Probe of comet’s water yields surprises

Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko is yielding surprising secrets about its water.  New data from the Rosetta spacecraft suggest most of Earth’s water came from asteroids, not comets, and that comets closer to our part of the Solar System have more diverse origins than previously suspected.

Axial alignments of quasars detected

New observations indicate that over distances of billions of light-years, certain types of super-bright galaxies tend to spin along the same axis.

Bird diversification after dinosaur extinction

A four-year project has decoded and compared the entire genetic fingerprint of 48 bird species to represent all these lineages — including the woodpecker, owl, penguin, hummingbird and flamingo.  Researchers also compared these genomes with those of three other reptile species and humans.  They found that birdsong evolved separately at least twice. Parrots and songbirds gained the ability to learn and mimic vocal activity independently of hummingbirds, despite sharing many of the same genes.  The findings are important because some of the brain processes that are involved in bird singing are also associated with human speech.

Methane gas spikes renew speculation of life on Mars

Methane in the Martian atmosphere and organic chemicals in the red planet's soil are the latest tantalising findings of NASA's Mars Curiosity rover as it hunts for clues about the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

Mars rock said to show traces of biological activity

A study published this month argues that a meteorite identified as coming from Mars contains traces of carbon with a likely biological origin, like coal, which comes from remains of long-ago plants.

MY Ca­mel­o­par­dalis: Two giant stars starting to merge

Scientists are reporting the discovery of a pair of huge stars that are circling each other and are starting to merge.  Theoretical models predict that the biggest stars form by merging with other smaller stars. These stars initially make up “binary” or “multiple” systems, in which two or more stars move around each other about a common central point.

The first evidence of diet allowing an animal to be chemically camouflaged

The coral-feeding fish Oxymonacanthus longirostris avoids predators not only by looking like the coral it depends on for food and shelter, but by smelling like it too.

Hot young stars limit galaxy growth

Scientists have captured the first evidence of a new stellar feedback mechanism controlling the amount of star stuff a galaxy can contain.

Human and mice genes: similar but different

Humans and mice have the same number of genes but humans have more instructions for controlling them.

Moon's magnetic core still a mystery

Billions of years ago the Moon had a magnetic field much stronger than the Earth does now, according to a new review of scientific data.  Today, the Moon has no global magnetic field.

The secret world of fungi revealed

A light has been shone on the world of fungi through a global study that reveals the staggering and previously unknown diversity of species.  The work shows that fungi diversity is not linked to plant diversity as previously thought. Instead distance from the equator is the key determinant, along with annual rainfall and soil characteristics such as pH and calcium concentration.  The study also reveals the diversity of fungal species does not decline with latitude as sharply as plant species diversity does.

Carnivorous plant fossil trapped in amber

Rare fossils of a carnivorous plant have been found preserved in a piece of Baltic amber.  The find has shed light on the origins of a plant that traps its food using leaves that act like fly paper.  The rare fossils date back to between 35 and 47 million years ago, during the Eocene.

Making fuel out of thin air

In a discovery that experts say could revolutionise fuel cell technology, scientists have found that graphene, the world's thinnest, strongest and most impermeable material, can allow protons to pass through it.  The new discovery raises the possibility that graphene membranes could one day be used to "sieve" hydrogen gas directly from the atmosphere to generate electricity.

Extra-bright quantum dots to help medicine

Tiny dots of graphene could help highlight cancer cells in the body or make LED emergency signals more visible.

Astronomers identify mystery object at centre of galaxy

Astronomers have solved a mystery about a thin, bizarre object, known as G2, headed toward the monster black hole at the centre of our galaxy. While some scientists believed G2 was a cloud of hydrogen gas that the black hole would tear apart in a fiery show, the new study found it was more interesting. Instead, the team found it was a pair of binary stars. The pair had also been orbiting the black hole together and merged together into an extremely large star, cloaked in gas and dust. The black hole’s powerful gravitational field choreographed the event.

Why did dinosaurs have feathers long before flight?

It has been proposed that these ancient lizards had a highly developed colour sensitivity, and that feathers made them more colourful, aiding communication, mate selection and procreation.

Vulcanism may have triggered water flow on early Mars

Volcanic eruptions could have kept Mars warm enough for liquid water to intermittently flow across its ancient surface.

Hungry black hole found to eat faster than thought possible

Astronomers have found a black hole consuming a nearby star 10 times faster than previously thought possible.

Hint of dark matter found?

