A nuclear bomb could save Earth from a catastrophic asteroid impact, according to a first-of-its-kind lab study.The new experiment, conducted using the world's most powerful laboratory radiation source,

The results show that X-rays could play an even bigger role than the initial shock wave itself, though more data needs to be gathered to form a comprehensive asteroid defense plan. Some 66 million years ago,

Humanity could use a nuclear bomb to deflect a massive, life-threatening asteroid hurtling towards Earth in the future, according to scientists who tested the theory in the labaratory by blasting X-rays at a marble-sized "mock asteroid".