Its isolation has led to a unique geography and animal population, including the lemur, which took a star role in the 2005 animated Hollywood movie named after the island.

BBC: Pupils met the delegation from the Madagascan embassy

"We compared what you see in these galaxies with what you see in the field galaxy population, other galaxies at the same epoch and distance, and there is a stark difference - far more star formation and black hole growth, " the Cambridge University scientist and Royal Society research fellow explained to the BBC News website.

BBC: NEWS | Science/Nature | Deepest X-rays tell merger story