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SCIENCE IN THE NEWS WEEKLY

Martian Trench May Hold Markers of Ancient Life

Researchers say a trench on Mars is very like a region in Australia where some of the earliest evidence of life on Earth has been preserved in mineral form. They say Martian rocks there could hold similar evidence of life.

In other news from space, astronauts aboard the International Space Station weren't able to replace a cooling pump over the weekend and may conduct another spacewalk Wednesday to complete the job.

A NASA spacecraft may have collected minute specks of stardust. One of the interstellar particles is rich in carbon, suggesting it could contain molecules that serve as the building blocks of life.

A new study has found that a space weather phenomenon caused by the sun, technically a strong vibration in the planet's magnetic field, can affect auroras and spawn "space twisters" capable of bringing down power lines.

The final flight of the three-decade-old space shuttle program next February will take a powerful instrument into space that could detect particles left over from the Big Bang. The project involves a team of 600 scientists.