Astronaut uses space internet to control robot on Earth
The interplanetary internet has been used by an astronaut at the International Space Station (ISS) to send commands to a robot on Earth.
The experimental technology, called Disruption-Tolerant Networking (DTN) protocol, could be a future way to communicate with astronauts on Mars. Currently, if there is a problem when data is sent between Earth and Mars rovers, information can be lost. |  |
Robots in the classroom help autistic children learn
Autistic children may learn better from robots than from human teachers, according to evidence emerging from a trial at a school in Birmingham.
Two humanoid robots, Max and Ben, have been helping teach children with autism at Topcliffe Primary since March. The school is the first in the UK to try the technology. |  |
The Universe Is Almost Done Making Stars
In its youth, the universe was a roiling soup of star ingredients, with new stars forming rapidly. But now it’s much quieter, and things are not expected to get more exciting anytime soon, astronomers say. For the first time, astronomers have figured out the universe's star-birth rate, and found that today, it's 30 times lower than its likely peak some 11 billion years ago. As a result, all of the future stars may be no more than a 5 percent increase above what we’ve got now.
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Comet collisions every six seconds explain 17-year-old stellar mystery
Every six seconds, for millions of years, comets have been colliding with one another near a star in the constellation Cetus called 49 CETI, which is visible to the naked eye.
Over the past three decades, astronomers have discovered hundreds of dusty disks around stars, but only two—49 CETI is one—have been found that also have large amounts of gas orbiting them.
Over the past three decades, astronomers have discovered hundreds of dusty disks around stars, but only two—49 CETI is one—have been found that also have large amounts of gas orbiting them.
Undead-End: Fungus That Controls Zombie-Ants Has Own Fungal Stalker
An unsuspecting worker ant in Brazil's rainforest leaves its nest one morning. But instead of following the well-worn treetop paths of its nest mates, this ant stumbles along clumsily, walking in aimless circles, convulsing from time to time.
At high noon, as if programmed, the ant plunges its mandibles into the juicy main vein of a leaf and soon dies. Within days the stem of a fungus sprouts from the dead ant's head. After growing a stalk, the fungus casts spores to the ground below, where they can be picked up by other passing ants. |  |
Despite Syrian war, archaeologists work at ancient city of Karkemish
ISTANBUL — Few archaeological sites seem as entwined with conflict, ancient and modern, as the city of Karkemish.
The scene of a battle mentioned in the Bible, it lies smack on the border between Turkey and Syria, where civil war rages today. Twenty-first century Turkish sentries occupy an acropolis dating back more than 5,000 years, and the ruins were recently demined. Visible from crumbling, earthen ramparts, a Syrian rebel flag flies in a town that regime forces fled just months ago. |  |
An exact replica of the Tomb of Tutankhamun – a gift to Egypt
To coincide with the 90th anniversary of the discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun, a near perfect replica will travel to Cairo as a gift to Egypt. Created by the Madrid-based workshop Factum Arte, the tomb will be temporarily exhibited in Cairo on 13 and 14 November.
The replica is a gift from The Factum Foundation (Madrid), the Society of Friends of the Royal Tombs of Egypt (Zurich) and the University of Basel to the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The replica is a gift from The Factum Foundation (Madrid), the Society of Friends of the Royal Tombs of Egypt (Zurich) and the University of Basel to the Arab Republic of Egypt.
At "Europe's Oldest Town," Unusual Fortifications Hint at Prehistoric Riches
It's controversially being called Europe's oldest known town. But whatever Solnitsata's place in history, it's becoming clear that the 6,500-year-old Bulgarian site—not far from the continent's earliest known gold hoard—had something very much worth protecting.
Researchers announced last week they'd discovered 10-foot-tall (3-meter-tall), 6-foot-thick (1.8-meter-thick) stone walls around the settlement. The find is among the evidence for Solnitsata's oldest-town status—and further proof of an advanced Copper Age Balkan trade network, according to dig leader Vasil Nikolov, a Bulgarian archaeologist. |  |
Bulgarian archaeologists find golden treasures in ancient Thracian tomb
Bulgarian archaeologists have discovered bracelets with snake heads, a tiara with animal motifs and a horse-head piece in a hoard of ancient golden artefacts unearthed during excavations at a Thracian tomb in the north of country.
The artefacts have been dated to the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third century BC. They were found in the biggest of 150 ancient tombs of the Getae people, a Thracian tribe that was in contact with the Hellenistic world. The hoard also yielded a golden ring, 44 female figure depictions and 100 golden buttons. |  |
Archaeologists examine one of the oldest hoards found in Europe
Archaeologists from the University of Tübingen’s Institute of Prehistory are working with the Serbian Archaeological Institute in Belgrade to analyse the most comprehensive Early Neolithic hoard ever found.
Work on the nearly 8000 year old collection of jewellery and figurines is funded by the Thyssen Foundation.
