Science News Headlines . New 3D images of Mars . New look at the world through new bionic lens A contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights superimposes computerised images onto the natural view. . Paper planes to fly in space . Are we cannibalising our neighbouring galaxies? . Why we scratch an itch . Why we can't tickle ourselves . More cyclones in the Atlantic since mid-1990s . The mysterious planet Mercury Some of these are described in more detail below. Paper planes to fly in space (Reuters) Japanese scientists plan to launch paper planes from the International Space Station to see if they make it back to earth. If the small paper planes land safely, the scientist say the paper technology could one day be used to build a new generation of unmanned spacecraft. Researchers from the University of Tokyo this week tested the small origami planes made of special paper. The planes survived the wind tunnel test intact, flying for 30 seconds in 250°C and wind at seven times the speed of sound. The theory is that paper craft, being much lighter than space shuttles, may escape the worst of the friction and heat that much heavier space shuttles face on re-entry to the atmosphere. "Paper planes are extremely light so they slow down when the air is thin and can gradually descend," says Shinji Suzuki, a professor of aerospace engineering. Suzuki says the technology might one day be used for unmanned spacecraft. The team has asked a Japanese astronaut to release the 20 centimetre long planes, made from paper chemically treated to resist heat and water, from the space station. It will take several months for the craft to reach earth and there is no way to predict their landing spot if they make it, Suzuki says. "It's going to be the space version of a message in a bottle. It will be great if someone picks one up," he says. "We are thinking of writing messages on the planes saying 'if found, please contact us' in a couple of languages." Gas 'finger' points to a grim future (ABC) Australian astronomers have discovered a giant finger of hydrogen gas pushing its way into the Milky Way. The finding could help end a year-long controversy over the fate of our nearest neighbouring galaxies, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, which are the source of the gas finger. Dr Naomi McClure-Griffiths, at CSIRO's Australia Telescope National Facility, says her discovery suggests the Milky Way is destined to "cannabilise" the two smaller galaxies. Writing in a recent issue of the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters, McClure-Griffiths says the hydrogen gas finger is at the end of the so-called leading arm of gas that streams ahead of the Magellanic clouds. She says the finger is hitting the Milky Way about 70,000 light-years away from earth at a point in the sky near the Southern Cross. It is the first time astronomers have seen evidence that the Magellanic clouds are interacting directly with our galaxy. Importantly, she says, they have located where the intrusion is occurring which gives researchers an idea of where the clouds will travel. McClure-Griffiths says her finding suggests the leading arm is a tidal feature where the gas is pulled out of the Magellanic clouds by the Milky Way's gravity. "Where this gas goes, we'd expect the clouds to follow, at least approximately," she says. Controversy The fate of the Magellanic clouds has been the subject of controversy in the past 12 months since data from the Hubble Space Telescope showed the clouds were moving faster than previously believed. Astronomers had thought the Magellanic clouds were orbiting our galaxy and would eventually be swallowed up by the larger Milky Way as a "food source", McClure-Griffiths says. But the speed of the clouds, about 380 kilometres per second, raises the possibility that the clouds are just passing our galaxy on a one-off visit. She believes her results will have a profound impact on debate about the fate of the Magellanic clouds. "It doesn't look from this data that they could possibly just be passing by," she says. "It really does look like they will interact with our own galaxy." Gas as food The Magellanic clouds will be victims of "galactic cannibalism", she says, as the Milky Way "needs these extra pieces of gas in order to keep it alive". She says the interaction between the gas finger and the Milky Way appears to be "fairly energetic". "It is producing little ridges of gas ahead of it, ploughing into the galaxy like a giant snow plough," she says. "It is a fairly energetic event that is heating things up considerably and we would expect to see some star formation." McClure-Griffiths says she stumbled upon the find while examining data from the Galactic All-Sky Survey which used the CSIRO radio telescopes at Parkes and Narrabri to map hydrogen gas in the galaxy. Ah! Why we scratch an itch (Reuters) Oh, it brings such blessed relief and now scientists can tell you why. Scratching an itch temporarily shuts off areas in the brain linked with unpleasant feelings and memories. "Our study shows for the first time how scratching may relieve itch," says Dr Gil Yosipovitch, a US dermatologist at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina. Earlier