SCIENCE

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.

Astronomers recently discovered the comet identified as C/2013 A1 Siding Spring. It is projected to make a flyby with Mars on October 2014 and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Dynamics group data currently shows the possibility of a collision with the planet.

The newly discovered asteroid identified as 2013 EC will have its near-Earth flyby at an approximated distance of the moon’s orbit on Monday, March 4, at 2:35 a.m. ET (7:35 a.m. UTC). Arizona’s Mount Lemmon Observatory found the Asteroid 2013 EC on Saturday with the confirmation that it will not hit planet Earth during its closest approach.

The breakthrough that the medical community has been waiting appears to have finally happened. U.S. scientists announced on Sunday the cure of a Mississippi child born with AIDS.

Living up to their celestial name, the American rock band 30 Seconds to Mars had the launch of their new single Up in the Air literally in space on Friday. Included in the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket full of scientific equipment is the first copy of their new song.

Astronomers have captured on photograph the birth or formation of a new alien planet. The photo was taken at the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile.

The planned 501-day mission to Mars in 2018 will probably make space history not only because of the ambitious undertaking which would include an elderly male and female couple, but also would probably be the most creepy in history.

Australia has broken its own hottest summer record, according to data released by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).

Astronomers did not discount the possibility that a new comet, C/2013 A1, discovered early this year by Robert McNaught at the Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, may hit planet Mars in October 2014.

The 2013 Comet ISON will make its Sun and near-Earth approach on November and December but the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have already appealed to comet experts to form and organize an observing campaign for this particular comet.

Astronomers and professional sky surveys often discover new comets yearly and 2013 offers a spectacular comet experience to the sky viewers. Three long-tailed comets are anticipated to brighten up the skies and become visible to the naked eye.

What is a gigantic jet lightning? Scientists always explain a lot of awesome things. But when they collectively fail to come up with an explanation for something so spectacular, they probably feel frustrated if not challenged or inspired. Case in point, a gigantic jet lighting seen in 2010 in China remains a mystery. But experts continue to find answers because that is what they do, and because people like us wait for answers.

In response to concerns over the growing number of asteroids that fly near Earth, Canada has deployed its Near-Earth Object Surveillance satellite with the main task of scouring the galaxy for space junk and strayed asteroids.

The name Vulcan topped the 21 names submitted in an online poll for suggestions on what to call Pluto's fourth moon. Vulcan got more than 174,000 votes out of the over 450,000 votes cast. The poll ended Feb 25.