Archaeologists have found something that seems to interest them a lot right now. They have apparently found the world's oldest fossils which seem to be as old as 3.4 billion years old.

The fossilised remains of the oldest known lifeforms on Earth have been discovered in samples of rock collected near a remote watering hole in the middle of the Australian Outback.

The Strelley Pool Formation in Western Australia was once a beach, but is now more than 100 Km inland near(ish) the town of Marble Bar, and is popular among paleontologists because of the stromatolites preserved there.

According to a report in Nature, the structures spotted in black sandstone at the Strelley Pool appear to have biological origins. The researchers, led by University of Oxford paleobiologist Professor Martin Brasier, said the 5-80 micrometer structures show traces of cell walls and spherical, rod and ellipsoid shapes.

Scientists say their analysis of the microfossils clearly shows the organisms were processing sulphur for energy and growth - not oxygen.

The team says the microbe remains offer a fascinating insight into conditions on the ancient Earth.

After decades of research, researchers at Southampton University have developed a theory, according to which, the first 1,000 days of a child's life – the nine months in the womb and the first two years out of it, are vital in determining a child’s long-term health prospects.

According to Professor David Barker and his colleagues from the Southampton University, the stages in a child’s development have an impact on later life, like poor nutrition in a prospective mother may have an adverse effect on her baby’s weight.

Similarly smoking, stress, drugs and alcohol also leaves their impact on the child.

Since, the development of pancreatic cells responsible for making insulin takes place in the womb; the seeds of diabetes are also sown before birth.

Professor Barker believes many health problems can be traced back to poor growth in the womb.

He has shown that the lighter a baby is at birth, the higher its odds of heart disease in later life. On average, a baby weighing less than 5lb 7oz is twice as likely to die from a heart attack than one born at 9lb 7oz.

Barker adds that the key to health is ensuring women eat well throughout their lives.

He says, "What we are seeing is a window of opportunity where we can make better people."

For the first time a tsunami has been observed by radar, raising the possibility of new early warning systems. As it swept toward their coasts the tsunami that devastated Japan on March 11 was picked up by high-frequency radar in California and Japan according to U.S. and Japanese scientists.

Scientists in California got an early look at the tsunami generated by the massive earthquake in Japan as it rippled across the Pacific Ocean.

This is the first time a tsunami has been observed by radar, raising the possibility of new early warning systems.

A new radar system could help California brace for the next tsunami.

At least, that is the hope of John Largier, oceanography professor at the University of California, Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory. In a paper published in the journal Remote Sensing, Largier and co-authors describe how radar detected the March 11 Japan tsunami that also damaged Crescent City and Santa Cruz.