New York scientists say the radical new microscope can capture cells in the body fighting infection, cancer cells moving through a tumour (pictured) and even embryos developing. The technique, called lattice light-sheet microscopy, generates extraordinarily sharp, 3-D images and videos of live organisms at scales ranging from single molecules to early-stage embryos.
Virtual autopsy composed of more than 2,000 computer scans supports evidence that his parents were brother and sister.
The Hi-Seas project, funded by Nasa, sees crews live in a habitat in Hawaii (shown) in practice for a Mars mission.
Does new film Interstellar have the most realistic black hole EVER? Movie's special effects may result in important scientific discovery
A CGI model of a black hole for the upcoming movie Interstellar (shown), based on calculations by Dr Kip Thorne (shown with Stephen Hawking top right) from the California Institute of Technology, has revealed they have warped halos of light and matter around them. The model is thought to be the most accurate depiction of a black hole ever. Previously black holes were thought to have a flat disk - like Saturn. Two scientific papers are being written based on the discovery. Interstellar hits cinemas worldwide on 7 November. In the film Matthew McConaughey (shown with Anne Hathaway bottom right) plays Cooper, who leaves a dying Earth to go on a journey across the cosmos in a bid to save humanity.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award crowns timeless image of lions lazing on the endless Serengeti plains 2014 winner
Michael 'Nick' Nichols' photograph of a pride of lazing lions in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park (pictured top left) beat more than 42,000 entries to win the accolade. To get the winning shot, he followed the pride for nearly six months so they became used to his presence as he photographed them in infra-red. He said the technique 'transforms the light and turns the moment into something primal, biblical almost'. An impressive photograph of lightning next to an erupting volcano (pictured bottom left) and a tiny squid hunting at night (right) were among the finalists announced this week at the Natural History Museum in London.
How to boost YOUR mobile phone's battery life: Interactive guide gives tailor-made tips for individual handsets
The 'first CD-ROM': 4,000-year-old Phaistos Disk 'stores' a spiral-shaped prayer to a mother, expert claims
Dr Gareth Owens of the Technological Educational Institute (TEI) of Crete has identified keywords such as 'mother' and 'woman of great importance' in the ancient Minoan disk (pictured). he next step is to unravel the specific meaning and ancient use for the disk. It is thought to date to the middle Minoan Bronze Age, in the second Millennium BC and was discovered in 1908 at the palace of Phaistos, in Crete. Since it was found, experts have been trying to decipher the mysterious inscription and have come up with a number of interpretations.
Notebook lost for more than a 100 years is discovered in Antarctic snow: Photographer's journal dates back to Captain Scott's ill-fated expedition
The notebook (pictured right) is a Wellcome Photographic Exposure Record and Dairy 1910 and was discovered by New Zealand's Antarctic Heritage Trust outside Scott's Hut (pictured top left) in the Cape Evans region of Antarctica. The notebook belonged to surgeon, zoologist and photographer George Murray Levick (pictured bottom left) and its pages contain pencil notes detailing the date, subjects and exposure details for photographs he took during 1911 while at Cape Adare. French Paper Conservator Aline Leclercq digitised and repaired the notebook and it has now been returned to Antarctica as one of 11,000 other artefacts stored at the Cape Evans location.
The real-life Transformer that morphs from a robot into a CAR: Amazing Japanese humanoid transforms in seconds
Japanese inventors have unveiled their humanoid Transformer robot. Called 'J-deite quarter' it can change from a robot into a car. The current model is 4.3ft (1.3 metres) tall. But the eventual plan is to build one 16.4ft (five metres) tall by 2020. When walking it moves at 0.62mph (1km/h). In 'car mode' though it can reach speeds of 6.2mph (10km/h). The robot is only a prototype and will not be available for public release.
'UFO' spotted close to the ISS as astronauts carried out repairs was just glare from the sun, claims expert
A 'UFO' appeared briefly (left) in a Nasa video of a spacewalk on the ISS (top right). The sighting led to speculation that it might be an alien spacecraft. But experts have revealed it is just lens flare in the image such as lens flare. 'My guess is that it's an [image] artefact of some sort,' says Professor Andrew Balogh from the Imperial College London Department of Physics. Space science writer Amy Teitel adds: 'I'd say it looks like a reflection inside the camera, a trick of light'. That hasn't stopped conspiracy theories emerging as to its origin. UFO expert Nigel Watson jokes: 'If it was a UFO it would have been nice if its alien occupants had stepped out and helped with the repairs [of the ISS]'. The event took place on 7 October as two astronauts performed a spacewalk. American Reid Wiseman and German Alexander Gerst moved a refrigerator-sized pump (bottom right) that had been left outside the station since December 2013.
