SCIENCE

As the 2013 Geminid meteor shower peaks on Friday night, Dec 13, cloudy skies will give the spectators a problem in their viewing conditions. However, there are still places that the sky watchers can head to in order to have a best view of the Geminid meteor shower.

Officers from the Mars One project have announced that an unmanned mission to the Red Planet will be launched by 2018.

The 2013 Geminid meteor shower peak activity begins Friday night, December 13, and could last for several nights. However, the sky watchers may experience some viewing problems due to the appearance of thick clouds and the bright Gibbous Moon.

China's most expensive priced carbon market is set to launch on Dec 16 in the southern province of Guangdong.

The Australian Government's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has just launched its trial "Thunderstorm Tracker" Online Radar for the Southeast Queensland area. According to the official Web site of the Australian Government BOM, the "Thunderstorm Tracker" aims to show the expected position and location of thunderstorms up to 30 minutes before it happens. It is reportedly based on data that is obtained from weather radar and is an extension of the BOM's radar capabilities.

As the 2013 Geminid Meteor Shower is set to peak on Dec 13 to 14, a thrilling and festive sky show is expected to happen with the meteor shower intensifying the deeper the night goes. The Earth Sky Web site said that no matter where your location is, it will surely fall in great numbers after 12 midnight on the mentioned dates.

Just when everyone thought it would be hailed as the “Comet of the Century,” NASA said that Comet ISON has burned to death due to its maiden voyage near the sun. MSN reports that it brushed with the sun way too close and to think that its age is just 1 year old.

To cut or not to cut the penis's foreskin is a choice that parents have to make when they have a baby boy. While the decision could be an easy one for some parents who belong to certain groups, such as followers of the Jew of Islam religion, for some it is a dilemma because of conflicting beliefs about the impact of circumcision on the male child's health as well as his future sexual pleasure.

Canada will begin on Dec 14 its traditional annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, the longest-running wildlife census in the world. Over 70,000 volunteer bird counters will take part, to be deployed in more than 2,300 locations in the Western Hemisphere.

The Western Australian (WA) Government has launched several Shark Kill Zones along its beach shorelines to address shark-related deaths in the area and to counteract shark risks in WA. The planned shark safety measures were announced by WA Premier Colin Barnett and WA Fisheries Minister Troy Buswell on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013.

Two of China's most influential news outlets tried to make satire pieces of the polluted haze that enveloped the country over the weekend. However, the people didn't find it funny at all. Moreover, other Chinese media didn't think second thoughts to air out their opinions on the issue.

The 2013 Comet Lovejoy makes up for the sky watchers’ disappointment on the disintegration of Comet ISON with its remarkable night display. Have a look at the captured image of Comet Lovejoy (C/2013 R1) and its tail in the Los Angeles Times Science report courtesy of the Subaru Telescope’s Suprime-Cam.

As the year 2013 draws to an end, the Australian Science Media Centre picked the most bizarre research project made the past 12 months. One of their key selections involves the study by Danish surgeon of flatulence while on airplanes, which has pressurised cabins that are contributory to passengers farting when on board.

In what seemed like a rare show of humility, China has flatly admitted the subject matter of climate change was not something it prepared for as it zealously worked to rise to become one of the leading economic powers of the world today.

The 2013 Geminid meteor shower peak this weekend will give the sky watchers an early holiday viewing treat. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) experts suggested in the Red Orbit report that viewers must go out before sunrise and after the moon has set to make the most of the Geminid meteor shower viewing experience.

Gardening in space may have made some considerable buzz online last week, but will the possibility of mining on the moon create more virality? According to an NPR blog, a certain U.S. company called Moon Express is interested to take the step towards this project.

For a good number of years now, numerous scientists have always been working hard to find out if there is really alien life beyond our planet. Now, some claim that there is a modern technology tool to help find it.

Many researchers wonder why despite having amazing vistas and isolated red deserts, Australia still does not have a national space agency of its own.

NASA flight engineer Karen Nyberg is one of the highly deemed female astronauts who became popular during her stay on the International Space Station.

NASA recently phoned home just like E.T. as they used a Samsung Nexus S phone to send back some relevant data to their ground station in Santa Clara University.

While climate skeptics dismiss climate science as nothing more than a fantasy, scientists have used a powerful super computer to map the fictional Middle Earth in J.R.R Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series.

China has been enveloped in smog again over the weekend.

While the Holidays are a fun time, it is also a very expensive time. With all the Christmas gifts, clothes, decors, food and drinks that are bought during this time, fat wallets immediately become thin after just a few visits to the mall. And it doesn't end there because all the Christmas lights hanging in the house and on the Christmas tree uses way too much electricity and increases the electricity bill a hundredfold. So, what can we do about it?

Eradication of AIDS-causing HIV is now in early stages of research and development but all methods still need to be proven before human trials can begin. Here are the five angles with the most potential science is looking into to defeat HIV once and for all.

Melbourne Zoo elephant Dokkoon gave birth on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013 at 2:40 am (AEDT) to a new 130 kg male calf just days after its baby elephant Sanook died while playing with a toy tyre at the zoo on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013.

Comet ISON has disappointed the sky watchers after breaking up from its closest flyby to the Sun last November 28. However, the 2013 Comet Lovejoy (C/2013 R1) puts on a fine sky display for viewers this December while making its solar approach.

A tank at the Rangers uranium mine in Kakadu National Park split, spilling radioactive materials made up of acid, ore, mud and water. Rio Tinto's (ASX: RIO) Energy Resources Australia (ERA) owns the mine.

Two Australian researchers confirmed what many men already know, but would surely anger some religious groups. Anthony Santella and Spring Chenoa Cooper from the University of Sydney said masturbation helps prevent several ailments, including cystitis, diabetes and prostate cancer.

Technology has paved the way for smart phones, smart cars, smart homes, smart TVs and smart watches. To add to the list of "smart" things, Microsoft has developed a "smart bra" to make women's underwear more intelligent. According to reports, researchers at Microsoft have created a smart bra prototype containing physiological sensors that can monitor a woman's heart beat and keep track of her emotions. Microsoft's smart bra can also prevent overheating.