The unique hoard is comprised of some 80 objects made of stone, clay and bone. “This collection from Belica, in all its completeness, provides a unique glimpse into the symbols of the earliest farmers and herdsmen in Europe,” says Tübingen archaeologist Dr. Raiko Krauss, who heads the German side of the project.
Work on the nearly 8000 year old collection of jewellery and figurines is funded by the Thyssen Foundation.
The unique hoard is comprised of some 80 objects made of stone, clay and bone. “This collection from Belica, in all its completeness, provides a unique glimpse into the symbols of the earliest farmers and herdsmen in Europe,” says Tübingen archaeologist Dr. Raiko Krauss, who heads the German side of the project.
Famous human ancestor Lucy may have had difficulty keeping pace with peers
Our famous ancestor Lucy may have had difficulty keeping up with other members of her species, new research reveals.
Comparisons of the well-known Australopithecus afarensis specimen with fossilised remains of a male of the same species found nearby have shown she may have walked much slower than him. The results have raised new questions about the lives of early hominids, particularly about how the different sexes travelled and worked together when they may have had vastly different walking speeds. |  |
This pterodactyl was so big it couldn't fly, scientist claims
Bad news dragon riders: Your dragon can't take off.
A new analysis of the largest of pterodactyls suggests they were too big and their muscles too weak to vault into the air and fly. Instead, they were right at the upper limit of animal flight and needed a hill or stiff breeze so they could soar like hang gliders. |  |
‘Extinct’ animal turns up in Wales: Pine Martins still exist in UK
One of Britain’s rarest and most elusive animals has been found in Wales, after a hunt lasting more than 40 years – the pine marten.
A tree-climbing relative of the otter and the stoat, the pine marten had become extinct throughout much of Britain by the early 20th century, although numbers of the animal survived in Scotland.
But in Wales its continued existence has been problematic and no sight has been made of the animal, living or dead, since a carcass was found in 1971.
A tree-climbing relative of the otter and the stoat, the pine marten had become extinct throughout much of Britain by the early 20th century, although numbers of the animal survived in Scotland.
But in Wales its continued existence has been problematic and no sight has been made of the animal, living or dead, since a carcass was found in 1971.
Hummingbirds Are Popping Up in the Strangest Places
Two master bird banders are at the forefront of finding out why the rufous hummingbird’s migration has changed
It is a little past 6:30 in the morning on Whidbey Island, in Washington’s Puget Sound, and despite the earliness of the hour and wretchedness of the weather, Dan Harville is admiring the torch lilies in Al Lunemann’s garden. Hummingbirds flurry about the tall red plants, drinking, hovering and chasing each other. |  |
Britain's forests will never look the same again
Ash dieback is already present in 115 sites around Britain and expected to spread further.
Professor Ian Boyd, Chief Scientist at the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs, said ash dieback will gradually kill off the native common ash over many, many years. |  |
Could millions of GM insects be released into British crop fields?
Millions of GM insects developed by British scientists could be released into food crop fields without proper safety checks, it is claimed.
The British company Oxitec is working on genetically modified insects that are designed to kill off pests that feed on crops such as cabbages, broccoli, tomatoes and fruit. The firm insists the technology is a green alternative to the use of chemical sprays, which have their own dangers for human health and the countryside. It accused critics of scaremongering and said there is zero chance of its insects being used on farms without thorough checks on all aspects of their safety. |  |
It moves! Lab-made blob can crawl
Drops of gel full of a protein mix can move themselves, mimicking a key feature of lifeMovie Camera. The mobile drops could one day have medical uses, and might help untangle the laws that govern how patterns emerge from chaos.
The drops are made from a special gel containing ingredients extracted from real cells: nano-sized protein tubes from cow brains and motor proteinsMovie Camera from bacteria. The motor proteins can "walk" along the tubes at a rate of about 8 nanometres per step, feeding on adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the same energy source they use in living bodies.
The drops are made from a special gel containing ingredients extracted from real cells: nano-sized protein tubes from cow brains and motor proteinsMovie Camera from bacteria. The motor proteins can "walk" along the tubes at a rate of about 8 nanometres per step, feeding on adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the same energy source they use in living bodies.
BBC bosses feared alien discovery could breach editorial guidelines
Prof Cox, who hosts the show with comedian Dara O'Briain, said he had hoped to point the Jodrell Bank telescope at the planet Threapleton Holmes B after it was discovered live on air last year and listen for signs of life.
But he claimed he was prevented from doing so because the Corporation was concerned that a discovery of aliens could violate BBC regulations. |  |
Mystery of Earth's Missing Moon --Will NASA Solve It?
NASA's GRAIL mission started its lunar probe late in 2011 to uncover some of the mysteries buried beneath the surface of the Moon --even, perhaps, a long-lost companion. According to recent scientific speculation, the Earth once had two moons gracing our night skies.
"It's an intriguing idea," said David Smith, GRAIL's deputy principal investigator at MIT. "And it would be a way to explain one of the great perplexities of the Earth-Moon system – the Moon's strangely asymmetrical nature. Its near and far sides are substantially different.". |  |
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