Science & Health

MIT demonstrates new smart drone that navigates a â€˜forestâ€™ by itself

Drone technology is advancing fast and weâ€™ve already seen drones that can move around obstacles. Now, MIT have demonstrated new algorithms that help a quadcopter drone find its way through a maze of closely-packed obstacles.

Jan 20, 2016

Mexico: Colima volcano eruption lights up the night sky

Mexicos Colima or Fire Volcano spewed a large column of gas and ash some 2,500m high into a blue sky on 19 January. According to officials, the latest eruption took place at 8.30am local time. The morning explosion was preceded by an eruption of incandescent rock at the volcanos mouth at 11pm local time on 18 January.

Jan 20, 2016

China smog: Greenpeace reports some easing pollution levels in 2015

China may have found itself once again in the news for the choking smog which blanketed many of its cities over the past month, but pollution in the worlds number two economy actually eased in 2015, data compiled by Greenpeace shows. The data, which covers 367 cities, showed average PM2.5 levels dropping by 10 percent in 2015 compared with the previous year. However, even with the improvement, 80 percent of the cities in the survey still failed to meet national air quality standards.

Jan 20, 2016

Peru: Vultures fitted with GoPros to crack down on illegal dumping

Vultures in Lima are being equipped with GPS tracking devices and GoPro cameras to help environment officials crack down on illegal waste dumps surrounding the Peruvian capital. Ten trained vultures wearing purpose-designed vests have already started to monitor the city from above with the help of GPS trackers as part of the Vultures Detect programme.

Jan 19, 2016

Tim Peake: British astronaut shows how to make coffee in space

British astronaut shows how to brew coffee aboard the International Space Station.

Jan 19, 2016

SpaceX: Watch Elon Musks Falcon 9 rocket explode into giant fireball after landing

SpaceX founder Elon Musk posted footage of failed rocket landing to Instragram.

Jan 18, 2016

Tim Peake: Water in helmet cuts spacewalk short

Jan 16, 2016

NASA spacewalk terminated after leak in astronaut's helmet

NASA terminated a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk mission following a spacesuit malfunction on Friday.

Jan 16, 2016

Tim Peake: Watch astronaut become first Briton to perform spacewalk

Ex-army major Peake became first Brit to carry out a space walk when he left the ISS on 15 January.

Jan 15, 2016

Sierra Leone registers Ebola death hours after WHO declares epidemic over

With the end of Ebola outbreak active transmission of the virus has been plugged.

Jan 15, 2016

Lake Erie: Car found frozen solid after severe cold hits eastern US

Footage shows Mitsubishi completely encased in ice after being parked by lake.

Jan 12, 2016

Over 40 whales die after washing ashore in Tamil Nadu

Stranded dolphins were seen on at least two beaches in the state on Monday night.

Jan 12, 2016

One-armed HyQ robot can knock obstacles out of its way

Four-legged robots are being touted as a useful tool for search and rescue missions, but until now theyve been limited to load carrying or observation.

Jan 11, 2016

ISRO's two new space 'parks' will boost private sector partnerships in Indian PSLV missions

ISRO has planned two new space 'parks' in Bengaluru and Sriharikota.

Jan 11, 2016

California: State of emergency declared over Methane gas leak

California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency on 6 January, following a gas leak that sent huge clouds of methane into the skies. The gas leak in Los Angeles has been sickening nearby residents for more than two months. Footage handed out by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) showed infra-red footage of the gas leak.

Jan 8, 2016