NZ scientist lands trip to Branson’s island
By Vaimoana Tapaleao From New Zealand Herald Michelle Dickinson has been on Necker Island in the Caribbean with billionaire Sir Richard Branson. A young Kiwi scientist has spent the past few days playing chess with Richard Branson on his private…
UK facing ‘major’ sperm shortage
By James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News online The UK is facing a major sperm shortage that may be tempting fertility clinics to accept poorer quality sperm, the British Fertility Society (BFS) warns. Some clinics rely on imported sperm to…
Scientists create Element 117, which Is 40% heavier than lead
By Lance Ulanoff From Mashable Element 117, a super-heavy atom with a long half-life is, according to an international team of scientists, real and ready to take its place on the Periodic Table. Scientists actually confirmed the existence and lifetime…
Distant galaxy has 3 supermassive black holes at its centre
By Charles Q. Choi, Space.Com Contributor for Space.com From Mashable Scientists have just discovered a distant galaxy with not one but three supermassive black holes at its core. The new finding suggests that tight-knit groups of these giant black holes…
NASA successfully tests ‘flying saucer’ vehicle
By Traci Watson, Special for USA TODAY EARLIER: NASA TO TEST FLYING-SAUCER-LIKE DEVICE FOR MARS LANDINGS NASA plans to launch a flying-saucer-shaped vehicle to test technology for landing heavy loads – and one day even people – on Mars. The…
China has the fastest supercomputer in the world — again
By Lance Ulanoff From Mashable Zipping along at 33.86 petaflops (quadrillions of calculations per second), China’s Tianhe-2 is the world’s fastest computer for the third year in a row, according to Top500, a twice yearly compilation of the fastest computers…
Astronauts may suffer artery damage on long missions
By Elizabeth Howell, SPACE.com Contributor for Space.com From Mashable At least some astronauts who spend six months aboard the International Space Station come back to Earth with stiffer arteries than before their flights, a new study reveals. Stiff arteries in…
Salamanders hold clues to how humans could regrow limbs
By Max Yun, Research Fellow at University College London for The Conversation UK From Mashable Humans have some regenerative abilities but compared to creatures like the salamander, which has an amazing ability to regenerate after injury, we’re pretty limited. Not…
Drone Beat: 418 crashes worldwide, spying on a World Cup Team and more
By Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai From Mashable The U.S. government uses them to bomb alleged terrorists in far-away places, tech companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook are all toying with the idea of using them commercially and, in recent months, they’ve become…
Genetically engineered ‘super bananas’ begin human trials
By Alex Magdalen From Mashable If bananas weren’t a super food before, these “super bananas” make a case for the fruit’s place among the nutritious elite. Bananas genetically engineered to improve the nutrient-deficient lives of millions in Africa will soon…