Turn yourself into a COMPUTER MOUSE: Exoskeleton chair uses body movements to control an on-screen pointer
The Dynamic Chair (pictured main) was created by designer Govert Flint from Eindhoven University. Programmer Sami Sabik then made on-screen movements correlate with physical ones. Sensors in the seat detect pressure, range of movements and angles and moving the hips, for example, scrolls through pages and around the screen. Kicking the left and right leg corresponds with left and right clicks, and in the future, arms (pictured inset) could control swipe pages and open windows.
First solar storm from huge sunspot reaches Earth and knocks out satellites - and more could be on their way
Solar radiation knocked out some radio communication on Earth yesterday. It came from a solar flare associated with a giant sunspot seen on the surface of the sun recently (shown). Sunspot AR12192 is 14 times larger than Earth and almost as big as Jupiter. The Met Office tells MailOnline it might be the largest sunspot in 25 years. It is so big that it can be seen in images of the sun from Earth's surface. This particular flare from the sunspot was brief but strong. It follows three days of severe storms on the sun. 'It would seem to be just a matter of time before another strong explosion occurs,' said spaceweather.com's Tony Phillips.
Sphinx's missing head found deep within Alexander the Great-era tomb: Female face adds weight to archaeologists' hopes it could hold the ancient ruler's mother
Archaeologists have found the missing head (pictured left) of a sphinx statue (pictured top right) 'guarding' a mysterious tomb in Amphipolis, in northern Greece(inset) and discovered it had ginger hair. The Greek Culture Ministry said: 'It is a sculpture of exceptional art'. The only damage is a missing piece of the nose and fragments of the mythical creatures' wings have also been found. The head was discovered in the third chamber of the burial mound, which experts think was built for either the wife or mother of Alexander the Great. Last week, pictures were released of a giant mosaic that covers the whole floor of a room, which is thought to be the ante chamber to the main burial room. It shows Persephone - daughter of Zeus and the harvest goddess Demeter - who is wearing a white robe and riding in a chariot. The scene, along with statutes of women and a lion, hints that the tomb was built for a woman, according to historians.
Hackers release 100,000 photos and videos intercepted from Snapchat, in huge trove that includes child pornography
Food for thought: Infographic reveals what the world consumes - with China being the biggest meat eaters and Germany drinking the most alcohol
The interactive graph shows the world's average diet (main image), that Germans drink the most alcohol, while Americans consume the most sugar, Indians are most likely to be vegetarian (pictured top right) and Somalis eat the fewest daily calories (bottom right). It was created by data experts at National Geographic, as part of its Future of Food series, using data from FAOSTAT. The changing chart shows how diets vary around the world and have changed over the last 50 years, as well as showing quantities of food consumed per person in each place in calories and grams.
Marty McFly-style hoverboard finally becomes a reality: £6,000 gadget uses electromagnetic fields to glide along mid-air
Ever since Marty McFly made his getaway on a hoverboard in Back to the Future II, gadget fans have been dreaming of floating on their own device. Now, Californian architect Greg Henderson has made that dream come true by developing a hoverboard that floats in mid-air just like the 1980s classic film. Dubbed the Hendo Hoverboard, it uses four 'hover engines' which emit magnetic fields that push against each other as long as metal conductor is used in the surface underneath. In a video released by the company, a man moves smoothly along a custom-built skate ramp on his board, which is held an inch of the ground. Mr Henderson now plans to raise £155,000 ($250,000) on Kickstarter to further develop the technology.
World first as man whose spinal cord was severed WALKS: Fireman paralysed by knife attack recovers after UK scientists use nose cells to re-grow nerve cells in his spine
Darek Fidyka, 40, is believed to be the first person in the world to recover from such chronic injuries after receiving pioneering treatment from University College London. The fireman from Bulgaria severed his spine after being stabbed four years ago, leaving him paralysed from the waist down. Scientists used cells from his nose to repair the broken link on his back in a medical achievement hailed as more impressive than putting a man on the moon. It comes after the death of actor Christopher Reeve (inset) in 2004, who ploughed money into finding a cure for the condition after becoming paralysed himself in a devastating horse accident.
Reinventing the backpack: Cord system swings rucksack round to your chest so you can reach for items WITHOUT taking it off
The design was created by a London-based finance director with an engineering degree and features an ‘orbital trapeze’ technology called expetoSYSTEM. A user tugs downwards on a strap (pictured left) attached to the conventional shoulder strap of the bag, which releases the main part of the backpack (middle image) so that the wearer can swing it round to their front (right). Once the user has got what they want from their bag, they pull the strap again to return it to position. The bag is designed to be easily worn on the chest in crowded areas and those where users want to keep their valuables safe. It can be pre-ordered on Kickstarter for £85 ($137).
