An international team of scientists has made the first direct observation of a planet-like object orbiting a star similar to our Sun. The finding marks the first discovery made with the world's newest planet-hunting instrument on the Hawaii-based Subaru Telescope. The object, known as GJ 758 B, could be a large exo-planet although it may also be a 'failed star,' [...]

Five people who stared at the sun in the hope they might be witnessing religious apparitions are being treated for serious eye damage, a top eye surgeon has revealed. Reports of pilgrims to Knock seeing the sun dance in the sky and changing colour indicate serious eye damage. And a number of people who attended the recent religious gathering at [...]

On December 1 the Ministry of Defence terminated its UFO project. After over 50 years of investigating the phenomenon, the plug was pulled in a most unceremonious way. The news was slipped out so as not to attract attention. An amendment was made to an existing document in the freedom of information section of the MoD website, entitled “How to [...]

The first attempt to send a rocket to the Moon via balloon hit a snag on Monday. The first test of the Aeronautics and Cosmonautics Romanian Association's (ARCA) balloon-launched rocket (or “rockoon”) ended in failure when the “inflation arms” used to fill the balloon became entangled in the balloon itself. The arms had to be cut, and the operation – [...]

Few things are more gratifying to the creatively competitive than hoodwinking one’s fellow humans. Coupling a desire for fame with a mischievous streak can spell great entertainment for one person, and vast cultural adaptation for the rest of us. Whenever a hoax is proven to be a hoax, not everyone listens. Some believers remain believers for the rest of their [...]

The actor Richard Todd who starred in the classic British war film The Dam Busters has died at the age of 90. He had been suffering from cancer. Best known for his role in the 1954 film, he was also a war hero in his own right. Born in Dublin in 1919, he was one of the first British soldiers [...]

After IBM’s announcement that they had developed a neural network that exceeded the processing power of a feline cortex, Henry Markram sent several scathing e-mails and comments debunking the claim. Markham heads up the Blue Brain project at Lusanne, Switzerland-based EPFL, where his team is attempting to reverse engineer the mammalian brain. According to Markram, the cat brain claim is [...]

While NASA frets over a looming hiatus in its ability to launch people into space, a commercial company is poised to unveil the first spaceship for private passenger travel. The formal presentation of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo is scheduled for Monday afternoon in California's Mojave Desert, the home base of legendary designer Burt Rutan and his team at Scaled Composites. “Suborbital [...]

An evangelist church leader who tortured his 10-year-old daughter and kept her prisoner for four days with no food because he was convinced she was a witch was jailed for eight-and-a-half years today. The twisted 39-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, dripped boiling hot plastic over his terrified daughter's feet and beat her senseless after she became 'possessed [...]