studies show that pain, including vigorous scratching, inhibit the need to itch. But Yosipovitch and colleagues looked at what goes on in the brain when a person is scratched, publishing their results online in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. He and colleagues used a technique known as functional magnetic resonance imaging to see which areas of the brain are active during scratching. They scratched 13 healthy people with a soft brush on the lower leg on and off in 30-second intervals for a total of 5 minutes. Scratching reduced activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex, areas linked with pain aversion and memory. And the more intensely a person was scratched, the less activity they found in these areas of the brain. "It's possible that scratching may suppress the emotional components of itch and bring about relief," Yosipovitch says. An urge to itch But the researchers also found why one scratch often begets another. Scratching increased activity in the secondary somatosensory cortex, a pain centre, and in the prefrontal cortex, which is linked with compulsive behaviour. "This could explain the compulsion to continue scratching," Yosipovitch says. The researchers note that the study is limited because people taking part were not scratching in response to an actual itch. But they say understanding what goes on in the brain may lend clues about how to treat people tormented by chronic itch, including people with eczema and many kidney dialysis patients. The study was supported by the US National Institutes of Health. Why we can't tickle ourselves (Discovery News) Most humans cannot tickle themselves because they anticipate their own actions, which alters their sense of perception, according to a new study. Since it is now believed that a breakdown in this anticipation process may underlie the delusions in schizophrenia, the finding may also lead to a better understanding of this mental disorder. Warmer seas boosted cyclones by 40% (ABC/AFP) Warmer seas accounted for 40% of a dramatic surge in cyclones in the Atlantic from the mid-1990s, say UK researchers. Cyclones are known to have several causes. One of them is the raw fuel of heat and moisture, provided by seas warmed to at least 27°C. But they add this doesn't necessarily mean global warming will lead to more of these extreme weather events in the future. Dr Mark Saunders and Dr Adam Lea of the Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre at University College London report their findings today in the journal Nature. Mercury delivers the unexpected (Discovery News) Scientists have been astonished by their latest findings about the planet Mercury. Iamges from the from NASA's MESSENGER mission to Mercury were released this week. "It is not the planet we expected," says Dr Sean Solomon, the lead scientist for the mission. Most striking are the widespread signs of volcanic flows, places where the planet's pocked face, gouged by impact craters, has been smoothed by fresh coverings. Then there's the peculiar change in the planet's magnetosphere, which showed no trace of the energetic particles found during the Mariner flybys in 1974 and 1975. And perhaps the most mind-bending find: a unique spider-like formation nearly dead centre in one of the most prominent craters on the planet's surface, the Caloris basin. Scientists have no idea what caused more than 100 flat and narrow troughs to radiate like bicycle spokes from a 40-kilometre central core, which seems to be higher than the surrounding terrain. "It looks like something pushed up," says Dr Louise Prockter, with Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the head of MESSENGER's camera science team. One theory is that a volcano may have risen from the floor of the Caloris basin, causing the feature to rebound and crack after its formation. Though many questions remain after MESSENGER's pass by Mercury on 14 January, the wait for answers is nearly over. MESSENGER, an acronym for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging spacecraft, is due back in October for another flyby, and then again in September 2009. Finally, in March 2011, MESSENGER will have lost enough speed to slip into orbit around Mercury and become its first artificial satellite. A year of intensive studies is planned. Magnetic field mystery Among the most pressing questions are how the planet generates its magnetic field. Mercury is the only other rocky planet besides Earth with a magnetic field. During the 24 January flyby, scientists discovered that Mercury's magnetic field is dipolar, meaning it has north and south polar orientations, like Earth's. More information is needed to figure out if the planet has a liquid metal core, like Earth, or if some other mechanism is creating the field. "This is a whole new planet we're looking at," says University of Arizona's Dr Robert Strom, the only member of the MESSENGER science team who also worked on the Mariner 10 Mercury flyby mission. "I've waited 30 years for this and I wasn't disappointed at all. Every part of the planet, seen or unseen, is going to be new, no question about that." From News in Science, http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/