Fears that most of the Earth's species will become extinct before they have even been discovered by science are "alarmist", according to an international study released on Friday.

Researchers set out to examine estimates that there were 100 million species globally and they were dying out at a rate of five percent every decade, meaning many would disappear before scientists had a chance to discover them.

European probes this year will return a treasure trove of data from explorations into the Big Bang, water on Mars and climate change, European Space Agency (ESA) chief Jean-Jacques Dordain said on Thursday.

"2013 will yield an extraordinary harvest" of knowledge about space, Dordain predicted at a start-of-year press conference.

Scientists in Britain on Wednesday announced a breakthrough in the quest to turn DNA into a revolutionary form of data storage.

A speck of man-made DNA can hold mountains of data that can be freeze-dried, shipped and stored, potentially for thousands of years, they said.

South Korea confirmed Thursday that it will make another bid on January 30 to put a satellite in orbit and join an elite club of global space powers that includes China, Japan and India.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said the much-anticipated launch -- postponed twice last year -- was scheduled to take place between 3:55pm and 7:30pm (0655 and 1030 GMT) next Wednesday.

A genetic switch allowed dogs to adapt to a starch-rich diet and evolve from meat-munching wolves into Man's leftover-loving best friend, scientists said Wednesday.

Comparing the genetic code of the domestic dog to that of its wolf cousins, a team of researchers from Sweden, Norway and the United States found several telling differences.

All but about 50 of hundreds of research chimpanzees belonging to the National Institutes of Health should be retired to the national sanctuary in northwest Louisiana, and all of them should have plenty of room to play and climb, an NIH committee recommended Tuesday.

The NIH Council of Councils Working Group approved the proposal, which also calls for major cuts in grants to study chimps in laboratories and no return to breeding the great apes for research.

A U.S. company said Tuesday it plans to send a fleet of spacecraft into the solar system to mine asteroids for metals and other materials in the hopes of furthering exploration of the final frontier.

"Using resources harvested in space is the only way to afford permanent space development," said David Gump, chief executive of Deep Space Industries, noting that more than 900 new asteroids that pass near our planet are discovered each year.

Present-day Asians and Native Americans are descended from a group of people who were already in China 40,000 years ago, according to an analysis of fossil DNA published this week.

The genetic analysis showed that the early modern humans in Beijing had already diverged genetically from the ancestors of modern-day Europeans.

Miniature cameras attached to a penguin's head have given Japanese scientists a bird's eye view of the creature's incredible underwater hunting skills, the lead researcher said Tuesday.

Using video cameras weighing just 33 grams (around 1 oz) and equipped with accelerometers, depth gauges and thermometers, researchers were able to see exactly what the Adelie penguin sees when it goes out to catch krill and other prey in its native Antarctica.

The EU executive Monday urged a quick decision on a freeze of 900 million tonnes of pollution credits auctioned to firms in 2013-2015 in order to raise the price of carbon and make investment in clean technology worthwhile.

"There are too many permits because of the recession," said Isaac Valero, the spokesman for Europe's climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard.