The more objects that astronomers and cosmologists discover, the more contradictions and seemingly erroneous data turn up. The latest example is the catchily-named planet HAT-P1, which would appear to have a density considerably lower than a ball of cork. The experts are baffled by this phenomenon, but hope that further investigation may reveal the secrets of how such huge gas-giant planets are formed.

Claudia Mitchell is the first woman in the world to receive a first-generation bionic arm to replace the one she lost in a motorcycle accident. The limb responds to her thinking about moving it thanks to a technique that involves rerouting the nerves that controlled her arm and hand before, and using a sensor to pick up the impulses generated. This DARPA-funded project is the latest stage in a twenty year crusade to improve prosthetics – the next step is to enable sensory data to be returned to the user from the limb.

Even if NASA decide not to repair or upgrade the venerable Hubble, there’s still plenty of chance of us finding new exoplanets, thanks to collaborative projects like the Transatlantic Exoplanet Survey. Using amateur-grade telescopes scattered around the world, and other off-the-shelf technology, they have managed to spot a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a star a mere 500 light-years from our own Sun. It’s the first exoplanet located in the ‘Kepler Field’ – which is, ironically, the sole target of a forthcoming space telescope designed to locate exoplanets. Score one for the little guys.

Hands up who wants to do maintainance inspections in nuclear power plants? No, me neither – it’s not a job that people queue up for. So robots are the obvious answer, but how will they be able to see their surroundings well enough to do a proper survey? Nature abounds with great templates for technology, and this time the super-accurate sonar skills of bats are the inspiration for a new breed of experimental inspection robots here in the UK. They’re still at the proof-of-concept stage, of course, but the developers hope to have the end product doing the business within a decade or so.

To follow the perpetual motion flap last month, here’s another almost-too-good-to-be-true invention – a superconducting electromagnetic thruster engine. The brainchild of one Roger Shawyer, an aerospace engineer from the UK, the design uses a resonant cavity to amplify the force of photons fired into it. His second prototype can create a force of 300 milliNewtons, but Shawyer reckons he could get enough power to raise a passenger vehicle if he can find the right superconducting materials for the waveguide. The European science establishment are unimpressed, but the US and China are both very interested – only time will tell if this is solution or snake oil.