People recognise written words like they do faces

Experienced readers recognise whole words in much the same way we recognise a face, according to scientists who have observed the changes in brain scans that occur as a new word is added to our 'visual dictionary'.

Mystery of Darwin's strange South American mammals solved

Charles Darwin thought they were the strangest animals yet discovered. One creature looked like a cross between a hippo, rhino and rodent; the other resembled a humpless camel with an elephant's trunk.  Ever since Darwin first collected the fossils about 180 years ago, scientists had been baffled about where these odd South American beasts, that went extinct just 10,000 years ago, fit on the mammal family tree.  The mystery has now been solved.  Researchers undertook a sophisticated biochemical analysis of bone collagen extracted from fossils of the two mammals, Toxodon and Macrauchenia, and demonstrated that they were related to the group that includes horses, tapirs and rhinos.

Rainbow lorikeets eating meat

Rainbow lorikeets who frequent a backyard feeding station on a property north of Brisbane are eating meat.  Lorikeets usually eat nectar and pollen which they obtain from native plants and shrubs.

The Moon's past pyroclastic volcanism

The Moon's geologic history is far more complex than previously thought, according to preliminary results from China's Chang'E-3 spacecraft and its 'Jade Rabbit' lunar rover.  The findings indicate a world that experienced multiple lava flows, interspersed with explosive pyroclastic volcanism.

Spiders customise their webs to the conditions

Spiders can customise their webs to make sure they get the diet they need.  In response to their diet, they optimise the size, strength and stickiness of their webs for catching whatever prey is around.

Chameleon's colour magic revealed

The mechanism behind chameleons changing colour to dazzle mates, scare rivals and confuse predators has been shown to involve not pigments but nanocrystals in the skin that are tuned to alter the reflection of light.

Speeding star accelerated by exploding companion

One of the fastest moving stars in the Milky Way galaxy was accelerated to hypervelocity speeds by an exploding companion star.  The star called US 708 HVS 2 is travelling at over 1200 kilometres per second, so fast that it will escape the Milky Way Galaxy in 25 million years.

Milky Way may be 50 per cent bigger than thought

A ring-like filament of stars wrapping around the Milky Way may actually belong to the galaxy itself, rippling above and below the relatively flat galactic plane. If so, that would expand the size of the known galaxy by 50 per cent and raise intriguing questions about what caused the waves of stars.

Herders from the Great Steppe spread Indo-European languages

Nomadic pastoralists from the Great Steppe helped spread Indo-European languages, an analysis of ancient DNA confirms.  The findings give weight to one of two competing hypotheses about where this language group came from.

Ancient galaxy sheds light on dust in early Universe

One of the oldest galaxies ever observed has revealed that dust played a vital role in the infancy of the Universe.  Grains of dust made from carbon, silicon, magnesium, iron and oxygen are formed in the nuclear combustion of a star.  They are spewed into space when the star dies and explodes. Over aeons, clouds of dust and gas coalesce to form new star systems.  The theory is that in the fledgling Universe, gas must have formed the early galaxies as there was no dust to do the job.  But new research suggests dust played its creative part at a much earlier point than thought.

Fossil sheds light on hippos' relation to whales

An ancient relative of the hippopotamus likely swam from Asia to Africa some 35 million years ago, long before the arrival of the lion, rhino, zebra and giraffe.  Analysis of the previously unknown, long-extinct animal also confirms that cetaceans are the hippo's closest living cousins.

Gold rises in bubbles to Earth's surface

Valuable metals like gold, copper and platinum, reach the Earth's surface from deep underground by floating up on vapour bubbles.  The findings may also provide support for one hypothesis explaining the greatest mass extinction event in Earth's history.  Known as the great dying, the Permian-Triassic extinction event 252 million years ago killed off 70 per cent of terrestrial and 96 per cent of all marine life on Earth. Its cause remains a mystery.

Fossils push back snake origins by 65 million years

Palæontologists have described the four oldest-known fossils of snakes, the most ancient of which was a roughly 25-centimetre reptile called Eophis underwoodi that lived about 167 million years ago.  The remarkable fossils from Britain, Portugal and the United States rewrite the history of snake evolution, pushing back snake origins by tens of millions of years.

Astronomers find oldest-known solar system: Kepler-444

An ancient Sun-like star surrounded by orbiting planets dating back to the dawn of our galaxy has been discovered.  The discovery indicates that planets have been forming almost from the time the Universe began.  The star, known as Kepler-444, is 11.2 billion years old, and began forming at a time when the Universe was less than a fifth of its current age.

Big-toothed fossil may be new primitive human

The first known prehistoric human from Taiwan has been identified and may represent an entirely new species that lived as recently as 10,000 years ago.  The newly discovered big-toothed human, 'Penghu 1', strengthens the growing body of evidence that Homo sapiens was not the only species from our genus living in Europe and Asia between 200,000 and 10,000 years ago.  Anthropologists have learned that Neanderthals, Denisovans and Homo floresiensis lived in Europe and Asia within that time frame.

Pitcher plant's tricky trap pulls in the ants

The pitcher plant has developed a clever way to help it dine on batches of ants at a time rather than individual ants.  The carnivorous plant adjusts the slipperiness of its pitfall traps according to changes in the weather to entice more visitors to their sticky downfall, a new study has found.

How the Earth got its nitrogen

Nitrogen may have arrived on Earth in ancient meteorites after the planet had already formed, according to a new study. Scientists have long puzzled over the origin of Earth's nitrogen because it has a different isotopic composition to nitrogen produced by the Sun, and is also different to the nitrogen found in comets.

Chimps 'talk' about favourite fruits, best trees

Researchers eavesdropping on wild chimpanzees have determined that the primates communicate about at least (!) two things: their favourite fruits and the trees where these fruits can be found.  Of particular interest to the chimps is the size of the trees bearing these fruits - the chimps yell out that information, according to a new study.  The study is the first to find that information about tree size and available fruit amounts are included in chimp calls, in addition to assessments about food quality.

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.