SCIENCE

A very "fast-moving" band of rain has brought an unexpected large amount of rainfall, submerging Sydney's CBD in panic-gripping flash floods on Wednesday morning.

The numbers tell a story of China's growing air pollution menace. Claiming 1.2 million lives so far, the data from a new scientific study looking into the leading causes of death worldwide, China's latest figure accounted for 40 per cent of the world's total number of deaths.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that their most viewed public record file is the 1950 UFO Memo that recounts the odd story of a witness about three flying saucers spotted in New Mexico. The UFO Memo or also known as the “Hottel Memo” has been viewed almost 1 million times since 2011 after FBI launched its online public records database called “Vault.”

An international team led by Australian scientists tracked the Antarctic blue whale, the world's biggest animal, through the mammal's songs, using acoustic tracking techniques.

Contributions led by emerging Asian economies such as Indonesia, Mexico, Turkey and China have catapulted Asia to become the leader in cutting carbon emissions for better environmental conditions. However, on a per country level, Australia listed way down below.

The scourge of oil spill will bedevil humanity. In last years, we have witnessed many oils spills. Some of them where small, some of them were bigger, but undoubtedly all of them had enormous impact on the environment.

A book on dinosaurs about to be released gives a clue how the extinct creature had sex given their physical feature such as spiky tails and bony armours.

Scientists warned over the weekend not only of hotter days ahead but even solar flares amid forecasts that the Sun will wake up from its slumber and start solar flare activities sometime in 2013.

Crews of Queensland Rail are working overtime to clean up some 147 tonnes of zinc concentrate that toppled on the rail over the weekend before it causes further damage to the rail and to the immediate environment.

No, it was not another end-of-the world scenario. Meteor streaks witnessed by millions of Americans living in the East Coast and two Canadian provinces turned out to be a yard-long rock that entered the Earth's atmosphere on Friday evening at about 8 p.m.

Dr Ed Lu, a physicist and former NASA astronaut, said there is a 30 per cent chance that a near-Earth asteroid would hit the planet within this century. He estimated the hit would have a five-mega tonne impact.

Residents of Alaska were treated on Monday, March 18, to the awesome sight of the Northern Lights. The Aurora Borealis was seen from the Interior to South East and parts of South-Central, which includes Anchorage, according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.

A video on YouTube of penguins at the Aquarium of the Pacific has become viral with more than 100,000 hits so far.

A highly resistant strain of bacteria contaminated hand-washing sinks in the intensive care unit at Melbourne's Dandenong Hospital, causing 10 patients to become ill. The bacteria, known as Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae or CRE, has also killed people overseas.

As an old adage goes, one cannot serve two masters. One has to be abandoned while one has to be pursued. And in the case of Australia, it's either it chooses to push through with the coal-related development projects in Queensland or push through saving and protecting the Great Barrier Reef. Bottomline, only one objective may be pursued.

Comet PANSTARRS, also known as C/2011 L4, is a non-periodic comet, which means it would show up only once in a lifetime. Astrophotographers up North have been taking advantage of the waxing crescent moon to take stunning photos of PANSTARRS. The comet gave the most stunning view with the New Moon on Mar. 13 in the sunset sky of the Northern Hemisphere.

The 2013 Comet PANSTARRS spectacularly appeared close to the crescent moon during the March 13 night sky. Clear skies provided a great view for the spectators who wish to witness and capture images of the rare space phenomenon.

Comet PANSTARRS was discovered in June 2011, and was expected to be visible to the naked eye in March 2013. But it is not as bright as the Comet ISON, which will grace the sky by end-2013. Many of those who have tried to spot this March comet needed the aid of binoculars. Keep trying, says the experts. If you are into astrophotography, have your own gallery of PANSTARRS photos. This is one cosmic event you would not want to miss.

The National Aerospace and Space Administration (NASA) declared on Tuesday that Mars could support life. The basis of NASA was an analysis of rock samples that the Curiosity crew drilled from the red planet.

The 2013 Comet PANSTARRS will continue to astonish the viewers with another spectacular appearance today, March 13. A couple of expert observers shared on the internet web sites their captured images of the Comet PANSTARRS for the other curious viewers to see.

The 2013 Comet PANSTARRS begins to display its brightest spectacular view on Tuesday, March 12, shortly after 7 p.m. Experts urge the curious viewers to grab their binoculars, go to an area on the western horizon free from tall buildings, trees and bright city lights in order to have a best shot watching the rare phenomenon.

Sunlight in Tokyo on Sunday afternoon was momentarily blocked off when a wide-scale dust storm surrounded the city, a day before the second year anniversary of the equally fatal 9.03 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan's northeastern and eastern portions on March 11, 2011.

Sunlight in Tokyo on Sunday afternoon was momentarily blocked off when a wide-scale dust storm surrounded the city, a day before the second year anniversary of the equally fatal 9.03 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan's northeastern and eastern portions on March 11, 2011.

Residents of the state of Queensland ought to brace themselves for more cyclones as a tropical low has been seen brewing in north-west Queensland's Gulf of Carpentaria. Once it fully develops, it will be called Cyclone Tim, the season's third cyclone after Sandra.

Comet PANSTARRS, officially identified as C/2011 L4, will become visible this week to the Northern Hemisphere residents at the left side of a thin, crescent moon. Binoculars without any weather disturbances can provide a spectacular view and some online sites offer images or live streaming of Comet PANSTARRS’ peak on March 15.

In the next couple of days, the 2013 Comet PANSTARRS will make an impressive appearance in the sky as it passes by planet Earth without the threat of a collision. Experts recommend the best dates to watch the bright comet flyby is on March 12 and 13.

Russia will assign 36-year-old Yelena Serova to the International Space Station in 2014. However, she will not perform a space walk but would concentrate on research.

Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology caught the eruption on video and posted it immediately on YouTube.

In the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) database, an unnamed Indiana witness reported spotting an unidentified white-glowing object just above a tree on March 4 around 5 p.m. The witness recounted the UFO rapidly disappeared after noticing it inside a fast food restaurant in Sullivan.