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.

Four billion-year-old chemistry in cells today?

Some of the chemical processes that first gave rise to life may be still at work in living cells.  These ancient chemical reactions are thought to have taken place in a “primordial soup” where life originated, such as a pond or ocean.

Elephants possess 'superior' sense of smell

Elephants possess a sense of smell that is likely the strongest ever identified in a single species. The African elephant's genome contains the largest number of olfactory receptor genes - nearly 2,000.

'Optical fibre' made out of thin air

Scientists have turned thin air into an 'optical fibre' that can transmit and amplify light signals without the need for any cables.  In a proof-of-principle experiment they created an "air waveguide" that could one day be used as an instantaneous optical fibre to any point on earth, or even into space.

New find sheds light on dinosaur flight

Fossils of the largest dinosaur capable of flight have been discovered in China, according to a new study.  The 1.2-metre-long raptor named Changyuraptor yangi, was covered with plumage, including 30-centimetre-long tail feathers. This discovery shows this 125-million-year-old raptor was flying long before birds split off from dinosaurs.

A new dinosaur fossil with extremely long feathers boosts a theory that flight was common among the types of dinosaurs that later evolved into birds.  The flying predator, or raptor, had a long, feathered tail that was crucial for lowering descent speed and assuring safe landings.

Supernova lifts the veil on star dust

The creation of star dust in the shockwave of a supernova has been observed by astronomers for the first time. The discovery helps explain the production of large quantities of star dust, which forms stars, planets and people.

Fossil of biggest-known flying seabird: Pelagornis sandersi

Fossilised bird bones uncovered in the US represent the largest flying bird in history, Pelagornis sandersi, with a wingspan of 6.4 metres, twice as long as the biggest modern-day seabird, the royal albatross.  Coupled with its long beak and sharp bony teeth, the enormous wings likely helped the bird master long periods of gliding over water in search of seafood some 25 to 28 million years ago.

Earth-like planet orbiting only one star of a binary system

An Earth-like planet locked in a weird orbit has been found in a two-star system. The newly-discovered planet, called OGLE-2013-BLG-0341LBb is located 3261 light-years away and has about twice the mass of the Earth.  It orbits the smaller of two red dwarf stars at almost the same distance as the Earth orbits the Sun.

Qiyia juras­sica

Around 165 million years ago, a spectacular parasite was at home in the freshwater lakes of present-day Inner Mongolia in China. It was a juvenile fly with a thorax formed entirely like a sucking plate.

Spiders understand “music” of their own web

The sound of a spider web, plucked like a guitar string, provides its inhabitants with information about prey, mates, and even the we­b’s structural condition.  The spiders use that quality by “tuning” the silk, controlling and adjusting its properties, and the threads’ tensions and interconnectivities.

Chimp culture

Chimpanzees are copycats and, in the process, they form new traditions that are often specific to just one group. Such are the findings of an international group of scientists, who waded through over 700 hours of video footage to understand how it came about that one chimpanzee stuck a piece of grass in her ear and started a new trend. Unfortunately, Julie, the inventor of the trend, died. It continued without her.

New dinosaur species has winged crest

Scientists have named a new species of horned dinosaur based on fossils collected from Montana in the United States and Alberta, Canada. Mercuriceratops gemini was about six meters (20 feet) long and weighed more than two tonnes. It lived about 77 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous Period.

Three black holes found spiraling into each other

Astronomers have detected three giant black holes spiralling into each other. They’re hoping similar systems could give off detectable “ripples” in space and time — gravitational waves — predicted by Einstein.

Cloudina fossils push animal-made reefs back in time

A 548-million-year-old reef in central Namibia is the earliest known ecosystem built by hard bodied animals, according to a new study. Until now, the oldest reefs on record made of hard-bodied animals had been dated to about 530 million years of age.  The reefs were built by tiny, filter-feeding animals called Cloudina that lived on shallow equatorial seabeds during the Ediacaran Period, which ended 541 million years ago.