The amount of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere hit a new record high in 2012, continuing an ever-faster rise that is driving climate change, the U.N. weather agency said Wednesday.

"The concentrations are reaching once again record levels," Michel Jarraud, who heads the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), told reporters in Geneva.

Researchers studying the effects of climate change on polar bears are experimenting with the idea of crowdsourcing data as improving technology allows anybody with an Internet connection to monitor the animals' annual migration in Canada.

Polar bears gather at this time of year on the Hudson Bay's southwestern shore to wait for the water to freeze so they can wander the ice and hunt for seals. The migration to the Wapusk National Park in Manitoba is far enough south to make the Western Hudson Bay polar bears one of the most accessible and studied populations of the species.

A giant extinct species of the platypus with powerful teeth has been discovered in Australia, with a scientist on Tuesday describing the duck-billed water animal as a Godzilla-like monster.

The new species, named Obdurodon tharalkooschild, was identified by a single but highly distinctive tooth found in the Riversleigh site in the northeastern Australian state of Queensland -- a World Heritage area rich in fossil deposits.

As many as one in five Sun-like stars may have a planet the size of Earth, and the nearest could be in systems visible to the naked eye, US astronomers said Monday.

The research is based on a new analysis of findings from NASA's Kepler space observatory, and appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

India successfully launched its first mission to Mars on Tuesday, aiming to become the only Asian nation to reach the Red Planet with a program showcasing its low-cost space technology.

"It's lift off," said a commentator on state television as the red-and-black rocket blasted into a slightly overcast sky on schedule at 02:38 pm (0908 GMT) from the southern spaceport in Sriharikota.

China offered a rare glimpse into its secretive space program on Tuesday, displaying a model of a lunar rover that will explore the moon's surface in an upcoming mission.

Beijing has ambitious space goals, including plans to send its first probe to land on the moon by the end of this year, state media reported in August.

Queen Elizabeth II's favorite dog breed, the Pembroke Welsh Corgi, is at risk of disappearing, Britain's Kennel Club breeders' association has warned.

Known for their short legs and yappy voices, the herding dogs have been favored by the British monarchy since the 1930s and the queen, 87, has raised dozens herself.

A Chinese solar firm will pay 3.0 billion yuan ($491 million) for assets of the main subsidiary of Suntech Power, a statement said, in the latest move to restructure the troubled former solar giant.

Suntech Power announced in March that its main unit in China, Wuxi Suntech, would seek bankruptcy and restructuring.

Other tycoons may plough their millions into yachts or private jets, but Vasily Klyukin prefers a good "adventure". On his diary for next year? A space trip with Leonardo DiCaprio.

"I don't want to waste any time -- I want to live my life to the full," the Russian multi-millionaire, newly settled in the mega-rich principality of Monaco, told Agence France Presse in an interview.

India is aiming to join the world's deep-space pioneers with a journey to Mars that it hopes will showcase its technological ability to explore the solar system while seeking solutions for everyday problems on Earth.

With a Tuesday launch planned for Mangalyaan, which means "Mars craft" in Hindi, India will attempt to become only the fourth country or group of countries to reach the Red Planet, after the Soviet Union, United States and Europe.