Astrophysicists have measured a curious signal that they say might come from the mysterious dark matter, an invisible substance detected so far only through its gravity.

Dark matter: half as much as previously thought?

A new measurement of “dark matter” in our galaxy indicates there is half as much of the mysterious substance as previously thought.

Comet landing: Philae finds organic molecules

The Philae comet-lander has found traces of organic molecules on the surface of the comet 67P.

Interstellar Complex Or­gan­ic Mol­e­cule Detected

The most complex organic molecule detected in interstellar space thus far: isopropyl cyanide.

Mystery fossils seem to represent tiny balls of cells

The new specimens, Megaclonophycus, slightly under a millimetre wide, are thought to offer a window onto the early evolution of complex multicellular organisms.

Seal-like beast gave rise to dinosaur-era sea monsters

Researchers say they have found a fossil of a seal-like animal that represents an ancestral form of ichthyosaurs — which were believed to have evolved out of land-dwelling animals, though a “missing link” tying them to such creatures was missing.  The new fossil is said to fill that gap by displaying amphibious capabilities.

Newfound particle might not be famous Higgs

Many calculations indicate a particle discovered in a giant particle accelerator in Switzerland in 2012 was an entity famously known as the Higgs boson.  But it might be something else, a research team claims.

Storms flare up on Uranus

Storms are churning up the normally bland blue-green face of Uranus—creating huge cloud systems visible for the first time in even amateur astronomers’ telescopes.

Feeling of seeing the world in detail is illusory

We usually think we can see the world around us in sharp detail.  In reality, that’s only true for a tiny patch our field of vision — an area about the size of the thumbnail of our outstretched hand. The rest is blurred. But the brain fools us into thinking otherwise by using memory to fill in the blanks.

Rosetta mission lands Philae probe on comet

After a 10-year journey, Philae has landed on the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet after being launched from the space probe Rosetta. Astrophysicists hope Philae will unlock knowledge about the origins of the solar system and even life on Earth, which some believe may have started with comets seeding the planet with life-giving carbon molecules and water.

Heart of supernova reveals hints of hidden pulsar

Astronomers have detected the first signs of the birth of a neutron star at the heart of a supernova remnant.

Comet 'sings a mysterious song'

The Rosetta mission has detected a mysterious signal coming from Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Through some kind of interaction in the comet's environment, 67P's weak magnetic field seems to be oscillating at low frequencies.

Gut bacteria evolved rapidly as humans evolved

As humans diverged from the other apes our gut flora evolved rapidly, with selection favouring bacteria more specialised for living off meat-based diets, an unsurprising new study finds.

Dinosaur Mystery Solved

The true identity of a mysterious dinosaur known only from a pair of gigantic arms with huge claws that were found almost half a century ago has finally been revealed.  Two recently discovered skeletons show the appendages belonged to Deinocheirus mirificus, a massive, bizarre-looking omnivore that lived 70 million years ago.

Exploding star's fireball captured in action

The expanding fireball of a nova explosion has been observed in unprecedented detail for the first time.  The new observations show these eruptions are far more complicated than previously thought.

Ancient fish reveals the emergence of coupling

The sexual act where two creatures physically join together to create new life first began 385 million years ago. The extinct Devonian-age armoured fish Microbrachius dicki, a kind of antiarch placoderm (the first jawed animals), had genital structures that enabled it to reproduce by internal fertilisation — where the male inserts semen into the female.

Plasma 'bombs' and tornadoes detected on the Sun

The first detailed view of a poorly understood region of the Sun reveals plasma 'bombs', powerful tornadoes, and supersonic jets that may be the start of the solar wind.

New accuracy record set for quantum computing

Scientists have developed the first silicon quantum technology capable of holding data with over 99 per cent accuracy.  The breakthrough was achieved using two different types of silicon-based quantum bits or qubits, the basic information storing element in a quantum computer.

Dinosaur arms to bird wings

One of the last niggling doubts about the link between dinosaurs and birds may be settled by a new study that shows how bird wrists evolved from those of their dinosaur predecessors.

Human Foxp2 gene turns mice into fast-learners

Scientists have spliced a key human brain gene into mice, that demonstrated accelerated learning as a result.  In the first study designed to assess how partially 'humanising' brains of a different species affects key cognitive functions, scientists report that mice carrying Foxp2 - a human gene associated with language - learned new ways to find food in mazes faster than normal mice.

Io spouts “curtains of fire” in series of eruptions

Three huge volcanic eruptions rocked Jupiter’s moon Io within two weeks last August.  The events are leading scientists to speculate that these outbursts, which can send material hundreds of kilometres above the surface, might be much more common than previously thought.