Now YOU can be a space explorer: Stunning HD space simulator lets you navigate every known planet, star and galaxy in the cosmos
A simulator that lets you explore the known universe has been released. It has taken Vladimir Romanyuk from Saint Petersburg in Russia eight years to put Space Engine (shown) together. The software is free although he is currently seeking donations on his site. In the simulator players can explore all known planets, stars and galaxies. This comes to a total of more than 130,000 objects to explore. And objects in the solar system are also mapped in high detail.
Watch the internet go to SLEEP: Map reveals how the world's web activity disappears as the sun goes down (but the UK and US stays awake)
The map was created by the University of Southern California after researchers pinged 3.7 million IP address blocks. The pink and red blocks show higher internet usage, while blue blocks suggest lower than average web activity. They found the UK, US, India, and East Asia are active through the night. However, large parts of Africa, Russia and Australia only log on during the day. The finding will help scientists and policymakers develop better systems to measure and track internet outages, such as those that struck the New York area after Hurricane Sandy.
- Six bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, dining room and a pantry: Welcome to the home for astronauts on MARS
- The 'first CD-ROM': 4,000-year-old Phaistos Disk 'stores' a spiral-shaped prayer to a mother, expert claims
- The dinosaur that looked like a hump-backed ostrich: Enormous creature that roamed Earth 70 million years ago recreated in 3D
- Now that's drink driving! Distillery turns WHISKY by-products into biofuel for cars
- Ancient Britons had less gum disease than people today - even though toothbrushes had not been invented
- The megalodon IS extinct: New study rubbishes claim that giant shark still roams the ocean
- A golden Ello: Ad free 'Facebook killer' social network raises $5.5m
- Rotten eggs, horse pee, alcohol and bitter almonds: Astronomers reveal what the comet Rosetta is set to land on smells like
- Facebook gets a room: New app allows users to chat without having to give away their identity
- Is Apple's Watch in jeopardy? Crisis at firm making sapphire screen for wearable deepens
- Have we missed a mass extinction? Extra catastrophic event may have occurred 8 million years before the ‘Great Dying’, claim experts
- Titan glows at dusk and dawn: Saturn's moon puts on spooky show near its poles - but scientists are baffled by its behaviour
- Apple Pay in double trouble: iPhone 6 payment service has charged some users twice for every transaction they made
- The sound of SPACE: Nasa releases iconic audio clips for download on SoundCloud - so 'one small step' can be your ringtone
- Could robots be the key to beating EBOLA? US summit to discuss everything from mortuary bots to drones that deliver medicine and food
- Google teams up with Oxford academics to bring human-like robots closer to reality
- Google takes its driverless car on a tour of its California campus - but there's still no word on when the vehicles will go on sale
- 'There is NO climate crisis': Man-made global warming is a lie and not backed up by science, claims leading meteorologist
- Forget a good crunch - this apple has a built-in FIZZ: Experts create sparkling fruit that bubbles when it's bitten into
- Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award crowns timeless image of lions lazing on the endless Serengeti plains 2014 winner
- Researchers discover exactly how the bubonic plague spread so effectively - and say it could improve our handling of Ebola
- First solar storm from huge sunspot reaches Earth and knocks out satellites - and more could be on their way
- Notebook lost for more than a 100 years is discovered in Antarctic snow: Photographer's journal dates back to Captain Scott's ill-fated expedition
- Six bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, dining room and a pantry: Welcome to the home for astronauts on MARS
- Does new film Interstellar have the most realistic black hole EVER? Movie's special effects may result in important scientific discovery
- Oldest complete human genome sequenced: DNA of 45,000-year-old man who roamed Siberia unravelled - and it sheds light on when we stopped interbreeding with Neanderthals
- A golden Ello: Ad free 'Facebook killer' social network raises $5.5m
- Is Apple's Watch in jeopardy? Crisis at firm making sapphire screen for wearable deepens
- The real-life Transformer that morphs from a robot into a CAR: Amazing Japanese humanoid transforms in seconds
- The 'first CD-ROM': 4,000-year-old Phaistos Disk 'stores' a spiral-shaped prayer to a mother, expert claims
- Now YOU can be a space explorer: Stunning HD space simulator lets you navigate every known planet, star and galaxy in the cosmos
- 'UFO' spotted close to the ISS as astronauts carried out repairs was just glare from the sun, claims expert
- Apple Pay in double trouble: iPhone 6 payment service has charged some users twice for every transaction they made
- What is the world's oldest wooden statue trying to tell us? Etchings on haunting seven-faced Shigir Idol 'could hold a message to modern man'
- MOST READ IN DETAIL
VIDEO GAMES
THIS WEEK'S TOP TEN VIDEO GAMES
World's largest ship so big it can lift an OIL RIG takes to the seas: Empire State-length boat will begin moving structures next year
The biggest vessel in the world has been built by Daewoo in South Korea. Swiss company Allseas commissioned the building of the huge £1.9bn ($3.1bn) ship. Called Pieter Schelte (main), it is almost as big as the Empire State Building. It will be used to pick up and move oil rigs from one place to another (inset). Both the legs and main structure of a rig can be moved simultaneously. It can reach speeds of 14 knots and hold a crew of 571 people. Allseas says it will enter offshore operations next year - but an even bigger ship will be built by 2020.
