Three Earth-like habitable planets discovered © HANDOUT/REUTERS Three potentially habitable planets have been discovered orbiting around an ultra-cool dwarf star called TRAPPIST-1 (pictured). Located 40 light-years away from Earth, TRAPPIST-1 is a red, dim star nearly the size of Jupiter. Researcher Michaël Gillonn and his team at the University of Liège in Belgium spotted shadows repeatedly obstructing the steady pattern of the starlight emitting from the dwarf planet. "It was only a 1 per cent dip in light, but the specific pattern was a good sign of orbiting planets," says Professor Adam Burgasser of the Center for Astrophysics and Space Science at the University of California, San Diego, U.S. The newly-found planets are estimated to be just about the size of Earth and they receive four times the radiation our planet does from the sun. According to Burgasser, the planets might have water on the surface and habitable regions, complete with an atmosphere covering each of them. "Over the next few years, we can explore the space around TRAPPIST-1 and see if there are other planets in this system," says Burgasser. UP NEXT: Robot mermaid helps out ocean explorers…

Mermaid-like diving robot helps explore 17th century shipwreck © Claude Paris/ASSOCIATED PRESS/AP Images A new diving robot, named OceanOne (pictured), helped explorers investigate a previously untouched shipwreck of La Lune, a vessel in King Louis XIV’s fleet, which sank in 1664. The newly-designed robot, with its human-like hands, torso and head makes him look like a humanoid robo-mermaid. OceanOne is 5 feet (1.5 meters) in length, has stereoscopic vision-enabled cameras in its head, two mechanical hands, eight multi-directional thrusters and a lower body that holds the computerized “brain” and its power supply. Guided by scientists from a boat, OceanOne dived deep into the Mediterranean waters off the coast of France to swim around the wrecks of La Lune. Its video feedback helped the controllers navigate the bot around the ship, retrieve fragile artifacts and put them in a box to bring them to the surface. Robotic divers help scientists reach out to deep water spaces which may otherwise be dangerous for humans to tackle in person. "The intent here is to have a human diving virtually," said Oussama Khatib, who piloted OceanOne on its La Lune visit. “You can feel exactly what the robot is doing.” UP NEXT: A new flying record on hoverboard…

Jet-powered hoverboard sets new world record of flight © JEAN-PAUL PELISSIER/REUTERS/Reuters French jet ski racer, Frank Zapata flew 7,388 feet (2,252 meters) hovering at a height of 164 feet (50 m), setting a new Guinness World Record for farthest hoverboard flight on April 30. In a scene that resembles a sci-fi film, Zapata stepped on his Flyboard Air, a special jet-powered hoverboard of his own design, and flew over the coast of Sausset-les-Pins in the south of France. He broke the previous record of 905 feet and 2 inches (275.9 m) held by Catalin Alexander Duru. The Flyboard Air’s four 250-horsepower turbo engines are fueled by Jet A1 kerosene, stored in a tank which the rider carries on his back. After a small test flight to check the stability of the board, Zapata zoomed over the water, followed by a team of security, technicians and camera persons on speedboats. Guinness World Records adjudicator Sofia Grenache, who was present at the location, said that the flight as “a phenomenal sight to see.” UP NEXT: Video games help dementia research…

Mobile game to help doctors detect dementia © Ian Gavan/Getty Images for Deutsche Telekom/Getty Images A new mobile video game, “Sea Hero Quest,” will help researchers gather data that could lead to early diagnosis of dementia. As players navigate the game’s 3D levels, which involve steering a boat through an ocean of icebergs, the game collects data on the users’ navigational capability and anonymously sends it to the researchers. One of the first skills that people suffering from dementia loses is the power to navigate through obstacles. Therefore, data on navigational skills is essential to tackle dementia in its early stages. The game was developed by researchers from University College London (UCL) and the University of East Anglia, with the backing of communications giant Deutsche Telekom. Commenting on the effectiveness of the data gathering process, researchers said that the game generated data about 150 times faster than lab-based experiments. "In my research team, I could only test about 200 people a year, and that's working hard," said UCL researcher Dr Hugo Spiers. "But last night I tested 200 people in one minute with this game." The first results of the data collection are slated to be revealed in Nov. 2016. (Pictured above) Volunteers gathered at UCL to mark the launch of "Sea Hero Quest" on May 3 in London, England. Through this event, 350 people collectively played the game for 10 minutes and generated data of one year's worth of similar lab-based research. UP NEXT: Reason why Labradors love begging for treats…