Mystery ancient human ancestor found in Australasian family tree

An unknown hominin species that bred with early human ancestors when they migrated from Africa to Australasia has been identified through genome mapping of living humans.

Scientists make single-atom memory from copper and chlorine

Researchers report using a scanning tunnelling microscope to store data at the atomic scale.

Kepler detects 104 new exoplanets

NASA’s exoplanet-hunting satellite, which seemed broken beyond repair 3 years ago, today shows it is still very much alive with a batch of more than 100 new worlds that it discovered in 2015.

Scientists develop way to upsize nanostructures into light, flexible 3-D printed materials

Researchers have developed hierarchical metallic metamaterial with multi-layered, fractal-like 3-D architectures to create structures at centimetre scales incorporating nanoscale features.

New Brain Map Doubles Number of Known Regions

Neurologists have found 97 new areas in the brain and expect to add even more.

Whales Mourn Their Dead

Seven species of the marine mammals have been seen clinging to the dead body of a likely friend or relative, according to a new study.

Bees spew water at their hive-mates when the temperature rises

When honeybee hives get too hot, thirsty bees beg their specialised, water-foraging sisters for more liquid, which ends up cooling the colony.  Honeybees have a few strategies for chilling out: some fan the nest, others leave the hive to increase air flow, and a few zip off looking for ponds or puddles. These “water collector” bees fill their bellies with water, fly back home, then regurgitate the liquid. Other bees slurp it up and spit it out around the hive, allowing the colony to cool as the water evaporates.

X-structure detected at centre of the Milky Way galaxy

An enormous X-shaped structure made of stars lies at the centre of the Milky Way, indicates a new study of infrared light coming from our home galaxy.

Naphthalene helps quantum computing work at room temperature

An international team has used naphthalene as the starting point to create a new carbon-based material that enables quantum computers to work at room temperature.

Polynesian maritime network revealed by tools

Early Polynesian sailors criss-crossed the Pacific for hundreds of years, travelling as far as 2,500 kilometres, according to a new chemical analysis of centuries-old stone tools. The findings suggest there was ongoing, post-colonisation contact between the communities of the eastern Pacific from about AD1300 to the 1600s.