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Friday, November 6, 2015

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

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Scientists learn how some fish can supercharge their vision

It turns out that in real life, some fish and amphibians can do something nearly as super when it come to their sight. Researchers on Thursday said these animals, when navigating murky freshwater environments like rivers and streams, can turn on an enzyme in their eyes that supercharges their ability to see infrared light, sharpening their vision in the muck and mire. With the enzyme, fish and amphibians can tune their vision to match the environmental light.

Scientists learn how some fish can supercharge their vision

Big businesses back affirmative action before U.S. Supreme Court

Three major companies, citing the under-representation of minorities in science and technology fields, are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold affirmative action in university admissions in a closely watched case to be argued next month. Technology services company IBM Corp, chemical manufacturer DuPont and chip maker Intel Corp signed on to a friend-of-the-court brief filed this week backing the University of Texas at Austin. Affirmative action is a policy under which racial minorities historically subject to discrimination are given certain preferences in education and employment.

NASA drops Boeing from space station cargo competition

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. space agency NASA has dropped Boeing Co from a multibillion-dollar competition to fly cargo to the International Space Station and will delay selecting one or more winners for about two months, officials said on Thursday. Boeing was offering an unmanned version of its Starliner CST-100 space taxi, under development as part of a separate NASA program to transport crew and cargo to the space station. "We received a letter from NASA and are out of CRS-2," Boeing spokeswoman Kelly Kaplan wrote in an email, referring to NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract.

Gorgeous Auroras Could Light Up Entire Martian Sky

The first astronauts to set foot on Mars may be in for a spectacular sight — the entire night sky filled with glowing auroras. Researchers working on NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission hosted a news conference this afternoon (Nov. 5) to discuss the orbiter's observations about the Red Planet's loss of atmosphere due to solar wind, and they also shared some details about MAVEN's measurements of Mars auroras. "A new kind of aurora was observed at Mars that frankly surprised us, and this was aurorae in a part of the atmosphere that is above regions that don't have a magnetic field at all," Dave Brain, MAVEN co-investigator and researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), said during the news conference.

NASA Pluto Probe Sets Course for Second Flyby Target

The NASA probe that flew by Pluto in July is now all lined up for a potential close encounter with a second faraway object, in 2019. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft completed the last of four trajectory-altering engine burns Wednesday (Nov. 4) and is now on course to a small body called 2014 MU69, which lies more than 1 billion miles (1.6 billion kilometers) beyond Pluto. The probe will study 2014 MU69 up close in January 2019, if NASA approves an extended mission.

Mars Lost Atmosphere to Space as Life Took Hold on Earth

The window for life to take root across broad stretches of the Martian surface may have closed shortly after the first microbes evolved on Earth. New results from NASA's MAVEN spacecraft suggest that the Red Planet lost most of its carbon dioxide-dominated atmosphere — which had kept Mars relatively warm and allowed the planet to support liquid surface water — to space about 3.7 billion years ago. "We think that all of the action took place between about 4.2 to 3.7 billion years ago," MAVEN principal investigator Bruce Jakosky, of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder, told Space.com.

Dengue Fever Outbreak Hits Hawaii — Will It Last?

Four more people were diagnosed with dengue fever on Hawaii's Big Island today (Nov. 5), raising the number of locally transmitted cases to 19 people, according to the Hawaii State Department of Health. Health officials say these "locally transmitted" cases are concerning because, although dengue has popped up sporadically in Hawaii before, in most previous cases, the disease was imported, meaning travelers brought it to the islands from elsewhere. "Although dengue is not endemic to Hawaii, we do have the mosquito species capable of transmitting the disease," Dr. Sarah Park, the state epidemiologist for Hawaii, said in a statement last week.

Scientists crack mystery of Mars' missing atmosphere - the sun did it

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Scientists have documented a solar storm blasting away Mars' atmosphere, an important clue in a long-standing mystery of how a planet that was once like Earth turned into a cold, dry desert, research published on Thursday shows. Unlike Earth, Mars does not have a global magnetic field to protect its atmosphere, leaving it vulnerable to solar ultraviolet radiation and high-energy blasts of gas and magnetic particles that stream from the sun during solar storms. On March 8, NASA's Mars-orbiting MAVEN spacecraft caught such a storm stripping away the planet's atmosphere, according to a report published in this week's issue of the journal Science.

Astronauts Taking Walk in Space Today: Watch It Live

American astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren are venturing outside the International Space Station this morning (Nov. 6) for their second spacewalk mission in two weeks — and you can watch their orbital action online as it happens. The 33rd U.S. spacewalk outside the station began at 6:22 a.m. EST (1122 GMT), and the astronauts will be reconfiguring a station cooling system after an attempt to stop a leak in 2012, and topping off its liquid ammonia. The astronauts are scheduled to be outside for 6.5 hours to make the changes, although they can stay out longer if necessary.

Supersized scanner to explore the body and hunt down disease

By Ben Gruber When they were kids, Simon Cherry and Ramsey Badawi both wanted to be astronomers, unlocking mysteries in far off galaxies. The pair still plan on unlocking mysteries but this time inside the human body. They've received a $15.5 million grant to build the world's first full body PET scanner. Positron emission tomography, or PET, images function on a molecular level. "We are able to say something about what the cells in the body are doing," said Simon Cherry a professor of radiology and biomedical engineering at the University of California, Davis.

