02-Feb-2011

Paper planes dropped from space


Alien solar system packs its planets like sardines
A sextuplet alien solar system has been glimpsed in exquisite detail, revealing six planets of varying mass, five of which are packed closer to one another than in any planetary system seen before.


Tobacco plants could be the next bomb detectors
Scientists engineered tobacco plants and mouse-ear cress to turn yellow when they detect minute concentrations of explosives in the air. 

Orbital space "full of junk"

Space is so littered with debris that a collision between satellites could set off an “uncontrolled chain reaction” capable of destroying the communications network on Earth, a Pentagon report warned.