SCIENCE

Environmental conservationists and growth advocates in New Zealand are currently at each other's necks over a planned construction of a monorail that will slice through the country's pristine forests and river made famous in the trilogy films "The Lord of the Rings."

The sun will reportedly "flip upside down" within weeks due to a reverse in polarity of its magnetic field. This is what several scientists are saying. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), measurements from NASA-supported observatories show that the sun's vast magnetic field is indeed about to flip.

Antarctica does not only have ice but diamonds as well. According to scientists, they have found evidence of a type of rock known to contain precious gems like diamonds under the ice. The recent discovery proves to be exciting as more is revealed about Antarctica's mineral resources. Recovering any of the newly-identified rock is currently forbidden by authorities. Mining in the hopes of finding diamonds is banned.

The Bureau of Meteorology said that heatwave for Christmas may disrupt Aussies travel plans.

Hamish Fagg, an engineering student from New Plymouth, is preparing to become the first New Zealander in space. The 21-year-old student has returned from his trip to a space academy camp in Florida after bagging the contest prize for the chance to take a commercial flight to space.

Research at Flinders University in Australia puts in question the origin of a bird, the kiwi, which has stood as neighbour New Zealand's unofficial symbol. Trevor Worthy, a palaentologist born in New Zealand, based his study on fossilised remains on NZ's south island that suggest the kiwi did not come from a larger ancestor but from a winged creature that originated in Australia but migrated to New Zealand.

A Chinese man suffered an industrial accident in Hunan Province while operating on a machine at work in November and left his right hand severed. To keep his hand alive, he had doctors in China attach his hand to his ankle while he waited for a month before undergoing reattachment surgery.

China has released to the world the first pictures captured by its first lunar rover Jade Rabbit from the moon.

Sky watchers who missed the 2013 Geminid meteor shower peak on Friday and Saturday night still have a chance of catching the impressive night sky display. A couple of spectators were able to capture images of the stunning sky display and shared their viewing experiences online.

Spanish researchers and UK scientists are currently preparing for the clinical trials of a possible vaccine and cure against AIDS-causing HIV.

A piglet with unique physical features was born in China's Jiangxi Province on Dec 9, the Chinese news Web site jxnews.com.cn reported on Tuesday. The animal has three eyes, two noses and two snouts.

The universe, and the entire world as humans know it, may one day collapse with the Earth shrinking into a very hot and hard ball. Scientists have warned the risk of a collapse is now greater than previously thought with the process happening somewhere in the universe.

The cities of Dalian and Tianjin located in northern China have joined the list of jurisdictions where car sales and ownership are imposed on its local constituents, in a bid to help curb the nation's growing "airpocalypse" problem.

The Stony Brook University assistant astrophysics professor and comet chaser Jin Koda tracks and studies the close flyby of the 2013 Comet Lovejoy. Prof Jin Koda together with his Japanese colleagues utilized the Subaru Telescope’s Suprime-Cam in observing the comet’s impressive tail on Monday, December 2.

NASA is planning to send their astronauts to take a walk in space within the week to get the International Space Station cooling problem fixed.

Canadian researchers at the University of Toronto have discovered a new greenhouse gas substance called perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA). Although not as prevalent as carbon dioxide, it is however 7,000 times more destructive to the Earth's atmosphere than CO2.

An Aussie father is proud of her identical triplet daughters who were becoming international sensation

Australian researchers grew ‘Self-organising’ Mini-kidney for future treatment of renal diseases

The first Chinese Lunar Rover had its first landing on the moon making a similar accomplishment like the US and former Soviet Union. This is considered a major step for the space programme and visions of Beijing to grow and achieve a milestone.

The publication by IBT Australia of a study on the effect of circumcision on male sexual fulfillment elicited an email from a reader named Peter Spencer, who sent it via his email peterspencer@me.com, alleging that the basis of the article is a fake research by a man with close ties to child abusers and paedophiles.

Two HIV-positive men underwent bone marrow transplants and were free from the virus in about 8 months. Now, both men tested positive again of HIV. Is this a sign that bone marrow transplant fails to cure the AIDS-causing virus?

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.