Death from Above: Mass Extinctions Tied to Comet Strikes

Many of Earth's mass extinctions over the eons have been caused by comet strikes, a new study suggests. Over the past 260 million years, cratering rates on Earth have peaked every 26 million years or so, in tune with a previously noted cycle of mass-extinction events, researchers found. Furthermore, five of the six largest impact craters known from the last quarter-billion years — including the 112-mile-wide (180 kilometers) crater associated with the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago — were gouged out at roughly the same time that a mass extinction occurred.

Will Private Moon Race's First Contract Spur Snowball Effect?

Last month, Israel-based SpaceIL announced it had signed a deal to launch its lander to the moon aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the second half of 2017, becoming the first entrant in the Google Lunar X Prize (GLXP) competition to secure a "verified" launch contract. GLXP representatives said they hope other teams follow SpaceIL's lead.

A 'Natural' Herb Can be Poisonous, Woman Learns

Once the woman was admitted to the hospital and treated for her symptoms, she told her doctors that she had recently purchased an herbal remedy made from the poisonous plant Atropa belladonna, commonly named deadly nightshade, to combat her insomnia. On the label of the product the woman purchased, it is called "Atropa belladonna Belladonna Leaf," and it can be legally purchased online.

Garcinia Cambogia: Supplement Often Lacks Active Ingredient, Study Finds

Consumers who buy Garcinia cambogia, a weight-loss supplement made popular by Dr. Oz, may not be getting what they expect, recent laboratory testing show. Laboratory tests found 21 of 29 of the top-selling Garcinia cambogia supplements sold online contain substantially less of the active ingredient, called hydroxycitric acid (HCA), than the label claims. The results were released by an independent supplement testing company, called LabDoor, and have not been subject to peer review, the primary process for vetting scientific results.

Tummy Tucks May Be Riskier Than Other Plastic Surgeries

People who undergo tummy tucks may face a higher rate of major complications than those who have other cosmetic plastic-surgery procedures, according to a new study. Tummy tucks, which doctors call abdominoplasty, involve surgically removing excess skin and tissue from the abdomen to create a smoother and firmer abdominal profile. In the study, researchers looked at about 25,000 people who had tummy tucks between 2008 and 2013.

Spotted! Elusive Snow Leopard Caught on Camera in Kyrgyzstan

Scientists have captured new images of a snow leopard being collared in Kyrgyzstan. The move marks the first time that one of these elusive creatures has been collared in the remote Central Asian nation.

Mooooove Over, Cows! Kangaroo Farts Warm the Earth, Too

Since the 1970s, it has been suggested that kangaroos don't fart — or rather, the (ahem!) gas they emit contains very little, if any, methane. Methane is naturally created by bacteria in an animal's gut. Kangaroos, cows and many other plant eaters use these bacteria to help them digest grass and leaves.

Swallowed Bobby Pin Ends Up in Child's Kidney

After a medical team operated to remove the pin, the boy recovered without further complications, according to the doctors who treated the boy and wrote the report of his case. "Children actually start exploring the world using their mouth as soon as they are able to pick up objects," said Dr. Yasmin Abdulaziz Yousef, of the department of surgery at KAMC-JD, National Guard Health Affairs in Jeddah, who treated the boy and co-authored the report of his case.

Britain's first astronaut for 24 years hopes to inspire Mars interest

The man who will become the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station said on Friday he hoped his mission would inspire young Britons to one day journey to Mars. Tim Peake, 43, a former army major, will blast off on a six-month mission for the European Space Agency (ESA) in December, the first Briton to go into space since Helen Sharman traveled on a Soviet spacecraft for eight days in 1991. "After a gap of 24 years since Helen Sharman flew to the Mir space station, the Union (Jack) flag is going to be flown and worn in space once again," Peake told reporters.

Sofia Rises: Baby Name Takes Over the World

A new analysis of baby name statistics from naming expert Laura Wattenberg finds that Sofia (along with its variants) is the top baby name in nine countries — nations as far-flung as Mexico, Italy and Russia. In fact, Sophia/Sofia and other local spellings are among the top 25 baby names in two-thirds of the countries (mostly in Europe and the Americas) that report baby name statistics, Wattenberg found. "It just blew me away that so many different languages and cultures would arrive at the same sound at the same time," Wattenberg told Live Science.

Watch Jetpack-Wearing Daredevils Zoom Past a Jumbo Jet (Video)

Move over, George Jetson — a new rocket-propelled duo is giving you a run for your money! For instance, in 2012, Rossy flew alongside a B-17 bomber, and in 2013, he flew over Mount Fuji. Earlier this year, the team flew over Dubai.

Direct-to-consumer company tests FDA's resolve on gene testing

By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - Just as 23andMe has made peace with the US Food and Drug Administration, another direct-to-consumer genetics company is testing the regulatory waters with the launch of a $249 DNA test designed to predict drug response. The test, from tiny startup DNA4Life based in Mandeville, Louisiana, comes in the wake of 23andMe's two-year tussle with the FDA over its direct-to-consumer personal DNA testing service, which the FDA ordered off the market in 2013. Last month, 23andMe relaunched its service with a limited number of genetic tests for carrier screening - tests that show whether an individual carries genes associated with 36 different disorders that could be passed on to a child.

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