Thumb-sized bat discovered in volcanic island

September 21st, 2009 SYDNEY - A scientist has said that a volcanic eruption is "well overdue" in Australia from the past 3,000 years and there are hundreds of volcanoes that could cause trouble, from South Australia and Victoria through to Queensland. According to a report by Fairfax Digital Network, Melbourne geologist Bernie Joyce has made the warning.

September 18th, 2009 LONDON - A team of geologists is trying to gather data in an attempt to understand how global warming will increase the explosivity of volcanic eruptions. As increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels warm the planet, the problems associated with melting ice won't just raise sea-levels; they will also uncap volcanoes.

September 7th, 2009 LONDON - A team of archaeologists has solved the ancient mystery of why the odd-looking statues on the Easter Island statues wear red hats. Up to one thousand years ago, the islanders started putting giant red hats on the statues.

August 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of scientists is all set to study an island in the process of rebirth after a volcanic eruption destroyed life on it recently. When Alaska's Kasatochi Volcano erupted on August 7, 2008, it virtually sterilized Kasatochi Island, covering the small Aleutian island with a layer of ash and other volcanic material several meters thick.

July 10th, 2009 Philippines' most active volcano restive againMANILA, Philippines — Scientists say the Philippines' most active volcano is rumbling again while emitting steam and a strong glow at the summit crater that can be seen with the naked eye. State volcanologists say the frequency of volcanic earthquakes has increased on Mayon signifying the possible movement of magma below the surface that could lead to ash explosions and eventually eruption.

July 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has determined that glaciers are the reason behind seismic activity and earthquakes in Iceland. The study was carried out by Kristin Jonsdottir, Roland Roberts, Veijo Pohjola, Bjorn Lund, Zaher Hossein Shomali, Ari Tryggvason, and Reynir Boovarsson from the Department of Earth Science, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

July 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Climate model simulations by a team of scientists has suggested that Indonesia's Toba supervolcano, when it erupted about 74,000 years ago, triggered a 1,000-year episode of ice sheet advance, and also may have produced a short-lived "volcanic winter", which drastically reduced the human population at the time. Previous climate model simulations of the eruption have been unable to produce the glaciation, and there are no climate observations to support the volcanic winter.

June 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have found the fossil of a 60-million-year-old creature in Morocco, which is the rabbit sized ancestor of the modern day elephant. According to a report in National Geographic News, Paleontologist Emmanuel Gheerbrant discovered the rabbit-size proto-elephant's skull fragments in a basin 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Casablanca, Morocco.

June 9th, 2009 LONDON - Computer professionals may not have to leave their screens to fill their stomachs, thanks to a British scientist who has developed the world's smallest microwave for those too busy to leave their PCs. Gordon Andrews, of the UK's Microwave Technologies Association, has revealed the 71/2in Beanzawave plugs into a computer, something that makes it ideal for deskbound types or travellers with a laptop.

June 5th, 2009 SYDNEY - Massive volcanic eruptions in ancient times triggered rapid climate change and mass extinctions, by ejecting colossal volumes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. We have carefully dated minerals contained in the volcanic rocks and shown that only the fastest sequences of eruptions caused significant species extinctions, said Fred Jourdan of Curtin University, Australia.

May 29th, 2009 SHANGHAI - An archaeological team has discovered five ancient tombs of the Song and Ming dynasties in Huai'an, east China's Jiangsu Province. According to a report in Shanghai Daily, the burial sites were originally accidentally discovered by workers of local electricity supply department when they made the ground work to set up a power-supply tower, a member of the archaeological team said.

May 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Austrian scientists at the University of Innsbruck have explained an important developmental mechanism that makes the thumb of the right hand grow on the left hand side, and vice versa. Lead researcher Pia Aanstad, a molecular biologist at the university, this process depends upon the concentration of a signalling molecule called Hedgehog.

May 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have discovered the oldest patch of ground on Earth in Israel's Negev desert, which remains virtually the same as it was 1.8 million years ago. According to a report in Live Science, the patch of ground is an expanse of "desert pavement" in Israel's Negev Desert, and is claimed by scientists as the oldest continuous surface on earth.

May 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Marine scientists, on an expedition to an erupting undersea volcano near the Island of Guam, have discovered that it appears to be continuously active, has grown a new cone during the past three years, and its activity supports a unique biological community thriving despite the eruptions. The international science team on the expedition, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), captured dramatic new information about the eruptive activity of NW Rota-1.

March 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have determined that studying tornado-like rotation in volcanoes can help them to better predict the effects of volcanic eruptions. The research is based on a 200-year-old report by a sea captain and photographs of the 2008 eruption of Mount Chaiten.