Honey bees do a little dance to communicate with each other that mimics signals in the brain, a finding that may shed light on how Earth's creatures make choices, scientists said Thursday.

"The decision-making mechanisms in nervous systems and insect societies are strikingly similar," said the study in the December 8 issue of Science Express.

Europe's new Vega rocket, which can place a 1.5-ton satellite into low-Earth orbit, is expected to see its first launch early next year, Arianespace chief Jean-Yves Le Gall said Thursday.

"We will have the first launch in January or February, Le Gall told Agence France Presse in Washington, while noting that he expected to sign contracts soon for the Italian-built rocket.

The Jorge Montt glacier in southern Chile is melting at a rate of a kilometer (0.6 miles) per year, making it one of the world's most visible milestones of global warming, according to researchers.

Chile's Center for Scientific Studies (CECs) said Wednesday that several glaciers in the country's south have shrunk because of global warming but that the 454-square-kilometer Jorge Montt is one of those shrinking the fastest.

NASA's lone surviving Mars rover has been busy exploring its surroundings since it rolled up to its latest crater destination four months ago. Now the solar-powered Opportunity is in search of a place to spend its fifth winter.

The robot geologist has been scouting out sites along the crater rim that not only have interesting rocks to examine but also ample sunshine. The hardy rover survived four previous Martian winters. Scientists expect no different and even drew up a to-do list.

The last total lunar eclipse of the year is Saturday. And there won't be another one for three years.

Viewers in the western half of the United States will have the best views Saturday well before dawn. The farther west the better.

Crows have a long-term memory so good that they can recall colors for at least a year, a Japanese study has shown.

Birds that had identified which of two containers held food by the color of its lid were still able to perform the task 12 months later, said Shoei Sugita, a professor of animal morphology at Utsunomiya University.

Feeding dairy cows the stems, seeds and skins from wine grapes boosts milk production and dramatically cuts the animal's methane emissions, Australian researched published Thursday shows.

Scientists found that supplementing the cows' feed with grape marc -- the leftover material from wine-making -- reduced cow emissions by 20 percent and increased milk production by five percent.

With the constant churn of freighter propellers, the percussive thump of oil and gas exploration and the underwater din of military testing, ocean noise levels have become unbearable for some sea mammals.

Contrary to the image of a distant and silent world under the sea, underwater sound intensity has on average soared 20 decibels over the past 50 years, with devastating consequences for wildlife.

After a series of delays and billions spent over budget, the potent James Webb Space Telescope is on track to launch in 2018 at a total project cost of $8.8 billion, NASA vowed on Tuesday.

The project, which aims to build the world's most powerful telescope, 100 times more sensitive than the Hubble space telescope, has been riddled by poor management and cost overruns.

Expanding palm-oil plantations in Malaysian Borneo are rapidly eating into the habitat of the rare proboscis monkey and causing its numbers to decline sharply, officials warned Wednesday.

The reddish-brown primate, which is named for its distinctive large and fleshy nose, is found only on Borneo, a large island divided up between Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.