airasia
A crew member on an Indonesian maritime surveillance aircraft looks out the window during a search for AirAsia's Flight QZ8501, north of Bangka island Dec. 30, 2014. Reuters/Darren Whiteside

AirAsia Flight QZ8501 search updates are expected throughout the day. Here's the latest on the search as well as other interesting news that you should be reading today.

AirAsia Flight QZ8501 Search Updates

As the search for AirAsia Flight QZ8501 enters its third day, the Indonesian navy has confirmed it recovered at least 40 bodies in the search area around Borneo in the Java Sea; debris believed to belong to the plane was also found. Relatives have been waiting for search updates at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Indonesia, and Changi Airport in Singapore. Prior to Tuesday, many feared the wreckage would not be found after the lack of updates from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. The search for the missing MH370 has entered its ninth month with little updates regarding the final fate of the plane and its passengers.

The more defined search area for QZ8501 compared with the more vast search area for MH370 is the main reason why rescue crews for QZ8501 were so successful so early in the operation. Ocean depths in the Java Sea are around 40 meters to 50 meters (130 feet to 164 feet) compared with depths of 4,000 meters (2.5 miles) for the MH370 search area. Search teams were also able to create a narrow search area, since QZ8501 was in radar contact and the pilot was communicating minutes before the crash.

What Caused Mayan Civilization To Collapse?

Mayan Civilization
Drought may have caused the Mayan civilization to collapse. Reuters

The Mayan civilization was flourishing until a sudden collapse around A.D. 900. This abrupt falloff is a mystery that has stumped scientists for years, but a new study provides evidence to support the theory that drought was behind the downfall of the Mayans, the Washington Post reported. Andre Droxler, a scientist at Rice University, measured mineral deposits in a crater known as the Great Blue Hole, located off the coast of Belize. Comparing ratios of aluminum to titanium -- periods of heavy rain will mean more titanium in the Atlantic Ocean -- Droxler discovered lower amounts of titanium in the sediment deposits around the time of the Mayan collapse.

Your Fingerprint Recreated On A Cell Phone

A fingerprint is supposed to be unique, and it's what police procedural dramas have used to nab criminals for decades. But what if those fingerprints could be created digitally on cell phone? The Chaos Computer Club, a hacker network, claims that it cloned the fingerprint of a German politician using a cell phone camera, BBC reported. If true, that would be another vulnerability for any device that uses fingerprint identification systems as a security measure.

Birds Slur, Too

It turns out birds, when drunk, slur their songs, the Los Angeles Times reported. Similar to humans, alcohol affects a bird's ability to communicate effectively. Researchers from Oregon Health & Science University got a few zebra finches drunk for science. The study is more than just a novel look at animal behavior, as the development of complex patterns of sound used by zebra finches could provide new insights on human speech.