“This is a real bomb we are dropping into the field of exoplanets.”

Amaury Triaud, of the Geneva Observatory, reports that six of 27 exoplanets analysed by his team orbit their stars in the ‘wrong’ direction (AFP).

“A fault has been identified and has been shared with the industry, which has moved to see if there is a larger problem.”

Peter Madigan, of wind energy body RenewableUK, comments on suggestions that offshore wind turbines may be sinking (Times).

“It dawned on me that if we could teach northern quolls to associate sickness with cane toads, we might have a way of conserving them.”

Jonathan Webb, of the University of Sydney, has been training Australian native marsupials to avoid eating poisonous cane toads by feeding them small toads laced with nausea-inducing chemicals (press release). Next step: aerially deployed, nausea-inducing toad sausages (Times).

“China should not slow down its pace of lunar exploration even if other countries change their plans.”

Ye Peijian, chief designer of China’s first lunar probe, says the country will keep on course for a second probe later this year despite NASA’s recent move away from return plans (Chinese Academy of Sciences).