Six percent of red dwarf stars, the most common stars in our galaxy, have habitable planets, meaning an Earth-like planet could be nearby, U.S. astronomers say.Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics reported using publicly available data from NASA‘s Kepler space telescope to determine the likelihood of a red dwarf having a planet that is both habitable and Earth-sized.“We thought we would have to search vast distances to find an Earth-like planet,” Harvard astronomer Cour

A Russian research team claimed that they have found the remains of a huge, mysterious creature in Lake Labynkyr in Siberia, perhaps finally proving the existence of the lake’s “Devil,” reported the Siberian Times. The study was conducted by the Russian Geographical Society in coordination with divers from the Russian Emergencies Ministry and scientists from Yakutsk State University. “There have been all sorts of hypotheses about what kind of creature it could be: a giant pike, a reptile or an a

A “bionic man” costing one million dollars went on display on Tuesday at Britain’s Science Museum, complete with artificial organs, synthetic blood and robot limbs.Named Rex, which is short for “Robotic Exoskeleton,” the six foot six inch (two metre) humanoid with its uncannily life-like face was assembled by leading roboticists for a television programme.Although cheaper than the “Six Million Dollar Man” made famous by the cult 1970s television series starring Lee Majors, the technology is far

A Scottish university has discovered a remote-learning course on alien life is popular, attracting thousands of terrestrials from as far away as China.Charles Cockell, who teaches "astrobiology and the search for extra-terrestrial life" at Edinburgh University, told The Scotsman he was astonished by the geographical diversity of students attracted to the course.Those eager to learn about life on other planets -- from the comfort of their earthly homes -- include high school students, retirees in

Unless baby boomers take immediate action they may spend their last years in sickness, disability and immobility, Canadian researchers warned.A Heart and Stroke Foundation survey found almost 80 percent of Canadian boomers said they think their doctors would rate them as healthy, but their self-reported lifestyle choices show otherwise.Eighty-five percent of Canadian boomers said they did not eat enough vegetables and fruit, more than 40 percent said they didn‘t get enough physical activity each

NASA says its Mars rover Curiosity has used its drill for the first time to hammer briefly into a rock targeted on the floor of its Gale Crater landing site.“Before and after” images beamed to Earth showed the results as an indentation on the surface of the rock.The drill instrument is capable of both hammering and rotating actions, and if the rock is determined to be a good candidate for the rover‘s scientific work, a number of test holes will be drilled, NASA said, to create samples for delive

A small asteroid approaching Earth will pass by so near it will come closer than the orbits of many weather and communications satellites, NASA says.Although the near-Earth asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass very close to Earth Feb. 15, observations obtained of its path show there is no chance it might be on a collision course, NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., reported.The asteroid’s closest approach will put it 17,200 miles above the Earth‘s surface, closer than some distant geos

Stem cell researchers from Australia have managed to successfully culture lens cells in a Petri dish, marking a big step toward curing congenital sight impairment.Associate professor Tiziano Barberi and Doctor Isabella Mengarelli from the Monash University have successfully extracted and purified lens epithelium for the first time, and incited the cells to develop into lens cells, according to a report by the university. Lens epithelium refers to the tissue that serves as the progenitors for new

Women who give birth at midwife-led birthing centers are less likely to have Caesarean births compared with women in hospitals, U.S. researchers say.The National Birth Center Study II said the rate of Caesarean sections for expecting U.S. mothers escalated over the past two decades."Birth centers are homelike facilities existing within the healthcare system with a program of care designed in the wellness model of pregnancy and birth," Lesley Rathbun, president-elect of the American Association o

Korea’s newest scientific satellite made initial communication with a ground station in Daejeon early Thursday, finally confirming the success of the nation’s first successful launch of a space rocket from its own soil. The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 rocket, jointly built by Korean and Russian scientists, launched from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The rocket put a 100-kilogram Science and Technology Satellite-2C into orbit about nine minutes aft