Scientists were at a loss Friday to explain the mysterious deaths of more than 70 green turtles that have washed up on beaches in northeast Australia over the last week.

Queensland state authorities said 62 of the vulnerable species were confirmed dead and another 10 were spotted floating at sea by a helicopter.

A cutting-edge battery that can be spray-painted on just about any surface was unveiled Thursday by a research team that tested it on everything from bathroom tiles to a beer mug.

The design could revolutionize the design of lithium-ion batteries that power our laptops, mobile phones and electric cars -- leading to slimmer, lighter devices with built-in power supplies.

A private company made up of former NASA astronauts and U.S. scientists said Thursday it is planning to build and launch its own space telescope to track dangerous asteroids and protect the Earth.

The project by the B612 Foundation aims to launch the "first privately funded deep space mission -- SENTINEL -- a space telescope to be placed in orbit around the sun."

Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Friday after achieving China's most complex and longest operations in orbit, major steps forward in the country's effort to build a space station by 2020.

The return of the trio, including the country's first female astronaut, to a landing zone in a remote and sandy area of northern China was broadcast to a national audience on state television network CCTV.

The United States has shelved plans for a climate research project based out of Thailand, its embassy said Thursday, after political bickering within the kingdom delayed approval for the scheme.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had planned to use the U-Tapao air base, 190 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of Bangkok, for its study of monsoon weather patterns in August and September.

A Chinese spacecraft with three astronauts aboard will return to Earth Friday after a nearly two-week mission that included the country's first manual docking in orbit, state media said.

The Shenzhou-9 will return to Earth around 10:00 am (0200 GMT) on Friday, the state Xinhua news agency said Thursday, quoting an unnamed space program official.

Dinosaurs may have been warm-blooded, scientists said Wednesday, in a finding that could debunk one of the most commonly-held images of the extinct giants.

Researchers in Spain and Norway reported in the journal Nature they had found tree-like growth rings on the bones of mammals, a feature that until now was thought to be limited to cold-blooded creatures ... and dinosaurs.

A short, gangly relative of man that lived in South Africa two million years ago ate bark and wood, the only early hominid known to have done so, a report said Wednesday.

While its ancient relations opted for softer grasses and shrubs, Australopithecus sediba, an upright-walking tree climber, "included quite a large amount of hard food in its diet," anthropologist Amanda Henry told Agence France Presse.

Scientists have given a 21st-century makeover to the nickel-iron battery, a gadget conceived by Thomas Edison during the era of the steam engine and horse and buggy.

The upgraded battery can be recharged in around two and half minutes, as opposed to several hours at present, and discharges in under 30 seconds.

The green parrots that live on the tropical paradise of Seychelles fly into the bamboo stalks next to Micheleine Georges' 150-year-old farmhouse at dusk. The birds are small and cute. They are also marked for death.

The eradication of the Indian ring-necked parakeet is the goal so that a Seychelles' national bird — the black parrot — may live, those carrying out the EU-funded project say. The black parrot could be wiped out by a disease that the Indian ring-necked parrot carries.