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"View of the solar system showing the locations of all the asteroids starting in 1980, as asteroids are discovered they are added to the map and highlighted white so you can pick out the new ones. The final colour of an asteroids indicates how closely it comes to the inner solar system. Earth Crossers are Red Earth Approachers (Perihelion less than 1.3AU) are Yellow All Others are Green Notice now the pattern of discovery follows the Earth around its orbit, most discoveries are made in the region directly opposite the Sun. You'll also notice some clusters of discoveries on the line between Earth and Jupiter, these are the result of surveys looking for Jovian moons. Similar clusters of discoveries can be tied to the other outer planets, but those are not visible in this video. As the video moves into the mid 1990's we see much higher discovery rates as automated sky scanning systems come online. Most of the surveys are imaging the sky directly opposite the sun and you'll see a region of high discovery rates aligned in this manner. At the beginning of 2010 a new discovery pattern becomes evident, with discovery zones in a line perpendicular to the Sun-Earth vector. These new observations are the result of the WISE (Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer) which is a space mission that's tasked with imaging the entire sky in infrared wavelengths. Currently we have observed over half a million minor planets, and the discovery rates snow no sign that we're running out of undiscovered objects. Orbital elements were taken from the 'astorb.dat' data created by Ted Bowell and associates at http://www.naic.edu/~nolan/astorb.html"

A UK survey has revealed that myths about contraception may be widespread. One in five women said they had heard of kitchen items, including bread, cling film and even chicken skin, being used as alternative barrier methods. Others had heard food items such as kebabs, Coca-cola or crisps could be used as oral contraceptives.

"A survey of about 600 scientists published this week found that a majority think it's time to consider conservation triage - focusing resources on animals that can realistically be saved, and giving up on the rest. Those that fall into the too-expensive-to-save category, it has been suggested, might include the panda and the tiger."

"The team from the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) surveyed the composition of plant species within five-metre SGS in 10 fields and found the set-aside land resulted in a "sharp decrease" in the number of weeds encroaching into the cropped area."

""National surveys in both the United States and Canada indicate that most people receive enough calcium, with the exception of girls ages nine to 18, who often do not take in enough calcium," Tuesday's report reads. "In contrast, post-menopausal women taking supplements may be getting too much calcium, thereby increasing their risk for kidney stones.""

"Seagrasses around the world are disappearing, with some species now threatened with extinction. The first global survey of individual seagrass species has found that 14% are at risk of going extinct."

"First results from a major astronomical survey using a cutting-edge technique appear to have confirmed the existence of mysterious dark energy."

"Think the school you chose for your child is good? Better than that academic straggler just down the road? Think again. A new study is raising questions about the information parents commonly use to chose a school for their children, especially in provinces like Alberta and British Columbia, where families commonly shop around for an education."

"ESA's Planck mission has delivered its first all-sky image. It not only provides new insight into the way stars and galaxies form but also tells us how the Universe itself came to life after the Big Bang."