An artificial black hole has been simulated in a laboratory by scientists using lasers at St Andrews University. Intense light pulses were used to create an artificial event horizon - the defining feature of a black hole known as the "point of no return".
The US might have to delay plans to shoot down a defunct spy satellite on Thursday because of bad weather. Waves in the Pacific are too big for US warships to get into a correct position to fire a missile at the spacecraft.
An ethical code to prevent humans abusing robots, and vice versa, is being drawn up by South Korea. The Robot Ethics Charter will cover standards for users and manufacturers and will be released later in 2007.
A laser developed for military use is a few steps away from hitting a power threshold thought necessary to turn it into a battlefield weapon. The Solid State Heat Capacity Laser (SSHCL) has achieved 67 kilowatts (kW) of average power in the laboratory.
The final design for a "doomsday" vault that will house seeds from all known varieties of food crops has been unveiled by the Norwegian government. The Svalbard International Seed Vault will be built into a mountainside on a remote island near the North Pole.
A new type of computer that mimics the complex interactions in the human brain is being built by UK scientists. The first of its kind in the world, it will be used to help researchers engineer fail-safe electronics.
Israel has launched a satellite that officials say will enhance its ability to spy on Iran's nuclear programme. The satellite, reportedly capable of taking clear photographs of objects on the ground as small as 70cm (2ft), was sent into space from eastern Russia.
DARPA scientists want to create an army of cyber-insects that can be remotely controlled to check out explosives and send transmissions. The idea is to insert micro-systems at the pupa stage, when the insects can integrate them into their body, so they can be remotely controlled later.
Europe's "Little Ice Age" may have been triggered by the 14th Century Black Death plague, according to a new study.
With the fragile ecology of coral reefs around the globe increasingly under pressure, scientists on Australia's Great Barrier Reef are establishing a network of sensors to better understand this beautiful part of the underwater world.