Mercury meteorite among world's rarest rocks

The magnetism of the meteorite formally known as NWA 7325 exactly matches that of Mercury.

Talk about a precious stone—the largest piece of the only known meteorite from the planet Mercury has found its way to Yale, where it is now on display at the Peabody Museum of Natural History.

Known as NWA 7325, the fist-size, greenish space rock is a rarity among rarities: there just aren't many verified planetary meteorites.

Scientists know of about 70 from Mars and, until now, none from any of the other planets in Earth's solar system.

There are about 180 known meteorites from the moon. NWA 7325 is the first believed to be from Mercury.

"If it's not from Mercury, it's from a very interesting place," said Anthony J. Irving, an expert in planetary meteorites at the University of Washington, during a recent appearance at the Peabody.

The meteorite's chemical composition provides the strongest evidence that it came from Mercury, a rocky world that is the smallest planet in Earth's solar system and closest to the sun, Irving said.

He noted the object's high magnesium and chromium content and its low iron content are similar to those of Mercury. Also, the meteorite's magnetism matches Mercury's magnetism exactly, he said.

The NWA in the name stands for Northwest Africa. The meteorite was found in fragments in 2012 in the Moroccan desert.

It is estimated to be 4.56 billion years old, about the age of Earth. The piece on display at the Peabody was sold to a private collector in Germany, Stefan Ralew, who consulted with Irving.

The exhibition, "From Mercury to Earth? A Meteorite Like No Other," runs Nov. 22 to Sept. 2, 2014.

UK Boy has world's rarest Genetic Disorder

Every little boy is unique to their parents but six year old Mackenzie Fox-Byrne is also special to the scientific world. He is thought to have the world's rarest genetic disorder because he is the only person on earth known to suffer from it.

Mackenzie, whose condition has given him learning difficulties and left him unable to speak, is the result of a gene mutation doctors have never seen before.

his development appeared to be behind that of her other children, Kamara, 14, and Katie, 12.

At three months old, he was still not lifting his head from his cot, he found it difficult to hold down food and had trouble sleeping.

Doctors initially feared he might have the muscle-wasting disease Muscular Dystrophy, but instead tests results showed a much more bewildering picture.

Mrs Fox-Byrne, 40, of Market Drayton, Shropshire, said: "They knew it was unique and told me excitedly that they had found something rare that no one else has.

"Unfortunately, that was all they could tell me. They couldn't tell me how he is going to progress or whether he might fall ill in the future.

"No one else on earth has ever had this condition."

Mackenzie's test results showed he had a triplication of a small region on the long arm of his X-chromosome.

At the moment the little boy cannot speak, has low muscle tone, is still in nappies and has no sense of danger.

He also has learning difficulties which mean he has the mental age of a two-year-old and goes to a special school in Shrewsbury.

Mrs Fox-Byrne, who lives with her partner Andy, 47, said: "It's quite terrifying to be told he is the only person in the world to have this condition.

"Although we worry about what might happen to him in the future, I just try to put it out of my mind. You could go crazy thinking about it."

Karen Temple, professor of medical genetics at Wessex Clinical Genetics Service confirmed Mackenzie was a totally unique case.

She said: "We have to learn what we can from the little boy as he grows up.

"The problem with Mackenzie isn't that he has got genes missing – as is the case sometimes – it's that he has got extra parts.

"This little boy has had this chromosome problem since he was conceived, we can learn from how he is now and that helps us to predict his future."