London, July 29 : The first attempt by NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander to quickly collect and analyze ice samples was foiled by sticky Martian soil that refused to budge from the collection scoop.

On July 26th, the robot drilled holes with a rasp on its robotic arm in a work trench known as “Snow White”.

Phoenix’s robotic arm then scooped up an icy soil sample and attempted to quickly transfer it to the onboard TEGA (Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer) instrument before the ice vaporised in the thin Martian air.

London, July 29 : Navigation in fruit flies has been attributed to a protein that detects blue light, which also helps fruit flies tune into the Earth''s magnetic field, revealed a new study.

The knowledge about this weak field is vital for explaining the homing and migration abilities of many animals.

It was believed that when struck by blue light, proteins known as cryptochromes detect magnetic fields, perhaps by making charged molecules - called free radicals.

London  - British Airways (BA) and Spanish airline Iberia said Tuesday they were in talks about a possible merger that would help both companies in the "current economic environment."

The firms said the British Airways and Iberia brands would be retained as part of a combined group.

However, it would take several months to reach an agreement on the terms of a possible merger.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh said the proposed merger would help the airlines in the current economic environment.

BA's share price rose by 8 per cent in London on the news.

London, July 29: Kids as young as 11 should be given compulsory sex health education at school, a British Government-backed report has suggested.

According to the report, school kids ought to be taught about sexually transmitted infections like Chlamydia that can cause infertility.

Academics should also discuss contraceptive methods in a bid to cut rising numbers of teen pregnancies.

The report found STI and HIV rates were rising while demand for abortions was also on the up.

London, July 29 : A tape, much like the common sticky tape, that can carry out humongous electronic tasks like active sensing, data translation, and wireless transmission may soon be on the anvil.

Made by growing a mixed "lawn" of two kinds of nanowires, such cheap, high-quality image sensors may have uses that cannot be conceived using today’s more expensive technology, said researchers who developed this technology.

Today sensors, such as those found in digital cameras, are made like any other silicon chip – they are carved out from a block of material. However, the new nanowire sensors are instead built from the bottom up, by using chemically-grown nano-sized components.

London, July 29 : A lawyer for aviation adventurer Steve Fossett’s widow has denied claims that the millionaire may have faked his own death.

Fossett went missing last September after taking off from a remote Nevada airstrip.

Michael LoVallo disputed suggestions from investigators and insurance assessors that the record-setting pilot and balloonist, a friend of Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson, could still be alive after his mysterious disappearance 10 months ago.

Steve’s wife Peggy petitioned a Chicago court to have her husband declared dead.

In the month of February her request was granted and she was awarded her husband''s estate of more than 10 million dollars.