The woman with RAINBOW VISION: Artist sees 100 times more colours than the average person because of genetic condition
Concetta Antico, (pictured left) an artist in San Diego, California, has more receptors in in her eyes to absorb colour, enabling her to see ? and paint ? the world around her in a different way to most people. Two of her colourful creations are pictured right. The average person can see approximately one million colours, whereas tetrachromats have an extra cone class for colour vision that dramatically increases their range up to a potential 99 million. Antico's cones are structures in the eye that are designed to absorb particular wavelengths of light and transmit them to the brain.
Want to know exactly what type of spider is invading your home? There's an app for that
Forget barbeques, this outdoor stove cooks an entire meal in just 10 minutes using nothing but SUNLIGHT
The gadget, known as the GoSun Stove, absorbs heat from the sun to reach temperatures of 290°C (554°F). Its Ohio-based creators claim it can safely cook hot dogs, eight egg omelettes, frozen foods, fish fillets, muffins, stirfrys and even raw meat. The device is 2ft (0.6 metres) long and 2.25 inches (5.7cm) in diameter and can handle more than three pounds (1.4kg) of food or fluid. The core to the technology of the GoSun Stove is the solar evacuated tube that acts as the stove's cooking chamber. When clouds interrupt, the food keeps on cooking with the heat stored inside the vacuum tube. A 'GoSun Sport' costs £175 ($280), while a 'GoSun Mini' costs £80 ($128).
'CT scan' of the universe: 3D animation reveals evolution of galaxies over 10.8 billion years
Researchers led by the Max Planck Institute of Astronomy in Germany have observed a 'pencil beam' of the universe's cosmic web (main). The resultant 3D map shows the distribution of matter in one region of space. This 'cosmic web' shows where matter is most densely concentrated. It shows regions before galaxies formed, and so predicts their formation. This is the first time the cosmic web has been mapped at such a vast distance - in this case 10.8 billion light-years from Earth. The researchers made the map using the Keck I telescope in Hawaii (inset). It could be used to help understand how the universe took shape.
There is a new selfie in town - and it's called the DONUT: Spinning headshots could soon be filling your Facebook news feeds
Forget your quest to take the perfect selfie, a new trend is set to sweep the internet that requires more than just a well-angled pout. Called the 'donut selfie', it involves using panoramic video shots of your head to create a seamless selfie that travels across different locations. The technique was created by ex-Microsoft employee from San Francisco, Karen Cheng, while she was experimenting with sweeping camera motions. The social media star has since released a video that shows the camera spinning around her head, with the scenery changing each time from her workplace, to a train station and even her bed.
GADGET REVIEWS
iPhone woes mount as Apple pulls iOS 8 software update after users report major bugs that cause iPhone 6 to lose signal and data service
Are spiders getting bigger? Warm summer has caused arachnids to grow larger, say experts
SMARTPHONES? IT'S YOUR CALL
The ultimate non-iPhone smartphone guide...
Talk time: 9.5hr (7hr playback, 55hr music)
Spec: 3.7in (800x480 pixels) AMOLED screen, 16GB, 1.4GHz Windows Mango, 8MP camera, 720p HD video
Verdict: This combination works wonderfully. It's a pleasure to use and Nokia's Drive GPS app is impressive. We've rated these iPhone alternatives from Ace down to Five - and the Nokia is at the head of the pack.
Talk time: 8.5hr
Spec: Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 4.65in (720x1,280) AMOLED screen, 5MP camera, 1080p video, 16GB memory
Verdict: It's got a beautiful screen, intuitive operating system and cool features like face-recognition security, but battery life doesn't quite match the hype.
