China’s “Jade Rabbit” separates from lander

  China’s first lunar rover separates from Chang’e-3 moon lander early Dec. 15, 2013. Picture was taken from the screen of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Li   BEIJING, (Xinhua): China’s first moon rover, Yutu, … Continued

UK: G8 summit sets ‘ambitious’ 2025 target for dementia cure

  Britain has hosted a special G8 meeting campaigning for a united effort to combat dementia comparable to the global approach to AIDS. Prime Minister David Cameron set a goal of 2025 for a cure.  On Wednesday, the World Health … Continued

China launches probe and rover to moon

[The Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying China’s Chang’e-3 lunar probe blasts off from the launch pad at Xichang Satellite Launch Center, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Dec. 2 (Xinhua/Li Gang)]   XICHANG, Sichuan, (Xinhua): China launched the Chang’e-3 lunar probe with … Continued

Comet ISON feared lost after ‘grazing’ the sun

  Comet ISON is feared dead after its solar fly-by, but astronomers have sighted “something” re-emerging after its slingshot flight behind the sun. Eyes remain peeled and fingers crossed, possibly in forlorn hope.  At roughly 4.5 billion years of age, … Continued

Russian cosmonauts take Olympic torch on spacewalk for first time

[Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov with Olympic torch on a spacewalk] MOSCOW, (Xinhua): Two Russian cosmonauts took an Olympic torch on a spacewalk Saturday for the first time in history as part of the Sochi 2014 torch relay. The torch, unlit … Continued

Astronomers find first asteroid with six comet-like tails

WASHINGTON, (Xinhua): U.S. and German astronomers said Thursday they have found for the first time an asteroid with six comet-like tails of dust in solar system’s asteroid belt. Unlike all other known asteroids, which appear simply as tiny points of … Continued

UK: Researchers halt brain cell death in mice, hope for Alzheimer’s

A team of researchers in the UK have published findings that offer hope for future progress against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. They managed to stop the death of brain cells in infected mice. Scientists offered cautious optimism on Thursday that … Continued

Englert, Higgs win 2013 Nobel Physics Prize

Francois Englert and Peter Higgs have won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on a particle that is thought to be a key to explaining the universe. The Higgs boson is thought to explain the origin of … Continued

Voyager ‘beyond’ solar system, says NASA

  The US space agency NASA says its veteran probe Voyager 1 has become the first spacecraft to leave the solar system. It is more than 19 billion kilometers from Earth. Thirty six years after it was launched from earth, … Continued

Chile: Telescope captures birth of a new star

Astronomers have succeeded in observing a star being born 1,400 light years from the Earth using the ALMA telescope in Chile. But the astral baby in the constellation Vela has yet to receive a real name. The images from the … Continued

US: Scientists discover new species of carnivorous mammal, the olinguito

[Photo: Picture Alliance-dpa] Scientists in the United States have found the Western Hemisphere’s first new carnivorous mammal in 35 years. The long-tailed, reddish-brown olinguito is said to resemble a mix between a house cat and a teddy bear. The olinugito, … Continued

Canada: Struggling smartphone maker BlackBerry eyes sale

Smartphone maker BlackBerry has formed a committee to discuss strategic options, including the possible sale of the company. It has been struggling in the face of competition from Apple and Android-operated rivals. BlackBerry announced Monday it had formed the special … Continued

New malaria vaccine shows promise, raises hopes for fighting deadly disease

Scientists have raised hope for an effective malaria vaccine, having had positive outcomes in a clinical trial. Malaria, one of the world’s deadliest diseases, infected 219 million people in 2010. US researchers announced their success on Thursday in the journal … Continued

US: Genetic “Eve,” “Adam” lived roughly at same time

WASHINGTON, (Xinhua): The most recent common ancestors to females and males, “Eve” and “Adam,” appeared on the planet roughly around the same time, U.S. researchers said Thursday. A study led by the Stanford University School of Medicine, which appeared in … Continued

US: Gas cloud being `stretched like spaghetti` as it swings past black hole

[A black hole (Representative image)] Washington, (ANI): Recent observations of the galactic center have revealed that parts of the in-falling gas cloud, which was detected in 2011, have already swung past the black hole at the heart of our Milky … Continued

UK: Healthy baby born from new IVF gene screening technique

Scientists meeting in London have announced the birth of the first baby to come from a new IVF technique that screens embryos for genetic defects. It is hoped the method could improve the low overall IVF success rate. The baby … Continued

US: NASA telescope IRIS launched to investigate the sun

A small telescope has been launched on a mission to determine how the sun heats up its atmosphere. The findings could help understand how solar storms disrupt telecommunications on Earth. NASA launched the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, IRIS, on a … Continued

US: Firms cannot patent human genes, US court rules

The US Supreme Court has ruled against patents for extracted human DNA, though synthesized genetic strains remain eligible. The court ruled that isolating naturally occurring material did not satisfy patent requirements. In a unanimous vote on Thursday, the US Supreme … Continued

Kenya:  30 countries in Africa at risk of yellow fever   NAIROBI, (Xinhua): The UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that 30 countries in Africa with a total population of 508 million are considered to be at different … Continued