Tur­tles use vo­cal calls to stick to­geth­er and to care for young

Giant South American river turtles use several kinds of calls to coordinate their activities, including one call from females to their hatchlings in what is the first instance of recorded parental care in turtles.

Semiotic sophistication seen in trout-eel hunting partnership

Coral trout and moray eel collaborate with deadly effectiveness in hunting. Now, researchers have studied their technique and concluded that the trout’s collaborative skills rival those of the chimpanzee.

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus: semiaquatic and larger than T. rex

A dinosaur discovered over a century ago turns out to have probably been “semiaquatic”— the only known dinosaur adapted for living and hunting in a water environment.  New fossils of the huge predator reveal it adapted to life in the water some 95 million years ago, providing the strongest evidence to date of a dinosaur able to live and hunt in an aquatic environment.

The giant, sail-backed Spinosaurus was a formidable aquatic predator built for swimming and hunting in water.

Parrot found to “teach” tool use to others

Goffin’s cockatoos, a type of parrot, can not only make and use tools but also teach others to do the same.

Game theory demonstrated in Gouldian finches

A long-standing theory that excessive conflict is bad for society has been demonstrated in an animal population.  Aggressive and peaceful Gouldian finches can live together as long as the aggressors are not too successful, suggest the findings which are based on game theory.

Laniakea: galactic supercluster

Astronomers have discovered that the Milky Way galaxy is part of a supercluster which they've named Laniakea ('immense heaven').

Neanderthal 'hashtag' carving found in cave

The hashtag may be a symbol of modern life, but its origins can be traced back to Neanderthal carvings.  Scientists have discovered the first evidence of artwork by this species etched into the walls of a cave in Gibraltar.  In recent years researchers have discovered that Neanderthals buried their dead, adorned themselves with black and red pigments, wore shell and feather jewelry and cared for the elderly and infirm, all evidence of complex thought.  But until now, no unambiguously Neanderthal art was ever found.

Neanderthals and sapiens were longtime neighbours in Europe

Far from wiping out Neanderthals overnight, modern humans lived alongside their shorter and stockier cousins in Europe for thousands of years, confirms a new study. Using new radiocarbon dating techniques, a team of international scientists show Neanderthals overlapped with present-day humans in Europe for between 2600 and 5400 years before disappearing about 40,000 years ago. The findings overturn previous theories that suggest late-surviving groups of Neanderthals lived in places such as Gibraltar later than 40,000 years ago.

Tiny dust grains may be from interstellar space

Scientists believe they have captured the first samples of space dust that comes from beyond our solar system.

Egyptian mummification began before the Pharaohs

Prehistoric Egyptians practised mummification well before the time of the Pharaohs, suggests an analysis of resin-soaked linen.

Did the 'Hobbit' have Down syndrome?

The so-called 'Hobbit' skeleton discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores is simply a small modern human with Down syndrome and not a new species of early human, say researchers. But Professor Colin Groves, a bioanthropologist at the Australian National University, says the papers' conclusions are "implausible".  Groves believes the authors have ignored much of the evidence in favour of LB1's status as a separate species.

Prehistoric “bookkeeping” continued long after invention of writing

Archaeologists in southeast Turkey have found clay tokens that served as records of trade until the advent of writing, or so it was believed.  But the new find dates from a time when writing was commonplace – thousands of years after the tokens were thought to have been become obsolete.

Fossils of tiny, unknown hedgehog found: Silvacola acares

The 52-mil­lion-year-old fossils of per­haps the tiniest hedgehog species ever, Silvacola acares, have been identified by researchers investigating a “lost world” of fossilised forest in Canada.

Mysterious bursts of radio waves identified far outside galaxy

Mysterious split-second pulses of radio waves are coming from deep in outer space, and nobody knows what causes them.

Mysterious dance of dwarfs may force a cosmic rethink

A finding that many small galaxies don’t “swarm” around larger ones like bees but rather circle them in disc-shaped orbits is creating a new conundrum for scientists.

Astronomers detect most distant Milky Way stars known

The distant outskirts of our galaxy harbour valuable clues for understanding its formation and evolution. But the stars out there are few, far between, and far, far away.  Now, astronomers are reporting the discovery of two stars in this distant “ha­lo” that are the furthest ever discovered in our galaxy, the Milky Way, and are be­ing described as possible ghosts of galaxies past.