Science Glance
An ancient network of rivers on Mars once made parts of the planet habitable for microbial life, according to the latest analysis from Nasa's Curiosity rover.
Rock dust drilled from sediments in the giant Gale crater on the red planet were found to contain clay minerals that can have formed only in water, scientists said.
The discovery of other substances alongside the clays, such as calcium phosphate, suggest the soil was neutral or mildly alkaline, making the environment suitable for microbes.
Nasa Curiosity Rover: new evidence that life may have existed on Mars
Black Hole 'Mystery Wave' Takes Astronomers By Surprise
Astronomers studying an unusual black hole system have spotted a never-before-seen structure in the disk of matter encircling the system.
Swift J1357.2, an X-ray binary system that regularly emits outbursts of high energy, consists of a black hole slowly consuming its companion star. Matter from the doomed star falls into the accretion disk, which surrounds the black hole, feeding it dust and gas. While observing the system, a team of scientists noticed an unusual vertical feature traveling through the material.
New planet seen forming inside gas cloud
Astronomers studying the disc of gas and dust surrounding the young star HD 100546, which at 335 light-years is relatively near to Earth, believe they are witnessing the birth of a gas giant similar to Jupiter, although up to three times larger.
If their discovery is confirmed, it would allow huge leaps in our understanding of how planets take shape by allowing scientists to compare their theories against direct observations from the new planet.
Stretchy battery drawn to three times its size
Researchers have demonstrated a flat, "stretchy" battery that can be pulled to three times its size without a loss in performance. While flexible and stretchable electronics have been on the rise, powering them with equally stretchy energy sources has been problematic.
The new idea in Nature Communications uses small "islands" of energy-storing materials dotted on a stretchy polymer. The study also suggests the batteries can be recharged wirelessly.
Universe Has Finite Lifespan, Higgs Boson Calculations Suggest
The discovery that so thrilled the scientific community last year may have opened the door to a glimpse of the future: the end of the world (and the universe) as we know it.
At the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science this week, scientists worried the Higgs boston particle--sometimes called the "God particle"--may confirm a universe-ending disaster billions of years in the future.
Smallest planet yet found outside solar system
Astronomers searching for planets outside our solar system have discovered the tiniest one yet - one that's about the size of our moon.
But hunters for life in the universe will need to poke elsewhere. The new world orbits too close to its sun-like star and is too sizzling to support life. Its surface temperature is an estimated 700 degrees Fahrenheit. It also lacks an atmosphere and water on its rocky surface.
Meteorite fragments injure 700 in Siberia
A hail of meteorite fragments landed in a vast swath of western Siberia Friday, causing injuries to more than 700 people, emergency officials in Russia said.
The fragments came down after a boom felt in three regions of Russia and neighboring Kazakhstan, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported. Gas supplies were cut off to hundreds of homes in the Chelyabinsk region as a safety precaution and about 20,000 emergency response workers were called out.
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