A bat back from the dead, the Sun never setting, a selection of parasites, plus some more upbeat images in this month’s collection.

A bigger splash

A wave machine launched at the University of Edinburgh, UK, this month will help researchers to develop better wave- and tidal-power devices. The ‘FloWave’ facility can simulate scale versions of waves 28 metres high, says the university. Credit: Callum Bennets/Maverick Photo Agency

Tree hugger

Things can get pretty hot for koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), but as this thermal image shows, they can keep cool by hugging trees. Research published in Biology Letters1 this month by Natalie Briscoe of the University of Melbourne, Australia, and her colleagues unearthed this method of controlling body temperature. In a heatwave, this 'tree hugging' could even make the difference between life and death, the researchers suggest. Credit: Steven R. Griffiths

Dark landing

Although it might look like a still from a B-movie, this slightly creepy Morpheus spacecraft is the future, not the past. At the end of May, this prototype planetary lander was the test bed for showing that NASA’s new technology for automatically identifying hazards when landing on uneven terrain could work even in the darkness of a Florida night. Credit: NASA

Space Vine

US astronaut Reid Wiseman created this image from his current home: the International Space Station. “Sun never sets flying parallel w/terminator line,” he explained, as he became the first person to post an image to the social media site Vine from space.

From Unity to Harmony

Another choice image from the International Space Station: this shot, taken from the Unity connecting module, looks through the Destiny research laboratory to the Harmony ‘utility hub’. Credit: NASA

Big-eared bat is back

In 1890, researchers in Papua New Guinea collected the first specimens of the New Guinea big-eared bat (Pharotis imogene). For years, these specimens languished in museums, the only examples of a species thought to be extinct. Now an article published in Records of the Australian Museum2 reports the capture of one individual of the species, and calls for urgent field surveys to assess the conservation status of this animal. Credit: Julie Broken-Brow

Examined life

A bear’s life

Saving seas