![Japan's H-IIB rocket lifts off at the Tanegashima Space Centre southern Japan at 12.26am Saturday, Sydney time.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/8/8/9/o/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.gt7o1d.png/1481331715011.jpg)
Latest science news
![Japan's H-IIB rocket lifts off at the Tanegashima Space Centre southern Japan at 12.26am Saturday, Sydney time.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/8/8/9/o/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.gt7o1d.png/1481331715011.jpg)
Dinosaur tail feathers found encased in amber at a market in Myanmar
![A 99-million-year-old piece of amber with a feathered dinosaur tail trapped inside.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/7/e/5/l/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt7bia.png/1481283287848.jpg)
A 99-million-year-old dinosaur tail has been found trapped in a piece of amber at a market in northern Myanmar, near the Chinese border.
Large Hadron Collider exhibition opens at Queensland Museum
![The LHC is the largest machine in the world.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/6/l/n/d/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt6zbl.png/1481236845001.jpg)
The exhibition is the closest experience possible to visiting the famous site.
Cassini spacecraft films strange six-sided storm spinning over Saturn
![The Cassini spacecraft has filmed a strange hexagon-shaped storm spinning over the northern hemisphere of Saturn.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/6/h/7/0/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt6fyd.png/1481169836082.jpg)
NASA's Cassini spacecraft sent back more jaw-dropping photos of Saturn this week.
The new sunnies that could let you see in the dark
![Rocio Camacho-Morales, a PhD candidate at the Australian National University. Here she adjusts the laser equipment in ...](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/5/z/s/7/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt5vsf.png/1481109881996.jpg)
Night-vision goggles almost as simple as a pair of sunnies might not be too far away.
Cosmic dust from dawn of the solar system found on rooftops in Europe
![Cosmic dust under a microscope found by Monash University.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/5/q/y/4/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt5kqc.png/1481075165728.jpg)
The space debris, which is falling constantly through the atmosphere, has previously only been found in Antarctica and the deep ocean.
Sad cheers for drinkers as research finds alcohol interferes with heart's rhythm
![Cardiologist Peter Kistler has some bad news for people who like a tipple.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/5/b/9/z/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt4f6v.png/1481071679725.jpg)
In heartbreaking news for those fond of a tipple, researchers have found that moderate drinking of alcohol increases the risk of having an irregular heartbeat.
Chimpanzees recognise rear ends like people recognise faces, study finds
![Bottoms up: Chimpanzees at Taronga Zoo.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/5/j/t/4/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt5ips.png/1481064237397.jpg)
Humans' closest animal relatives trounce us at: recognising each other's butts.
Blood test may protect players from further brain injuries after concussion
![The research could help protect contact sport players, including children, from long-term brain damage resulting from ...](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/a/6/x/q/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt4wuu.png/1481006731090.jpg)
Researchers may soon be able to use a simple blood test to determine if players are safe to return to the sporting field following concussion.
Russian space cargo ship breaks up
![A Soyuz-FG rocket blasts off at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome in mid-November.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/2/a/k/4/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt2dng.png/1480677803530.jpg)
An unmanned Russian cargo ship loaded with more than 2.5 tonnes of food and supplies for the International Space Station has broken apart about six minutes after lift-off, Russia's space agency Roscosmos says.
Martin Shkreli congratulates Sydney Grammar students in YouTube video
![Martin Shkreli has congratulated a group of Australian high school students in a YouTube video.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/2/e/p/f/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt2d3l.png/1480636399279.jpg)
Martin Shkreli, the pharmaceutical executive nicknamed "big pharma bro", has congratulated a group of Australian high school students who managed to cook a drug in their school laboaratory that his company sells for more than $1000 a tablet.
Oh, hello, oganesson: Four new elements on periodic table now have names
![Nihonium was the first element to be given a name with Japanese origin.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/2/a/l/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt2aix.png/1481029897139.jpg)
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the century-old organisation charged with maintaining the periodic table, finally announced it had approved the names of four new elements.
Halo summer! Ring round the sun is a solar sell of warmer days to come
![A halo around the sun appears just before midday. The red line on its inside is because red light bends slightly less ...](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/1/m/y/2/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt1s0p.png/1480579377723.jpg)
As if to assure warmth-deprived Melburnians that it's still up there and on duty, the sun put on a spectacular sky show to mark the first day of summer on Thursday.
Martin Shkreli responds after Sydney Grammar boys make Daraprim
![Martin Shkreli at a US House of Representatives hearing on drug prices in February.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/m/i/c/r/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt1n3q.png/1480635735395.jpg)
Reports that Sydney schoolboys made a drug that his company charges at $US750 a tablet draw comments on social media.
The Sydney schoolboys taking on the 'most hated man in the world'
![Dylan Siow-Lee, 16, was part of the chemistry class.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/0/z/s/f/image.related.landscape.120x80.gsxcu5.png/1480587065578.jpg)
He outraged the world by hiking the price of an essential drug by more than 5000 per cent.
Platypus and echidna venom could inspire new diabetes medications
![A hormone found in platypus venom could lead to new treatments for type 2 diabetes in humans.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/0/h/9/s/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt0fv6.png/1480491037842.jpg)
Venom from two iconic Australian species could be behind the development of new treatments for diabetes, which affects around 1.7 million Australians.
How bottom feeding helped Alfred prince of whales grow so big and blue
![An artists' impression of 'Alfred' showing off his teeth.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/0/2/o/x/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt02np.png/1480491138114.jpg)
Scientists have found out how the blue whales rose to become the biggest beasts the Earth has seen – and it's all down to their teeth.
Fears Melbourne's 'sacred botanical site' could shrink, taking a slice of history with it
![Trevor Pitkin outside the system garden's conservatory tower which dates back to 1856 - three years after the university ...](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/z/0/4/k/image.related.landscape.120x80.gswrc0.png/1480394085855.jpg)
One of Melbourne's oldest gardens which was laid out when the colony of Victoria was just two years young is under threat from building works, which could swallow up about 10 per cent of the remaining grounds.
The Australian outfit set to make millions in China
![The solar thermal research hub at Steel River, Newcastle.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/z/c/k/y/image.related.landscape.120x80.gsz8gh.png/1480384648531.jpg)
The deal will allow the company to bid for business in the burgeoning Chinese market using Australian-designed technology.
Evidence of water found a third of the way to Earth's core
![Water extends into the deep mantle of the Earth, scientists believe.](/web/20161210022041im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/u/z/y/8/image.related.landscape.120x80.gsyzy3.png/1480311296852.jpg)
Water ions trapped in a diamond show an ocean's worth of water sits deep in the Earth.