Element 115 Confirmed

Chemists in Sweden have replicated a ten-year-old Russian experiment and positively confirmed the existence of a new element with atomic number 115, informally referred to by the unofficial name ununpentium but to be formally named later by a committee from the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).

Voyager Leaves Solar System

A team of researchers has made the call that the Voyager I space probe has finally left the solar system (actually crossing over last summer) based on the disappearance of solar particle counts even though the local magnetic field has not changed, describing the irregular and ill-defined boundary as a "heliosheath depletion region."

New Carnivore Species Discovered

Scientists have identified a previously unknown species of carnivorous mammal, the olinguito (Bassaricyon neblina), living in the cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador, an extremely rare discovery as a new member of the family Procyonidae and order Carnivora.

Tomb of Moche Priestess-Queen

Archaeologists have discovered the tomb of a previously unknown Moche priestess-queen who was buried about A.D. 750 at San José de Moro in the Jequetepeque River valley of northern Peru, the eighth such elite female burial found at the site since 1991 and supporting the theory of an ancient female-ruled society.

Australian Fossil Field Discovered

Paleontologists have discovered a fossil-rich deposit near the Riversleigh fossil field in northwest Queensland, Australia, densely packed with previously unknown species dating from between 13 million and 5 million years ago and providing a rare fossil record for the period of Australia's transition from a tropical to an arid climate.