Talk time: 6hr 50min
Spec: Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, 1.5GHz, 4.7in (480x800) screen, 16GB, 8MP camera, 720p HD video
Verdict: The Titan is slim, light and has the largest screen on any Windows device. Shame they didn't give it better screen resolution.
Talk time: 4hr
Spec: Android 2.3 Gingerbread, 1 GHz, 4.3in (800x480) screen, 8MP camera, 1080p HD video, 8GB memory
Verdict: The sharp lines and thin bezel give a professional look while the monochrome interface screams class. One for the fashionistas.
Talk time: 5hr 20min
Spec: BlackBerry 7 OS, 1 GHz, 2.45in (480x360) screen, 5MP camera, VGA video, 8GB memory
Verdict: Beautifully made and with a battery life most handsets would kill for, but the OS is limiting and even with its touch screen it can't compete.
Talk time: 7hr 35min
Spec: Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread, 1.4GHz, 4.2in (854x480) screen, 1GB internal, 8GB MicroSD memory (included), 8.1MP camera, 720p HD video
Verdict: Motorola take note, this is how you do slim and sexy. The camera is let down by a poor menu and awful shutter button, but Sony's social media widget 'Timescale' is a time-saving stroke of genius.
Talk time: 10hr
Spec: Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, 4.3in Super AMOLED (540x960) screen, 8MP camera, Full HD video, 16GB
Verdict: Light and impossibly thin, but even with its rigid Kevlar frame it feels limp and lopsided in the hand. Shame, as the screen is exceptional and the interface is bursting with neat tricks including the ability to resize the icons you use most.
Talk time: 4hr 30min
Spec: Android 2.3 Gingerbread, 800MHz processor, 3.5in (800x480) screen, 5MP camera, 512 MB internal memory, 2GB microSD card (included)
Verdict: Never going to induce envy but if you want smartphone functionality without budget busting it's hard to fault. Navigation is intuitive; battery life excellent.
Talk time: 4hr
Spec: Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, 3.5in (800x480) screen, 5MP camera, 800MHz processor, 512MB memory, 2GB microUSB card, GPS
Verdict: The Vivacity is essentially the San Francisco II with iPhone looks, and while it lacks the fluidity of its more expensive cousins, you can get app-happy on a budget.
Talk time: 4hr 30min
Spec: Android 2.2 Froyo, 2.8in (240x320) screen, 2MP camera, 130MB memory, 2GB microSD card
Verdict: It might be cheap, small and pocketable but as a smartphone it's cramped, slow and the minuscule memory limits the number of apps.
Colouring in history: Digital artists 'paint' black and white photographs to bring people and places of the past back to life
There is something about black and white photography that can instantly transport you back in time. Their subjects often appear shrouded in mystery, with grey shading making them appear part of a shadowy world very different to the one we live in today. Now artists have begun drawing the dark veil back from these figures, to bring them out of the murky past and into vivid reality. Pictured is 'The March on Washington' that took place on 28 August 1963 in Washington D.C. as part of civil rights movement. Here Martin Luther King gave his famous 'I have a Dream' speech. These latest images have been put together by artists working with Italy-based printing firm, Pixartprinting, using basic Photoshop software alongside extensive research on the colour of historic objects.
Turn your chinwag into CHARGE: Jaw strap harvests energy from eating and talking - and could one day power your mobile
The discovery of a terrifying sea monster? No, this writhing mass of tentacles caught off the Singapore coast is just a bizarre relative of the starfish
The Basket star (Gorgonocephalus caputmedusae) was caught off the coast of Singapore and continues to wave its arms out of water in the video shot by businessman and fisherman Jr Saim. The creature can live around 6,564 ft (2 km) below the waves, but typically favours life between 50 ft (15 metres) and 500 feet (152 metres) below sea level. It has five arms radiating from a central disk, like other members of the echinoderm phylum, which includes starfish, sea urchins and brittle stars. But they differ from starfish, for example, because each arm branches out into countless flexible others, which can be used by the creature to create a tangled mesh designed to ensnare plankton and even small crustaceans.
The hottest six months in history? April to September 2014 were the warmest since records began, Nasa claims
Washington DC-based Nasa says April to September (data shown) was the hottest middle period of a year on record. Their findings were backed up by the National Climatic Data Center. April, May, June and August were hotter than they have ever been. July, meanwhile, was the fourth warmest it has been since 1880. It is the hottest middle six months of a year since record began. The temperatures were based on global averages across land and sea. And it's likely that 2014 will rank as the hottest year on record.
All around the world... and beyond
British photographers Fiona Rogers and Anup Shah captured apes in Indonesia and Borneo - and highlighted how human our evolutionary cousins are.