Science News

According to a new study by the authorities in China, about a fifth of country’s soil is contaminated indicating that the government has to take steps to control environmental impact.

The U. K. government has given permission to scientists for growing genetically-modified (GM) plants that would likely help protect humans against the growing danger of heart disease.

The go-ahead, given by the U. K. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, will now allow scientists to start trialing growing plants that would contain omega-3 fatty acids.

US space agency NASA has confirmed that its Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a new moon orbiting planet Neptune. The newly-discovered Neptune moon - which has been designated S/2004 N 1 - is the 14th moon known to orbit the huge planet.

According to the information shared by NASA, the new Neptune moon's distance from the planet is nearly 105,251 kilometers; and, going by the estimates, its diameter is approximately 20 kilometers. Apparently, the smallest moon in the Neptunian system, the new moon takes 23 hours to complete one revolution around the planet.

In what marks the first of its kind attempt in China's history of space exploration, the manual docking between the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and the in-orbit Tiangong-1 lab module was successfully completed by three Chinese astronauts on Sunday.

It was at about 12:48 p. m. that the three Chinese astronauts - Liu Wang, Jing Haipeng, and Liu Yang; who have been living and working in the module for the past week - controlled the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft for its manual docking with the Tiangong-1 space lab module; and the two were reconnected about seven minutes later.

According to a Duke University study which adds to the increasing evidence that animals - especially primates - are more intelligent and more social than what humans have perceived them to be, it has been found that apes have the ability to plan ahead, share, as well as show empathy.