Ageing in humans (and animals) can be seen as either an inevitable process of wear and tear or as an inherent biological programme by which the lifespan of each species is more or less predetermined. Recent research has shown that DNA methylation, an epigenetic modification which alters how DNA is read and expressed without altering the underlying sequence, can show age-related changes.

When humans begin to colonize the moon and Mars, they will need to be able to make everything from small tools to large buildings using the limited surrounding resources. Northwestern University’s Ramille Shah and her Tissue Engineering and Additive Manufacturing (TEAM) Laboratory have demonstrated the ability to 3D-print structures with simulants of Martian and lunar dust.

Two veteran NASA missions are providing new details about icy, ocean-bearing moons of Jupiter and Saturn, further heightening the scientific interest of these and other “ocean worlds” in our solar system and beyond. The findings are presented in papers published Thursday by researchers with NASA’s Cassini mission to Saturn and Hubble Space Telescope.

There can be no better illustration of the hypocrisy of the Greens than the case of the Drax Power Station. As most people now know, Drax was fired by coal, but under pressure from the Greens this power station has been converted to burning wood pellets, made from virgin hardwood forest in the United States, converted to pellets and shipped to the UK.

For the first time, researchers have discovered supersonic plasma jets in Earth’s upper atmosphere, and they’re responsible for some pretty extreme conditions, including temperatures near 10,000°C (18,032°F).

These jets not only appear to be changing the chemical composition of Earth’s ionosphere – they’re actually pushing this atmospheric layer so far up, some of the planet’s atmospheric materials are being leaked out into space.

Image copyright: GETTY IMAGES

Young people are being warned that faddy diets are putting their health at risk. The National Osteoporosis Society found that a fifth of under-25s were cutting out or reducing dairy in their diet, which can affect their bones. One diet that – in its extreme form – recommends avoiding dairy is “clean eating”.

Warming trends that were once among the highest recorded on earth have slowed and even reversed to show cooling.  Evidence is clearly mounting against warming claims on the Antarctic Peninsula.Warming trends there were once among the highest recorded on earth – not any more.

Environmentalists lost a major lawsuit against hydraulic fracturing Wednesday, clearing one of the last major roadblocks to fracking in Britain. The Preston New Road Action Group (PNRAG) sued to stop fracking in Lancashire, England. High Court Justice Ian Dove threw out the suit, dealing PNRAG a huge setback. Dove ruled PNRAG’s lawsuit was groundless, and “not made out in substance.”

The number of solar panels being installed in the UK has fallen by more than 80 per cent, according to an analysis of new figures in the latest sign that the industry is being strangled by government policies despite being one of the cheapest sources of electricity.

Harvard researchers are set to test aerosol sprays that could be used to ‘combat climate change.’ The controversial technique could one day be used to block incoming solar radiation and cool down Earth to combat the effects of global warming.

The first-of-its-kind experiment could begin as early as next year and will pump small amounts of material into the stratosphere to reflect the sun’s rays. But scientists have previously warned that the results of changing our own climate could be ‘catastrophic’.

NASA has scheduled a major press conference where it plans to reveal a new discovery about ‘ocean worlds in our solar system.’ While we don’t know the specifics of what NASA will reveal the agency has confirmed that what has been discovered will “inform future ocean world exploration…and the broader search for life beyond Earth.”

The conference is scheduled for Thursday April 13 at 7PM UK time and will focus on new discoveries around ocean worlds within our own solar system.

Image copyright: NOC/NERC

British scientists exploring an underwater mountain in the Atlantic Ocean have discovered a treasure trove of rare minerals. Their investigation of a seamount more than 500km (300 miles) from the Canary Islands has revealed a crust of “astonishingly rich” rock.

Samples brought back to the surface contain the scarce substance tellurium in concentrations 50,000 times higher than in deposits on land.

From driving cars to beating chess masters at their own game, computers are already performing incredible feats.

And artificial intelligence is quickly advancing, allowing computers to learn from experience without the need for human input. But scientists are concerned that computers are already overtaking us in their abilities, raising the prospect that we could lose control of them altogether.

Image copyright: SPL

Scientists believe they have found a way to treat and perhaps reverse Parkinson’s disease, by making replacement cells to mend the damaged brain. They say human brain cells can be coaxed to take over the job of the ones that are destroyed in Parkinson’s.

Tests in mice with Parkinson-like symptoms showed that the therapy appeared to ease the condition. Many more studies are needed before similar tests can begin in people. Experts say the research published in Nature Biotechnology is hugely promising, although at a very early stage.

Image copyright: STEPHEN ROBERTS

The perilous history of a penguin colony on a small Antarctic island has been recorded in their excrement. For thousands of years, the birds have nested on the Ardley outcrop where their poop, or guano, would collect at the bottom of a lake. But when scientists drilled into these sediments, they got quite a surprise.

Mars’ atmosphere is full of metal, potentially explaining how the planet became uninhabitable, according to new results from a NASA probe published Monday.

NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) found metal ions capable of showing how the planet’s upper atmosphere behaves. Mars doesn’t have a global magnetic field like Earth, preventing metal ions from being locked into the atmosphere in layers. This helps explain how the martian atmosphere was lost to space, eventually rendering the planet uninhabitable.