Team of scientists believe first life may have originates in sea ice

• Process of brinicle formation may have created conditions necessary for life
• Brinicles formed by brine forced from sea ice that sinks to the sea bed

Life on Earth may have originated in polar seas through the formation of brinicles, pictured

The existence of brinicles was discovered in the 1960s and were not filmed until 2011 when their formation in the Antarctic Ocean was captured by the BBC's Frozen Planet team

The so-called 'icicles of death' are formed when brine sinks from ice and freezes

'ICICLES OF DEATH': SEA STALACTITES THAT GROW TO THE SEA BED

If the conditions are right, a brinicle can reach the sea bed and trap and freeze any creatures below

The existence of brinicles has only been known about since the 1960s and were not filmed until the BBC's Frozen Planet team captured them on camera in 2011. 

The brinicle, or sea stalactite, is formed from sea ice when brine is ejected from the freezing salt water. 

The hollow pipe is filled with cold, supersaline water and at first is fragile before the ice thickens and the brinicle becomes more stable. 

Brinicles can grow for several feet and reach to the seabed where it freezes and traps and kills creatures like sea urchins or starfish. 

Sea ice is porous and spongelike, as it needs to force out impurities, such as brine. 

As the salt is rejected, the surrounding water becomes more saline and this lowers its freezing temperatures and increases its density. 

Therefore, the water does not freeze to ice immediately and its higher density means it sinks, creating so-called brine channels. 

The colder saline water creates more ice as it reaches unfrozen seawater and grows downward. 

The outer edges begin to accumulate a layer of ice and a brinicle is formed. 

 

Icicleofdeath

• Philphat Suwanmon, an amateur Thai photographer, photographed rare blue-eared kingfishers fishing in a jungle
• Had to build a hide to get the pictures and the birds are so rare experts are amazed he managed to take them at all

Phiphat Suwanmon, an amateur Thai photographer, spent two years photographing the blue-eared kingfisher in an attempt to document its extraordinary feeding habits

The birds, which are pictured diving into water to hunt, are so rare that many experts are awestruck that an amateur photographer managed to take the pictures at all

Mr Suwanmon said: 'It was important to allow the birds to see me often and build up trust in order to allow me to take their pictures while they act naturally - not an easy feat to get wild birds to do'

The 33-year-old photographer roped in his family to help him create a hide in the birds' habitat in Thailand's southern province, Satun

After studying the animals' natural mating, feeding and living cycle the family built a studio within the wilderness and created a new feeding pond for the birds to fish in

Mr Suwanmon's work has created a storm among wildlife photographers as admirers express their amazement of the high-quality work

He is now hoping to use his gallery as a platform to propel Thailand to the forefront of natural world photography

He said: 'A lot of people said this is the first time they'd seen pictures of this quality and expected that they'd really been taken by a non-Thai photographer'

Blue-eared kingfishers are found across Asia and tend to live in shady forests where they hunt for fish in streams

They are about 16cm long and are almost identical to the common kingfisher except for their blue ear coverts

By MARK PRIGG

An ocellated ice fish with transparent blood, caught in the Antarctic Ocean in 2011, swims in a fish tank at Tokyo Sea Life Park

Researchers believe the fish can live without haemoglobin because it has an unusually large heart and uses blood plasma to circulate oxygen throughout its body

Although researchers believe the fish can live without haemoglobin because it has an unusually large heart and uses blood plasma to circulate oxygen throughout its body

They can still flourish in part because of the high oxygen content of the cold waters of the Southern Ocean and in part because oxygen is absorbed and distributed directly by the plasma, researchers believe.

Previous studies have found these fish must expend twice as much energy in cardiac output per second than the notothenioids with higher hemoglobin concentration.

The fish has no haemaglobin, which is what makes blood red and is the agent that carries oxygen around the body

Ice Fish on the sea bed

MQ-8C Fire Scout will be used by US Military as a surveillance drone

• Has same capabilities and range as a Bell 407 Helicopter

Mockup of an MQ-8C Fire Scout from the Northrup Grumman display at the Sea-Air-Space Expo 2013

The MQ-8C Fire Scout looks almost identical to a normal helicopter - but is in fact a drone

The ultimate drone in numbers

An artist's impression of the MQ-8C Fire Scout in action

A scale model of the MQ-8C Fire Scout was revealed, and it is hoped the real thing could be flying this year

Touch Bionics has created the i-limb ultra revolution prosthetic hand

• Controlled by signals from nerves in the patients arm - and an app
• App allows user to choose between 24 different grips at touch of a button
• The hand also has a rotating thumb and five individually powered fingers

A prosthetic technology company has created a hand which is so advanced it can be controlled using a smartphone app

The hand can be controlled using an app but it can also pick up on muscle signals

Touch Bionics' i-limb ultra revolution prosthetic hand features a rotating thumb, five individually powered fingers, a rotatable wrist and aluminium chassis

The company claims that this is the most dextrous prosthetic hand ever made

It comes with an iOS app that allows the user to control the hand's grip using their smartphone

The app means that the wearer can choose from 24 different grips at the touch of a button

The app can also offers training on how to best use the device and can diagnose problems with it

Each of the fingers bends at the joints and can be adapted to fit around any shape of object that the owner wants to grasp

It comes in black or neutral, can automatically return to a natural position after a period of inactivity and is powered by a battery

 

Touch Bionics start the i-limb 'bionic hand' ultra revolution

• Egg-shaped, open-topped single person 'scooter' similar to Segway
• Hyundai vehicle 'E4U' has 'rotating semispherical part' instead of wheels
• It works like the lower half of a ball - which is constantly rotating

Hyundai has developed a new concept for the car of the future, putting a new spin on a mobility scooter - the 'E4U' an egg-shaped, open-topped single person 'scooter'

Doing away with the traditional two-wheel design, the Hyundai concept vehicle instead uses a 'rotating semispherical part'

It works like the lower half of a ball, which is constantly spinning and used for propulsion instead of wheels

While the vehicle is stationary when standing upright, as soon as the driver pushes forward it drives on at walking speed

The bizarre one person 'egg car' without wheels set to roll into...