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Officials in Mauritius are planning to cull flying foxes, the large bat species native to the small African island nation. Farmers blame the bat for commercial fruit losses, but scientists argue a cull is unnecessary and could spell the end for the endangered species.

According to a new study published in the journal Oryx, the Mauritian flying fox is only responsible for a small -- and manageable -- amount of fruit losses. Additionally, scientists determined the species performs a variety of vital ecological services.

The bat's pollination and seed dispersal services are essential to the health of the islands largest tree species and the growth of the nation's threatened forests.

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It's been dubbed a comet, an asteroid, and a new class of interstellar object. Now, a paper from Harvard astronomers suggests one more possibility into the mysterious object nicknamed "Oumuamua": Alien probe.

Researchers focused on whether solar radiation pressure could explain the unusual acceleration of "Oumuamua," the first object entering the Earth's solar system from interstellar space.

The paper said if solar radiation pressure is the reason "Oumuamua" is moving at high speeds, it represents "a new class of thin interstellar material" either made naturally or through artificial means.

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Salty water just below the surface of Mars could hold enough oxygen to support the kind of microbial life that emerged and flourished on Earth billions of years ago, researchers reported.

In some locations, the amount of oxygen available could even keep alive a primitive, multicellular animal such as a sponge, they reported in the journal Nature Geosciences on Monday.

An American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut were forced to eject from an aborted launch to the International Space Station early Thursday and make an emergency landing.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin were aboard the spacecraft when it launched at 4:40 a.m. EDT on a mission to the station. The duo blasted off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard the Russian Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft.

Moments after launch, the two were forced to eject from the spacecraft after they encountered trouble with a booster on the rocket.

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More than 1,600 scientists have backed a campaign condemning the Italian researcher who claimed physics was “invented and built by men”.

They have signed a petition in response to comments made by Prof Alessandro Strumia, of Pisa University, who said male scientists were being discriminated against because of ideology.

After making the comments during a presentation at Cern, the European nuclear research centre in Geneva, on 28 September, Strumia was suspended on Monday pending an investigation for his “unacceptable” presentation.

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At the very edge of our solar system, scientists have discovered a new, extremely distant object billions of miles beyond Pluto.

Even more interesting: The object has an orbit that hints of an even-farther-out “Super-Earth” or larger “Planet X” which could be lurking out there.

The findings were announced Tuesday by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center.