Lab notes: raise a glass to your ear and hail the dinosaur swan

It lived about 71m years ago, had a swan-like neck, razor-sharp "killer claws" and a duck-billed snout and was about the size of a mallard, with a long tail and longer legs. This 'very weird' creature (not my words, that's an actual scientist's description there) is apparently a new species of amphibious dinosaur, discovered in a smuggled fossil from Mongolia. And to toast that exciting news, you'll need a really good glass of champagne - but how will you know whether you've been passed plonk or premier cru? According to researchers, the sound of the bubbles reveals all ... Assuming you've got a bottle of the good stuff to hand, it's worth celebrating two more pleasing pieces of news. Firstly, scientists believe a gene editing breakthrough which uses a modified form of Crispr to boost gene activity could one day be used to overcome currently incurable diseases such as diabetes and muscular dystrophy. And secondly, the British Museum have revealed that 2106 was a record year for treasure finds, with 1,120 discoveries - the highest number since the revised Treasure Act came into law 20 years ago. That means there must a lot of very happy detectorists out there. Cheers!