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.