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Scientists have made what is being described as a once-in-a-lifetime discovery, finding a new plant species on the giant rock of Uluru in Australia. What's more, the fig has been hiding in plain sight for years. Ficus desertorum, or the desert fig, is the name that's been given to the new plant. Before now, it was believed to belong in a sub-category of Ficus brachypoda, a species of fig tree found extensively in the northern and central parts of Australia. A closer look has revealed that this is in fact its own distinct species, with its own distinct regional habitat....

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s world-famous Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock, will be closed to climbers from 2019, its management board said on Wednesday, ending a decades-long campaign by Aborigines to protect their sacred monolith in the Northern Territory. A board of eight traditional owners and four government officials voted unanimously to close the rock to climbers, a spokesperson told Reuters. [snip]

The father of a baby who infamously vanished in the Australian Outback more than 30 years said Monday that he was confident a new inquiry into the tragedy will officially rule that a dingo took his daughter. The disappearance of 9-week-old Azaria Chamberlain on Aug. 17, 1980, from a campsite near Ayers Rock, the red monolith in the Australian desert now known by its Aboriginal name Uluru, divided Australians between those who believed a native dog known as a dingo killed her and those who believed she was murdered by her mother, Lindy Chamberlain

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 October 30 Leonids Over Uluru Credit & Copyright: Vic & Jen Winter (ICSTARS Astronomy) Explanation: Will this year's Leonid meteor shower be as good as last year's? No one knows for sure. Possibly, however, in the waning nighttime hours of November 18 and lasting throughout much of November 19, sky gazers across the globe may get their last chance ever to see a meteor storm. Although the...