We won't be able to comfortably live on Mars, experts have revealed. Scientists – as well as science fiction fans – have long hoped that we might be able to change Mars so it has an Earth-like atmosphere, allowing us to comfortably live there. Plans to do so have included dropping thermonuclear weapons at the planet's poles – an idea supported by Elon Musk. But there simply isn't enough carbon dioxide on the planet to allow the atmosphere to ever become habitable for humans, according to new research. At best we could achieve only a fiftieth of what is needed, and would only be able to raise the surface temperature by less than 10 degrees Celsius, the study published in Nature Astronomy reveals.

Nasa has begun a major search for alien worlds. The agency's Tess spacecraft has started its science missions, exploring the universe as it looks for new planets. It engineers hope that it will eventually find thousands of alien worlds, some of which could be habitable. The craft – whose name stands for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite – will look deep in the universe for signs of planets. Any that are found will be explored from afar, as scientists try to work out what it might be like on those planets, and whether life could survive there.

The scorching heatwave gripping northern Europe was made twice as likely to happen by climate change, scientists have revealed. An initial assessment of the prolonged period of record-breaking hot weather suggests rising temperatures caused by human activity increased the odds of it happening. The preliminary research claims to have found'unambiguous' evidence that human interference has triggered the recent heatwave, which computer models predict will continue until the end of August. People enjoy the Bournemouth beach in Dorset, England, as the hot weather continues across Britain. Britain is experiencing a severe heatwave which has prompted its national weather service to issue an alert for people to'stay out of the sun' 'The logic that climate change will do this is inescapable – the world is becoming warmer and so heatwaves like this are becoming more common,' said one of the authors Dr Friederike Otto, deputy director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford and and part of the World Weather Attribution (WWA) consortium that did the latest research.

LONDON, / CHICAGO – Boffins at U.K. engineering giant Rolls-Royce proudly displayed an array of miniature robots at this year's Farnborough air show, best known as a major marketplace for passenger planes but also a test bed for the aviation industry's wilder imaginings. Designed to speed up engine overhauls, the manufacturer's tiny cockroach-like drones would remove the need for power plants to be detached from aircraft during maintenance work. The "swarming" bots, less than half an inch across, are designed to roam engine turbines in gangs, beaming pictures back to inspection crews after being deposited by so-called "snake" hosts that work their way through the engine. If the bots don't get you the drones will. The biannual air show was awash with unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, ranging from delivery craft that guarantee to gently deposit a parcel by your door to the latest military types intent on blowing stuff up.

On May 27, a deluge dumped more than 6 inches of rain in less than three hours on Ellicott City, Maryland, killing one person and transforming Main Street into what looked like Class V river rapids, with cars tossed about like rubber ducks. The National Weather Service put the probability of such a storm at once in 1,000 years. Yet, "it's the second time it's happened in the last three years," says Jeff Allenby, director of conservation technology for Chesapeake Conservancy, an environmental group. Floods are nothing new in Ellicott City, located where two tributaries join the Patapsco River. But Allenby says the floods are getting worse, as development covers what used to be the "natural sponge of a forest" with paved surfaces, rooftops, and lawns.

Scientists have found 12 new moons orbiting around Jupiter, in a breakthrough discovery about our mysterious neighbour. They include an object that scientists have referred to as an "oddball". It is just one kilometre in size, and is flying in the opposite direction to many of the planet's moons – and behaves in an entirely different way to any of the other 78 objects orbiting the planet. As such, it might be responsible for having smashed up many of the other objects that make up the moons around Jupiter. Scientists think the vast number of objects orbiting the planet are probably the result of collisions earlier in its life, which have been captured by Jupiter and now continue to orbit it.

Epic Games has release its second teaser image before Thursday's big Season 5 launch. While yesterday we saw what might be a Japanese cat mask, today the theme is incredibly clear: Vikings are landing in Fortnite: Battle Royale. A viking-themed harvesting tool is the latest clue to Fortnite's fifth season.Credit: Epic Games While yesterday's cat-mask is a little ambiguous I think we can all agree this is a viking axe. Clearly, the anchor found near Snobby Shores and Greasy Grove was also viking-made. And while a Wild West stagecoach popped up near Moisty Mires, indicating that area might transform into a cowboy desert, it seems likely now that this area of Fortnite's shoreline is going to be transformed into a viking-themed area---the game's own little Kattegat.

On May 27, a deluge dumped more than 6 inches of rain in less than three hours on Ellicott City, Maryland, killing one person and transforming Main Street into what looked like Class V river rapids, with cars tossed about like rubber ducks. The National Weather Service put the probability of such a storm at once in 1,000 years. Yet, "it's the second time it's happened in the last three years," says Jeff Allenby, director of conservation technology for Chesapeake Conservancy, an environmental group. Floods are nothing new in Ellicott City, located where two tributaries join the Patapsco River. But Allenby says the floods are getting worse, as development covers what used to be the "natural sponge of a forest" with paved surfaces, rooftops, and lawns.

Uranus's strange climate and unusual tilt could be explained by an impact with a huge object, according to new research. Scientists have long been puzzled over why the planet is shunted slightly over to its side. The new research could finally offer an answer, in a major collision with another object. As well as explaining the planet's jaunty angle, the vast collision might also be the reason why Uranus came to have such freezing temperatures. And it could help us understand the mysterious exoplanets that are dotted throughout the universe and give hope for finding alien life.

UPDATED with expert analysis WASHINGTON: The Pentagon has created a new Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) that will have oversight over almost all service and defense agency AI efforts. This coordination function is crucial to the emerging AI arms race with Russia and China, experts told us. The JAIC will report to Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy, the establishing memo by Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan says. Its ambit is not quite untrammeled; any projects under $15 million remain the authority of the service or agency. The JAIC will establish a common set of AI "standards…. Undersecretary for Research & Engineering Mike Griffin, a far more prominent proponent of AI and other cutting-edge technologies who has warned China and Russia are catching up to the US, "will continue to promote development of new AI technologies, systems, and concepts" but without any clearly specified role in the new center. CIO Deasy has 30 days to consult the rest of the department ...