Science

British scientists have discovered two enormous galaxies sitting right on the edge of space - forged in the early stages of the universe. Observations show the massive primordial galaxies at a time when the universe was just 780 million years old – only about five per cent of its current age. The galaxies are so close together they will soon merge to form the largest galaxy ever observed at that period in cosmic history, according to the international research team,...

The world's oldest eye has been found in a 530 million year old fossil. The remains of an extinct sea creature include an early form of the eye seen in many modern day animals including crabs, bees and dragonflies, researchers believe. Scientists made the discovery while examining the well-preserved fossil of a hard-shelled species called a trilobite. Trilobite fossil. The world's oldest eye has been found in a 530 million year old fossil. The ancestors of spiders and crabs lived...

The humble pigeon is far more intelligent than previously thought and can even have abstract thoughts, reveals new research. Rather than being bird brains, pigeons can understand both space and time, according to the study. Not only can they discriminate these abstract concepts, but researchers found that pigeons seem to use a different region of the brain than humans and primates to do so. In experiments, pigeons were shown a static horizontal line on a computer screen and had to...

Climate change poses the greatest threat to medium sized predators such as foxes as it forces them to spend more time hunting for food, British researchers found. Medium-sized carnivores which generally weigh between one and ten kilograms, are more vulnerable because they spend the most time foraging. As the climate affects their prey they must spend more time hunting to survive, scientists said. And they found failing to diversify their prey could put the species at greater risk of climate...

The potentially catastrophic threat posed to shipping by underwater volcanoes is to be monitored. Most volcanoes erupt beneath the ocean, but little is known about them compared to what is known about volcanoes that eject their lava on dry land. Gabrielle Tepp, of the Alaska Volcano Observatory and the US Geological Survey, believes that with improved monitoring, scientists can learn more about submarine eruptions, which threaten travel and alter the ocean soundscape. She said: "It's very difficult to study underwater...

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria began with farmers pumping livestock with penicillin six decades ago, according to new research. Low doses given to animals to boost their growth from the 1950s in the US and Europe fuelled the evolution and spread of the superbugs, say scientists. Bacteria that can pass on genes resistant to ampicillin - one of the most commonly used antibiotics today - emerged years before human use, the study showed. The discovery comes weeks after the World Health Organisation called...

Prehistoric women had even stronger arms than today's elite rowing crews, reveals new research. The study comparing the bones of women that lived during the first 6,000 years of farming with those of modern athletes shows that the average prehistoric agricultural woman had stronger upper arms than today's female rowing champions. Researchers from Cambridge University's Department of Archaeology say this physical prowess was likely obtained through tilling soil and harvesting crops by hand, as well as the grinding of grain...

The world's deepest living fish has been discovered living in the darkness more than eight kilometres below the surface. Named the Mariana snailfish, the translucent, scaleless fish exist at such depths that the water pressure is the equivalent of an elephant standing on your thumb. They are the top predator in their dark world, living off tiny crustaceans and shrimp at depths nearly as far down as Mount Everest is high. Researchers recover a trap after it landed on the...

The landing site for Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain more than 2,000 years ago has been identified for the first time - in Kent. His ships arrived at Pegwell Bay on the Isle of Thanet at the north east point of the county, a spot never previously suspected because it was separated from the mainland. But the location matches Caesar's own personal account with three clues about the landscape being consistent with the amazing discovery. These were its visibility from...