Berlin - Europe's biggest utility group E. ON AG said Monday it had joined Danish power group Dong Energy to take control of the world's largest offshore wind farm.

Hamburg - Buried under flood-water silt for centuries, the site of the ancient hippodrome chariot race track at Olympia in Greece has been located by a team of German scientists using sophisticated geomagnetic technology to find structures hidden beneath the top soil. 

The hippodrome was an immense oval structure constructed, similar to the Circus Maximus in Rome, where chariot races were staged. The Emperor Nero famously competed, conveniently "winning" each event he took part in at Olympia. 

No visible remains of the Hippodrome exist today, but scholars have made efforts to reconstruct the racecourse from descriptions left by ancient texts, including the writings of an ancient scholar named Pausanias. 

Hamburg - Robots in industry and the medical profession are moving over for a new generation of household robots which will fulfill the old science-fiction dream of relieving humans of domestic drudgery, according to German scientists. 

It has only one arm with just three fingers. But it is nimble enough to serve drinks and perform other household chores. 

Only 1.45 metres high, Care-O-Bot 3 is the prototype of a new generation of service robots designed to help humans in the household. The quick-to-learn assistant was developed by research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart. 

Hamburg - For the first time, German scientists have used genetic fingerprinting technology to prove that residents of a modern-day village are the direct descendants of a caveman who lived in the same hilly region 3,000 years ago. 

German scientists from the University of Goettingen matched a DNA sample from the bones of a skeleton found in a cave in the Harz Mountains of central Germany to two middle-aged men in the nearby village of Nienstedt. 

The two men, Manfred Huchthausen, a 58-year-old teacher, and Uwe Lange, a 48-year-old surveyor, were only casual acquaintances until scientists told them they were in fact family relatives and direct descendants of a man who lived more than 120 generations ago. 

Stuttgart  - It's easy to feel like you saved money when you bring home an inkjet printer. The devices themselves are often inexpensive. Yet reality usually sets in when it comes to refilling the printer cartridges. A set of black and coloured inks often costs at least 50 dollars or more, sometimes putting the expenditure on a par with the printer itself.

Hamburg - It's time to take a break from gaming's guns and ammo. 

This season's handheld console aficionados will be prone to taking up swords, guitars and the occasional ladle when they do electronic battle. In addition, there are two new motorcycle racing games set for release. Additionally, publisher Square Enix has come up with a new installment of its seemingly never-ending Final Fantasy series.