Exoplanet septet
A nearby star hosts seven small, rocky planets, all but one of which may have temperatures friendly to life. TRAPPIST-1, a cool dwarf star 36 light years away, had three known worlds already. Now four more have turned up packed close to the star, looking like a scaled-up version of Jupiter and its major moons (Nature, ).
Eye tumours hit turtles
Turtles on Australia鈥檚 Great Barrier Reef are coming down with a strange eye disease. Triggered by a turtle-specific herpes virus, it causes tumours to grow on the animals鈥� eyes as well as their shells, flippers, tails and internal organs. Metals in run-off from mining might be affecting the turtles鈥� immune systems.
Chill cancer away
Cancer could be tackled more effectively by putting patients into hibernation. Marco Durante at the Trento Institute in Italy argues that lowering body temperature to 15掳C would slow tumour growth and reduce radiotherapy鈥檚 side effects. The feat may be feasible within 10 years, Durante told the AAAS meeting in Boston last week.
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Spaceport UK?
The UK government announced a draft Spaceflight Bill this week, aimed at creating a commercial spaceport. Under its terms, firms will bid for up to 拢10 million of funding to help launch satellites or passengers into space from the UK.
Cool way to save birds
A 鈥渇rozen aviary鈥� will help conserve rare birds. The Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh, UK, has collected primordial stem cells from more than 25 such species and is storing them at -150掳C to keep them viable for decades. The researchers have also created hens that can lay other birds鈥� eggs after having their stem cells implanted, they told the AAAS meeting.