Reuters Science News Summary

Following is a summary of current science news briefs. Light brighter than the sun to virtually decipher ancient scrolls

Scientists at Britain's national synchrotron facility have harnessed powerful light beams to virtually unwrap and decipher fragile scrolls dating back some 2,000 years in a process they hope will provide new insights into the ancient world. The two complete scrolls and four fragments - from the so-called Herculaneum library, the only one surviving from antiquity - were buried and carbonized by the deadly eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD and are too fragile to be opened. Scientists find toxic fungus near Australia's Great Barrier Reef

A highly poisonous fungus, with toxins that can be absorbed through the skin, has been identified for the first time in the rain forest near the Great Barrier Reef, Australian scientists said on Thursday. The Fire Coral fungus, which is better known in South Korea and Japan as being among the world's most poisonous mushrooms, was found near Cairns in the northern state of Queensland, scientists from James Cook University said.

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