Science

As a species, humans have always questioned the existence of other life forms in the universe. But while there is no concrete proof either way, this hasn’t stopped plenty of speculation. In recent years, UFO enthusiasts have been scouring images from NASAs’ Curiosity Rover for signs of life as it roams around Mars. We’ve gathered together some of the images …

Scientists have found the world’s oldest hatchet fragment in Australia and have determined it is between 44,000 and 49,000 years old. “This is the earliest evidence of hafted axes in the world. Nowhere else in the world do you get axes at this date,” said Professor O’Connor from the ANU School of Culture, History and Language. “In Japan such axes …

The Whale Sanctuary Project, an environmental non-profit group, is eyeing the coast of British Columbia as a potential location to establish a refuge for retired aquarium whales. “If we are interested in phasing out the keeping of dolphins and whales in concrete tanks, we have to have somewhere for them to go,” Whale Sanctuary Project president Dr. Lori Marino told …

It appears as though U.S. startup MegaBots’ vision for “Pacific Rim”-style competitions is coming closer to reality. TechCrunch has reported that MegaBots, a start-up company in California, has raised US$2.4 million in seed funding to create a new sport involving internally piloted robots. They’re not small buggers: the robots are more than four and a half metres tall and weigh …

For the first time in four decades, oxygen has been detected in the atmosphere of Mars, and even though NASA researchers reported that they had only found half as much as they had expected, the discovery should help them learn more about the Red Planet’s unusual atmosphere. The atmospheric oxygen was detected by the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) …

A 15-year-old boy from Quebec used Mayan star charts and satellite imagery to find an abandoned Mayan city in Belize. William Gadoury has been passionate about the Maya since 2012, when there was a big kerfuffle over the Mayan calendar announcing the end of the world, according to Le Journal de Montréal. He’s been eagerly studying them ever since, and …

$100 million research and engineering program will seek proof of concept for using light beam to propel gram-scale ‘nanocraft’ to 20 percent of light speed. A possible fly-by mission could reach Alpha Centauri within about 20 years of its launch. Internet investor and science philanthropist Yuri Milner was joined at One World Observatory by renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking to announce …

B.C.’s Conservation Officer Service (COS) recently intercepted a watercraft that had an invasive mussel hiding on it. According to the conservation service, the boat coming from Ontario to B.C. failed to stop at an inspection station on April 28, near Elko on Highway 3.

When launched, Hubble’s successor, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, will be the most powerful space telescope in the world (or, outside of it?). Though it’s still under construction and is expected to launch in 2018, officials have just now unveiled pictures of the telescope’s huge, golden mirrors. And boy, are they pretty. The James Webb Space Telescope is currently sitting …

SpaceX Lands Falcon 9 Rocket at Sea During Japanese Satellite Launch. An unmanned SpaceX rocket has landed back on Earth after a successful commercial mission to put a satellite into orbit. Expectations for the mission had been low, with the craft carrying a minimal amount of fuel. It was the second consecutive droneship touchdown by the rocket’s first stage in …

A team of international scientists has made a remarkable discovery, unearthing more than a ton of fossils and dinosaur remains in Antarctica. Some of the fossils are believed to be 71 million years old. UQ School of Biological Sciences researcher Dr Steve Salisbury was one of 12 scientists who travelled to the James Ross Island area in an expedition spanning …