Science

The icy worlds of Europa and Enceladus could never be habitable - because they suffer from either extreme hot or cold. NASA has said the mysterious moons of Jupiter and Saturn respectively could one day be home to humans. But scientist said the moons swing from a "icehouse" to "hothouse" without a "goldilocks" period when conditions are just right for life to thrive. The finding could have implications for the search for extra-terrestrial life as they are believed to be...

An inventor has told how a Tory government pulled the plug on his revolutionary electric car - 40 years ago. The government last week announced it wanted Britain to become free of all petrol and diesel-powered cars by 2040. But Noel Hodson, 74, said we would have been a lot further down the road if Margaret Thatcher's officials had accepted his pioneering design back in 1980. Noel and his small team developed a hybrid petrol-electric car on a Mini chassis...

A sea monster that hunted "like the great white shark" more than 250 million years ago has been dug up... in the Nevada! The six foot long beast had huge jaws and three parallel rows of razor sharp teeth - with several smaller ones inside its enormous mouth. Palaeontologist Dr Carlo Romano said the creature hunted similarly to the modern great white shark. It would have pursued its prey, then bitten it - before swallowing the hapless fish whole. Scientists...

These photographs show the ghostly wreck of a steamship which sank on Christmas Eve 117 years ago. Lodged in the sands of the Severn Estuary, the remains of the boat were captured by sonar imagining for the first time. It was thought to be cargo vessel The Brunswick, which overturned in deep fog when she ran aground on a sandbank. Sailors who escaped with their lives eventually managed to retrieve the bodies of three men who were in the cabins...

A flesh eating winged dinosaur that roamed Earth at the same time as T. Rex sported a spectacular head crest... which it used to woo the ladies. And it was a colourful beast with a blue face and unusually long, pink flamingo-style neck, according to an artist's impression. The weird new species had huge, razor-sharp claws and a stout but powerful toothless beak that ripped smaller animals apart. Looking like a giant turkey on stilts, it stood about 10 feet...

Earth sized planets that could harbour life roam the darkness of space - between the stars, according to new research. The wandering worlds - known as 'free floating' or 'orphan' planets - have been detected for the first time. They cross the Milky Way without companion planets or even a star - and there are probably billions out there. And despite having no sunlight organisms could survive in hydrothermal vents - opening up more opportunities in the search for extra...

A drug to slow dementia could be on the horizon after a breakthrough by British scientists. Devastating neurological conditions - including Alzheimer's disease - are caused by breaks in DNA, according to new research. The fault triggers the death of nerve cells. But it can be corrected by boosting the DNA's natural repair toolkit, says the team. The breakthrough could pave the way to developing medications that slow dementia, Parkinson's disease and motor neurone disease. In lab tests on cells...

King Solomon’s fabled mines which helped the biblical ruler accumulate a gold stash worth more than £2.3TRILLION are a “complete myth”, historians believe. The Old Testament King is said to have gathered 500 tonnes of pure gold from mines which some hopefuls believe still exist – and remain stuffed with precious metals. But experts now claim the legendary source of Solomon’s incredible wealth never existed. The ruins of Tanis, the capital city of Egyptian pharaoh Shoshenq I. And they’ve also...

A colourful bird-like dinosaur that was as big as a man has been identified by scientists. The blue and beige feathered creature stalked the Canadian 'badlands' of Alberta 71 million years ago. Its remains had been dug up over the years in what is now Red Deer River Valley - a famous dinosaur graveyard - but it's only now that a true picture of it has emerged. Palaeontologists initially thought the bones of Albertavenator curriei belonged to its close relative...