Ocean on Jupiter moon raises prospects for life
NASA scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope have confirmed that the Jupiter-orbiting moon, Ganymede, has an ocean beneath its icy surface, raising the prospects for life.
The finding resolves a mystery about the largest moon in the solar system after NASA's now-defunct Galileo spacecraft provided hints that Ganymede has a subsurface ocean during exploration of Jupiter and its moons from 1995 to 2003.
Scientists estimate the ocean is 100km thick, 10 times deeper than Earth's oceans, and is buried under a 150-km crust of mostly ice.
Model kits used to commemorate Troubles
Model-making toy boxes depicting images from the Troubles are being displayed in a new artistic exhibition aimed at stimulating debate on how the conflict is commemorated.
Dublin artist Tadhg McGrath has produced his own take on the well-known Airfix modelling kits, with participants in the violence as his main characters.
Stark images of paramilitaries and security force members have taken the place of subjects traditionally made by Airfix, such as World War II soldiers.
McGrath's work, entitled '23 Small Pieces', will open to the public in the Garter Lane Arts Centre in Waterford city tomorrow and runs to 29 April.
Star Wars VIII to land in 2017
‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ will hit cinema screens in May 2017, Disney has announced.
The film will follow on from the events of ‘Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens’ which will open here in December.
The first in a series of 'Star Wars' stand-alone films was also announced, with Disney chairman and chief executive Bob Iger confirming at a shareholder meeting that a spin-off called ‘Rogue One’ will be released in December 2016.
It is set to star British actress Felicity Jones, who earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in ‘The Theory Of Everything’, and will be filmed in London this summer.
Iceland drops bid for EU membership
Iceland has announced it is dropping its bid to join the European Union in line with pledges made two years ago by its then new eurosceptic government.
Iceland first applied for EU membership in 2009 but Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson said in a statement that the government had informed current EU president Latvia and the European Commission of its decision to annul the application.
Obama invites Chernobyl campaigner to White House
Adi Roche, founder of the Chernobyl Children International (CCI) humanitarian agency, has been invited by US President Barack Obama to visit the White House on St Patrick’s Day.
She will join Mr Obama and Taoiseach Enda Kenny, along with leading Irish-American politicians and community leaders, during the traditional ‘Shamrock Ceremony’ and at a series of other events.
Ms Roche said: "It is a great honour and I see it as tribute to the work of the thousands of Irish volunteers who have been helping the children in the Chernobyl region for close to 30 years."
CCI has delivered €98.5m worth of aid in that time.
Mater and Cork MUH still restricting visits
The Mater Hospital in Dublin, which has been hit by the winter vomiting bug, has renewed its appeal to the public to avoid visiting.
In Cork, visiting restrictions at St Finbarr's Ward, Mercy University Hospital remain in place due to the bug.
This is the third day of the restrictions which will be reviewed again tomorrow. All other areas of the hospital are unaffected.
New approach to treating Alzheimer's shows promise
An experimental, non-invasive technique using targeted ultrasound has shown promise in lab animals toward eliminating the brain plaques that cause Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers say tests on mice showed the approach - using sound waves to penetrate tissue - eliminated almost all plaque in 75% of the animals studied, without damaging brain tissue.
The therapy was delivered to the animals with a mouse version of Alzheimer's disease over the course of several weeks.
At the end, most of the treated animals were performing better in mazes, memory tests and other basic tasks than untreated mice. The study is reported in the US journal Science Translational Medicine.
Seven Afghan policemen killed in ambush
At least seven policemen have been killed in an ambush in northern Afghanistan, provincial officials said, highlighting the challenges facing local forces battling the Taliban without NATO combat help.
Up to 30 attackers ambushed the policemen in Kunduz province as they were travelling to neighbouring Takhar province to collect their salaries, a local official said.
Though no group claimed responsibility for the attack, Afghanistan remains plagued by a Taliban insurgency more than 13 years after the militant group was ousted from power by a US-led coalition.
NATO ended its combat mission in late December, leaving a residual force to carry on a training and support mission to Afghanistan's 350,000 security forces, who now lead the fight against the Taliban.
