SCIENCE BOND

Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg has begun his bid to cross the Pacific, from China to Hawaii, in the zero-fuel Solar Impulse aeroplane.The experimental aircraft, which has a wingspan bigger than a jumbo but weighs little more than a large car, left Nanjing at 02:39 (18:39 GMT).It is likely to take Mr Borschberg five to six days of continuous flight to reach his central Pacific destination.He will try to stay awake for much of that time, taking only short catnaps.His progress will be monitored the entire way from a control room in Monaco.Meteorologists and flight strategists will constantly update him on the best route to follow.The journey is the seventh leg in the single-seat, propeller-driven aircraft's quest to circumnavigate the globe using just the energy of the Sun. The project made steady progress after starting out from Abu Dhabi in March, but was held up for more than a month on China's east coast waiting for the right weather conditions over the ocean. Solar...

In Vitro Fertilization also known as the "Test-tube baby" technique, is where the egg is fertilized outside the body and the embryo(s) are introduced back into the woman’s uterus. IVF is typically suitable for several groups of patients, such as: Couples in which the woman has blocked or damaged Fallopian tubes. Women with endometriosis or ovarian disorders. Men with abnormal semen parameters. Couples with unexplained infertility.The woman is given fertility drugs to stimulate her ovaries and the development of several mature follicles. Each of these follicles may contain an egg. The recruitment and development of the follicles is regularly monitored by ultrasound scans and blood tests. This is to ensure that the ovarian stimulation is both safe and effective. Once mature follicles have been produced the eggs are collected using an ultrasound-guided needle through the vaginal wall and into the ovary. This procedure is performed under sedation/local anesthetic...

Kingdom:Animalia Phylum:Chordata Class:Actinopterygii Order:Perciformes Family:Chaetodontidae Common Name :Butterfly fish Scientific Name :Chaetodontidae Origin :Atlantic, Indian, Pacific Oceans Diet :Omnivore Size (L) :7cm - 15cm (3in - 6in) Life Span:6 - 12 years Conservation Status :Endangered The butterfly fish is a generally small sized species of marine fish, found in tropical and subtropical waters, primarily around coral reefs. The butterfly fish is well known for it's brightly coloured body and elaborate markings.There are more than 100 different species of butterfly fish found distributed throughout the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, meaning that the butterfly fish is a salt-water species of (marine) fish. The average butterfly fish is fairly small and generally grows to around 4 or 5 inches in length. Some species of the butterfly fish however, are known to grow to 8 inches (20 cm) long and some butterfly fish individuals h...

A new species of ancient human has been unearthed in the Afar region of Ethiopia, scientists report.Researchers discovered jaw bones and teeth, which date to between 3.3m and 3.5m years old. It means this new hominin was alive at the same time as several other early human species, suggesting our family tree is more complicated than was thought. . The new species has been called Australopithecus deyiremeda, which means "close relative" in the language spoken by the Afar people.The ancient remains are thought to belong to four individuals, who would have had both ape and human-like features.. Lead researcher Dr Yohannes Haile-Selassie, curator of physical anthropology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in the US, told BBC News: "We had to look at the detailed anatomy and morphology of the teeth and the upper and lower jaws, and we found major differences. "This new species has very robust jaws. In addition, we see this new species had smaller teet...

The Antarctic ozone hole would have been 40% bigger by now if ozone-depleting chemicals had not been banned in the 1980s, according to research. Models also show that at certain times, a large hole would have opened up at the other end of the globe. The Arctic hole would have been large enough to affect northern Europe, including the UK, scientists say. The Montreal Protocol is regarded as one of the most important global treaties in history.It was signed in 1987 after the discovery of a hole in the ozone layer above the Antarctic, the part of the upper atmosphere where ozone is found in high concentrations. Ozone absorbs ultraviolet radiation, preventing most of it from reaching the ground. Concerted international action led to the signing in Montreal of a UN agreement which phased out ozone-depleting chemicals, including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - once widely used in fridges and spray cans. The new research, led by scientists at the University of Le...

Being very overweight in your teens may double the risk of developing bowel cancer by the time you are middle aged, suggests research published online in the journal Gut. And a high level of an indicator of systemic inflammation--erythrocyte sedimentation rate, or ESR for short--at this age is also linked to heightened risk of the disease in later life, the study shows.  Adult obesity and inflammation have been associated with an increased risk of bowel cancer, which is the third most common form of cancer among men, worldwide. However, less is known about how obesity and systemic inflammation might be influential during late adolescence.  The researchers therefore tracked the health of almost 240,000 Swedish men, who had been conscripted into the military between the ages of 16 and 20 in 1969-76. At enlistment, the men had a health check, which included weight and height, and ESR levels. The men were then monitored for bowel cancer up to 2010, using national cancer...