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Friday, March 4, 2016

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Nanotechnology makes cheap, improved, water filters

By Ben Gruber BERKELEY, CA (Reuters) - Researchers have developed nano-scaled membranes that could potentially filter contaminants out of water faster and cheaper than current methods. Baoxia Mi, an assistant professor of environmental engineering at the university of California, Berkeley, is developing a water filter comprised of membranes made up of layers of graphene 100,000 times thinner than a strand of human hair. "We made it from graphite, which is a material that we use in pencils for example, so it's cheap and relatively abundant. The water enters the maze and passes through a series of layers separated by spaces specifically designed to remove different types of contaminants. "In order to remove different targeted molecules, the most direct way of thinking about it is to control the spacing that we have between the layers," added Mi. Another advantage to these graphene oxide filters is the rate at which water can pass through them, which Mi says is up to five magnitudes higher than conventional filters thanks to the unique properties of the carbon base membranes. The researchers are currently fine tuning their filters.

Happy Events Can Spur 'Broken Heart Syndrome'

A rare condition known as "broken heart syndrome" is usually brought on by an emotionally devastating or stressful event. This is the first time researchers have linked pleasant experiences with broken heart syndrome, which causes a sudden but temporary weakness in the heart muscle, according to the findings, published on Thursday (March 3) in the European Heart Journal. Broken heart syndrome can be easily confused with a heart attack because people who experience the syndrome have symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath, the study said.

What the Deepest Spot in the Ocean Sounds Like

It turns out the ocean is one noisy, riotous place, teeming with the sound of seismic temblors, whale songs and ship propellers — even at the deepest ocean trench.

Hubble telescope's latest find pushes back clock on galaxy formation

Located a record 13.4 billion light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Ursa Major, the galaxy, named GN-z11, was first spotted two years ago in a Hubble Space Telescope deep-sky visible light survey. At the time, astronomers knew they were seeing something very far away, possibly as distant as 13.2 billion light-years from Earth. Being able to use Hubble to peg the galaxy's distance was a surprise, said astronomers who will publish their research in next week's issue of The Astrophysical Journal.

Aurora Flight Sciences wins $89 million contract for X-plane

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Aurora Flight Sciences has been awarded a contract for more than $89 million for the vertical take off and landing X-plane, the Pentagon said on Thursday. The contract is for the second and third phase of the X-plane research portfolio, the Department of Defense said in its daily digest of major contract awards. Aurora Flight beat out Sikorsky, now with Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co and Karem Aircraft. The work is expected to be completed by September 2018. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Aurora Flight Sciences wins $89 million contract for X-plane

Aurora Flight Sciences has been awarded a contract for more than $89 million for the vertical take off and landing X-plane, the Pentagon said on Thursday. The contract is for the second and third phase of the X-plane research portfolio, the Department of Defense said in its daily digest of major contract awards. Aurora Flight beat out Sikorsky, now with Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co and Karem Aircraft.

U.S. loses control of weather satellite, assigns backup: Air Force

U.S. officials have lost control over one of a series of satellites used to provide weather data to military aircraft, but the use of a backup satellite means there will be no change to service, the Air Force said on Thursday. Control was lost on Feb. 11, and officials are unsure whether it can be regained, the Air Force said in a statement. The military weather satellite program is jointly run in Suitland, Maryland, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Air Force.

Back on Earth, U.S. astronaut faces science labs without the view

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The return of NASA astronaut Scott Kelly from the longest U.S. space mission on record will kick off a wave of medical tests and experiments intended to pave the way for extended human missions to Mars. Kelly, 52, is scheduled to give a news conference at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston on Friday to discuss his 340-day mission aboard the International Space Station. "I'm used to going 17,500 miles per hour, but this airplane doesn't quite do that," Kelly quipped after a belated 2:30 a.m. EST/0730 GMT touchdown on Thursday at Ellington Field near the Johnson Space Center.

Oldest Muslim Graves in France Discovered

Three medieval graves in southern France may hold the remains of three Muslim men, a new study finds. Not only are the individuals' faces oriented toward Mecca, a holy city for Muslims, but the shape of the grave is reminiscent of other Muslim burials, the researchers said. If the individuals were indeed Muslim, these graves would be the earliest Muslim burials on record in France, the researchers said.

There Be 'Baby Dragons'...Ready to Hatch in Slovenian Cave

Biologists at Postojna Cave, a 15-mile-long (24 kilometers) cave system in southwestern Slovenia, are waiting with bated breath for the arrival of up to 55 baby olms (Proteus anguinus). Olms are the largest of all cave-adapted animals, but they have long been enigmatic, Sessions and his colleague, Lilijana Bizjak Mali, of the University of Slovenia, wrote in an email to Live Science. Postojna Cave is a major tourist attraction, complete with an aquarium where visitors can see olms in captivity.

What Caused This Man's Bladder to Be Encased in Calcium?

A man in Qatar who had blood in his urine and pain for more than a month when he peed found out that his symptoms were caused by his body's attempt to fight off a parasitic worm infection, a new case report reveals.

How to Cope with Stress During Pregnancy

There's no doubt that pregnancy can be a stressful time in a woman's life.

Quieter Supersonic Jet Is on the Horizon with New NASA Program

A new passenger jet that can fly at supersonic speeds without the distinctive but earsplitting sonic "boom" generated when these superfast planes travel faster than the speed of sound is one step closer to getting in the air. NASA has awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics to come up with a preliminary design for the supersonic jet. The company will receive $20 million over 17 months to come up with a preliminary design, according to NASA.

Tornado Clusters Becoming More Deadly And More Common

One terrifying example is the April 25-28 outbreak in 2011, when some 350 tornadoes ripped across the south-central United States, killing more than 300 people. Outbreaks are responsible for 79 percent of tornado-related fatalities, said Michael Tippett, a climate and weather researcher at the School of Applied Science and Engineering and the Data Science Institute, both at Columbia University in New York. The researchers analyzed National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tornado records from 1954 to 2014.

Psychosis Plus Pot Could Mean More Hospital Time

People who have certain psychiatric disorders and also use marijuana may spend more time in the hospital for their conditions, a new study from England suggests. Marijuana users in the study who were diagnosed with a psychotic illness for the first time were 50 percent more likely to be admitted to the hospital and also had longer hospital stays compared with people who suffered a first episode of psychosis and did not use weed, according to the findings, published today (March 3) in the journal BMJ Open. Psychotic illnesses are those that involve a break from reality, such as hallucinations or delusions.

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