A tiny, artificial solar system could reveal hidden spatial dimensions and test alternative theories of gravity, a new study suggests. If the system's "planets" moved slightly differently than expected from standard gravity, it would signal the presence of new physical phenomena – which have proven very difficult to test.

Numerous theories that attempt to unify all the forces of physics into one cohesive model call for hidden spatial dimensions in addition to the three we can sense. In some of these theories, gravity would leak into the extra dimensions – explaining why it is a relatively weak force in the universe we know.

SYDNEY: A U.S. broadcast executive-turned-scientist has seemingly found a way to burn seawater. Though it has the air of a hoax, if true, it could be one of the biggest discoveries in chemistry in recent times.

John Kanzius, from Erie, Pennsylvania, blasted a test tube of salt water with high frequency radio waves, causing the water to burn like a candle, he told the Pittsburg Post-Gazette newspaper. Chemist Rustum Roy from Pennsylvania State University told the same newspaper that he had confirmed the phenomenon by replicating the experiment himself.

Though the technique and results have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, they are sparking a frenzy of interest on the Internet, where video clips showing the technique are beginning to circulate (such as this one on YouTube ).

PARIS: The first individual genome ever sequenced – a complete DNA blueprint of celebrity scientist Craig Venter – has revealed genetic variation among humans far richer than previously imagined.

Earlier efforts to sequence the human genome used DNA from a group of people; one of whom was also Venter.

Published Tuesday in the free-to-access journal PLoS Biology, the 2.8 billion contiguous bits of genetic code will also hasten advances in preventative medicine, said Venter, who is both an author and the object of the study.

10,000 genomes

Within five years, faster and cheaper sequencing techniques could produce complete genomes for 10,000 people, laying the foundation for "an era of individualised genomics," he said. "Once we have those, we will basically be able to sort out every fundamental question about nature versus nurture, what's genetic and what's environment."