Physicists have been 'building' elements heavier than Uranium for some time by slamming nuclei together and seeing what they get. The atoms are unstable, getting more so as the atoms grow. Theory suggests there should be naturally stable superheavy elements. If so, where are they?

Amnon Marinov at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem used a mass spectrometer on large quantities thorium measuring every atom. Thorium (atomic number 90) appears in two isotopes (atomic weights 230 and 232). These were observed but so was an element with an atomic weight of 292 and atomic number 122, well beyond the artificial Ununoctium (atomic number 118)
The university team have ensured there is no error in the test and are sure it is a genuine find.
Initially named eka-thorium or unbibium it would be a member of the superheavy actinide group. Now one has been found more are sure to follow.
Source: arxivblog.com and Hebrew University of Jerusalem

As part of NASA’s plans for a return to the Moon and then on to Mars, they have instigated the development of a nuclear fission power generator. Although solar power is possible this close to the Sun, a nuclear station frees up systems from needing a constant source of illumination.
The actual atomic fission technology is well known and a bucket-sized reactor would provide ample energy for a lunar base. It is how the heat generated by such a unit could be turned into electricity that is the challenge. The enormous heat exchangers of Earth-based systems are not possible.
Two concepts are being examined both of which can produce about 12kilowatts of power.
One, from Sunpower Inc. uses two opposed piston engines coupled to alternators. Whereas Barber Nichols Inc. uses a high speed turbine and compressor, similar to a jet engine, to generate power.
One will be selected to be converted into a realistic demonstrator in the next couple of years.
Source: spacer.com

The catastrophic failure of steel in the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center was due to the high temperatures experienced during the building fires.
It is one of those cases where ‘everyone’ knows that steel loses its strength at high temperatures, but the why is more complicated.
Researchers at the UK’s Atomic Energy Authority have shown that atomic-level magnetic changes weakening materials in fusion reactors can be applied to what happened on 11th September 2001.
Comparing the conditions in a fusion plant with those experienced in the World Trade Center fire, they found strong similarities between the tests performed on candidate fusion materials and those on the structural steels from the towers.
This will lead to the development of metals with greater strength at higher temperatures. This will be useful for fusion station, but also for more mundane structures like the Mile-High tower to be built in Saudi Arabia.
Source: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

Binocular vision evolved for better depth perception, didn’t it? – well, maybe not.
Mark Changizi at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Shinsuke Shimojo at the California Institute of Technology believe it also gives us an ability to see through cluttered environments.
They have found that animals that live in open, relatively uncluttered environments such as skies and plains have eyes on the sides of their heads giving them panoramic vision.
Another set of creatures, including humans have their eyes set well forward. It was thought the cost of losing panoramic vision was outweighed by the benefit of better targeting since these animals are mainly predators.
The new theory is that these animals live in cluttered environments like forests or jungles.
“Our binocular region is a kind of ‘spotlight’ shining through the clutter, allowing us to visually sweep out a cluttered region to recognize the objects beyond it,” says Changizi.
Source: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Unless protected by a strong magnetic field, the constant bombardment by the solar wind will slowly erode a plant's atmosphere. That is one of the reasons the Earth has a thick atmosphere and Mars does not; there is no magnetic field around the red planet.
Titan, Saturn's moon, does not have a magnetic field and so is prone to the same erosion as Mars; however, it is famed for its thick nitrogen/methane atmosphere.
Titan is protected by Saturn because for 95% of the time it stays within the gas giant's magnetosphere. What happens when it moves outside the shielding effect has been revealed by the Cassini space probe which passed the moon just when this happened. It has discovered that Titan's atmosphere is essentially magnetised by Saturn and remains so for around three hours.
"It's surprising that it stays there that long," says team member Andrew Coates of University College London. "Over long time scales, this could really help us understand how planetary atmospheres evolve."
Source: NASA

The brightest ever gamma-ray burst was observed in March. Despite being 7.5 billion light years away it would have been naked eye visible for about 40 seconds.
This has helped the development of theories on their structure.
Gamma-ray bursts are thought to happen when massive stars collapse to form black holes spewing out beams of gas close to the speed of light. This beam was directed straight at the Earth hence brightness and allowed the jet's cross-section to be modelled. It appears there are actually two beams: the first narrow and bright, the second 20 times broader and much dimmer too.
Since bright also relates to whether the beam is pointing in our direction or not, it is believed these events are between 10 to 100 times more common than originally thought.
source: New Scientist

Professor Yaroslavsky of the University of Tel Aviv believes that humans may have an ability to see with their skin. There is anecdotal evidence with people claiming they can see through their skin, but the majority of scientists dismiss this.
Unperturbed Yarsolavsky is developing a computer model based on how plants follow the movement of the sun and certain replies have light sensitive patches of skin. His theory is that humans too have light-sensitive cells in the skin connected to the brain.
If he can prove his theory it could be used to develop unique imaging systems without optics. Removal of lenses means lighter, simpler and cheaper imaging, but also lenses are wavelength specific another limitation he would remove.
Yaroslavsky envisages new technology imaging capabilities determined by computer power rather than the laws of light diffraction.
This truly is closer to science fiction than science fact, but who knows.
Source: Tel Aviv University

Space is not only big, but lethal, with a hard vacuum, extremes of temperature and sterilising radiation. That said various single cell creatures such as bacteria and lichens have been shown to survive. Now the more complex, tardigrade, commonly known as 'water bears', have survived in space. The dot-sized invertebrates were exposed for 10 days with some also exposed to solar radiation.
K. Ingemar Jonsson of the Kristianstad University, Sweden, led the said, "If protected from sunlight, all these groups could probably survive for several months, perhaps years, in space."
This presents evidence for theories of life travelling between planets inside meteorites or for concern of our vehicles transporting life and contaminating other worlds
Source:Space.com