plaque shows some Neanderthals were vegetarians who used plant-based medicines. Reconstruction of the oldest microbe genome yet, sequenced from the plaque, also suggests Neanderthals may have kissed or swapped food with other humans at least 120,000 years ago.

Plant-like fossils, believed to be red algae, found in 1.6 billion-year-old rocks

New scanning technology has given scientists an extraordinary view inside the cells of what may be the oldest plant-like fossils ever found. The find pushes back the date of the oldest-known identifiable complex plant-like fossil — also red algae — by 400 million years.

Fossilised filaments from hot ocean vent claimed to be earliest evidence of life on Earth

Tiny mineralised filaments smaller than a human hair found in rocks more than 3.77 billion years old may be evidence of one of the oldest lifeforms on Earth.

Bees learn new tricks from one another

Bumblebees can not only learn to use tools by observing others, they can improvise and make the task even easier.

Seven Earth-Size Exo-Planets Discovered Around Single Star

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has revealed the first known system of seven Earth-size planets around a single star. Three of these planets are firmly located in the habitable zone, the area around the parent star where a rocky planet is most likely to have liquid water.  The discovery sets a new record for greatest number of habitable-zone planets found around a single star outside our solar system. All of these seven planets could have liquid water – key to life as we know it – under the right atmospheric conditions, but the chances are highest with the three in the habitable zone.

Organic material discovered on Ceres hints at potential for life

Simple organic molecules have been detected on the dwarf planet Ceres, adding to evidence it contains key ingredients essential for life. The substances most likely evolved within Ceres, which is located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, rather than being delivered by a cosmic collision.

Pregnant reptile fossil suggests bird ancestors gave birth to live young

The discovery of a fossil of a pregnant marine reptile, Dinocephalosaurus, has provided the first evidence that an ancestor of modern-day birds and crocodiles gave birth to live young.

DNA reveals how pitcher plants evolved to become flesh-eaters

Carnivorous plants around the world all developed their killer habit in surprisingly similar fashion, according to a genetic study of distantly related pitcher plants from Australia, Asia and America.

Most complex bacterium yet discovered

The bacterium Gemmata obscuriglobus has been described as the "platypus of microbiology" because it appears to contain features associated with eukaryotes.  These include a membrane-bounded nucleus, the ability to transport molecules such as proteins into the cell, and its ability to reproduce by a unique way of budding.

Electron microscope image of Gemmata obscuriglobus bacterium reveals several pore-like structures that resemble those found in the membrane of the nucleus in complex cells.

Saccorhytus coronarious

Thought to have lived as long as 540 million years ago, the creature is the oldest known member of a large group of animals known as deuterostomes, which includes vertebrates – such as humans – as well as starfish, sea urchins and a host of other fauna.

Fossils of huge otter unearthed in China

Scientists have unearthed fossils of an intriguingly large otter as big as a wolf that frolicked in rivers and lakes in a lush, warm and humid wetlands region in south-western China about 6.2 million years ago.  Researchers say the outsized otter, called Siamogale melilutra, weighed about 50 kilograms and measured up to two metres long, making it bigger than any of its cousins alive today.

Ants select the most functional tools and further adapt them for use

Ants have been shown to experiment with tools and choose those that were easiest to handle and could soak up plenty of liquid, such as bits of sponge or paper, despite them not being found in the insects’ natural environment.  This suggests that ants can take into account the properties of both the tool and the liquid they are transporting. It also indicates they can learn to use new tools.  Some ant species are known to use tools, such as mud or sand grains, to collect and transport liquid to their nests. But this is the first time they are shown to select the most suitable ones.

Researchers "Translate" Bat Talk

A machine learning algorithm helped decode the squeaks Egyptian fruit bats make in their roost, revealing that they "speak" to one another as individuals.

Molten iron river discovered speeding beneath Russia and Canada

Deep below our planet’s surface a molten jet of iron nearly as hot as the surface of the sun is picking up speed.  This stream of liquid has been discovered for the first time by telltale magnetic field readings 3000 kilometres below North America and Russia taken from space.

Antimatter atom trapped and measured with a laser for first time

Antihydrogen atoms are made of a positron (a positively charged version of the electron) orbiting a negatively charged antiproton. According to the standard model of particle physics, these anti-atoms should absorb and emit light at the same wavelengths as hydrogen. Now antihydrogen’s spectrum has been measured at last, and it confirms the prediction.

Weather observed for first time on a hot, giant, Jupiter-like alien planet

A weather system — including strong winds and changing cloud cover — has been observed in the atmosphere of a giant gas planet outside our solar system for the first time. HAT-P-7b is 16 times the size of Earth and lies more than 1,000 light years away in the Cygnus constellation.

Feathered dinosaur tail preserved in amber

Exquisitely preserved bones and feathers from the tip of a dinosaur tail have been discovered in a piece of 99-million-year-old amber. The "astonishing" fossil contains the first skeletal remains of a dinosaur ever found preserved in amber.

Ancient eclipse records revise modern calculations of Earth's spin

The observations of ancient astronomers from the time of the Babylonians onwards have revealed our modern days are not getting quite as long as they should be.