Stars always evolve in the universe in large groups, known as clusters. Astronomers distinguish these formations by their age and size. The question of how star clusters are created from interstellar gas clouds and why they then develop in different ways has now been answered by researchers at the Argelander Institute for Astronomy at the University of Bonn with the aid of computer simulations.

The scientists have solved – at least at a theoretical level – one of the oldest astronomical puzzles, namely the question of whether star clusters differ in their internal structure. The findings have now been published in the science journal "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society" (MNRAS 380, 1589).

Leaking pipelines in Siberia, sabotage operations in Nigeria and the long-term consequences of accidents have one thing in common: they leave behind them huge lakes of oil which pollute the soil, contaminate the ground water and destroy the habitat of humans, animals and plants.

Biotherm Technologie AG from Schaffhausen in Switzerland has devised a way to neutralize the environmental damage and create energy by producing heating oil, diesel fuel and bitumen from long-chain hydrocarbons.

"Our process is based on fractionated depolymerisation and was originally developed for the reconditioning of waste plastics and oil," says Christopher F. Stampfli, director designate of Biotherm Technologie AG. "However, it's equally effective for drying up oil lakes.

Geologists have uncovered evidence of when Earth may have first supported an oxygen-rich atmosphere similar to the one we breathe today. The study suggests that upheavals in the earth’s crust initiated a kind of reverse-greenhouse effect 500 million years ago that cooled the world’s oceans, spawned giant plankton blooms, and sent a burst of oxygen into the atmosphere.

That oxygen may have helped trigger one of the largest growths of biodiversity in Earth’s history.

Matthew Saltzman, associate professor of earth sciences at Ohio State, reported the findings Sunday at the meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver.

Biological cements to repair ‘burst fractures’ of the spine are being developed and tested in a major new collaborative project between the University of Leeds and Queen’s University Belfast.

Bone cements, similar to those used in joint replacement surgery, are already being used to strengthen damaged vertebrae of patients with diseases such as osteoporosis, in a procedure known as vertebroplasty, but ‘burst fractures’ to the spine, injuries often sustained in major impact accidents and falls, are much more difficult to treat. They account for over 1,000 emergency NHS admissions each year and often require highly complex, invasive surgery and a long stay in hospital.

Baby Miriam's mother lost her amniotic fluid in the 20th week of pregnancy, giving the baby a very slim chance of surviving birth and, even if she had, because her lungs had stopped growing, she would probably have suffocated shortly afterward.

Doctors at Bonn Univer-sity Clinic saved Miriam's life with surgery in the womb that stimulated lung growth - the first time this method has been used worldwide in a case of premature rupture of the fetal membrane. The baby is now one year old and very healthy. The doctors will report the case study in this month's Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy.

A campaign by conservationists has helped save one of Africa’s unspoilt forests from massive development for biofuel.

Mabira Forest Reserve is about eight miles north of Lake Victoria. Logging began in 1906 and damage from intensive coffee, banana cultivation and charcoal production continued until 1988 when many people were evicted from the forest. The illegal collection of plants and timber, and charcoal burning, continues on a reduced scale.