|  Sticky, Eagle-Eyed, Explosive Science Prepped for Space Station Launch  | CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An unmanned Cygnus cargo spacecraft launching tomorrow (March 22) is ready to lug more up to the International Space Station than ever before, including experiments primed to spy on meteors, 3D print rare parts and start a huge fire. The commercial spacecraft, built by Orbital ATK, is scheduled for launch at 11:05 p.m. EST (0305 on March 23 GMT) and will approach the station for three days before it's snapped up by the space station's robotic arm. Then, the space station crew will begin to unload the fresh crop of supplies and experiments - nearly 3.5 tons of new gear for the orbiting laboratory.
| Read More » A vegetarian world would be healthier, cooler and richer: scientists By Megan Rowling BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - By eating less meat and more fruit and vegetables, the world could avoid several million deaths by 2050, cut planet-warming emissions substantially, and save billions of dollars in healthcare costs and climate damage, researchers said. A new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, is the first to estimate both the health and climate change impacts of a global move towards a more plant-based diet, they said. Unbalanced diets are responsible for the greatest health burden around the world, and our food system produces more than a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, said lead author Marco Springmann of the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food. Read More » This week's space station delivery rich in science and tech  | CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A space station supply ship is set to blast off Tuesday night with a commercial-quality 3-D printer for astronaut as well as public use — for a price — and the makings for a large-scale fire.
| Read More » Why You Probably Can't Trust Fitness Tracker Calorie Estimates If you think your fitness tracker isn't telling you the truth about how many calories you've burned, you're probably right — a new study finds that the devices can vary widely in their calorie estimates and tend to underestimate the number of calories burned. The findings "suggest that most wearable devices do not produce a valid measure of total energy expenditure," the researchers wrote in their article. In the study, conducted in Japan, researchers had each of the 19 healthy people wear a whopping 12 fitness trackers (all at the same time) at various places on their waist, chest and wrist. Read More » A vegetarian world would be healthier, cooler and richer - scientists  | By Megan Rowling BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - By eating less meat and more fruit and vegetables, the world could avoid several million deaths per year by 2050, cut planet-warming emissions substantially, and save billions of dollars annually in healthcare costs and climate damage, researchers said. A new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, is the first to estimate both the health and climate change impacts of a global move towards a more plant-based diet, they said. Unbalanced diets are responsible for the greatest health burden around the world, and our food system produces more than a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, said lead author Marco Springmann of the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food.
| Read More » DNA data storage could last thousands of years By Matthew Stock Researchers in Switzerland have developed a method for writing vast amounts of information in DNA and storing it inside a synthetic fossil, potentially for thousands of years. In past centuries, books and scrolls preserved the knowledge of our ancestors, even though they were prone to damage and disintegration. In the digital era, most of humanity's collective knowledge is stored on servers and hard drives. But these have a limited lifespan and need constant maintenance. ... Read More » Pharaoh Ramesses III Killed by Multiple Assailants, Radiologist Says  | The New Kingdom Pharaoh Ramesses III was assassinated by multiple assailants — and given postmortem cosmetic surgery to improve his mummy's appearance. Those are some of the new tidbits on ancient Egyptian royalty detailed in a new book by Egyptologist Zahi Hawass and Cairo University radiologist Sahar Saleem, "Scanning the Pharaohs: CT Imaging of the New Kingdom Royal Mummies" (American University in Cairo Press, 2016). Hawass and Saleem studied royal mummies from the 18th to 20th dynasties of Egypt, spanning from about 1543 B.C. to 1064 B.C. Rulers during this period included famous names like Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Tutankhamun, Seti I and the murdered Ramesses III. Previously, Hawass and colleagues had reported that Ramesses III's throat was slit, likely killing him instantly.
| Read More » 'Boaty McBoatface' Controversy: How Ships Get Named  | "Name our ship!" This was the call from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) in an online poll soliciting names for a U.K. polar research vessel. And the Internet responded in the most predictable way possible: The people have spoken — and the name they want is "Boaty McBoatface."
| Read More » 'Boaty McBoatface' Tops Poll to Name Polar Research Vessel | "Name our ship!" This was the call from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) in an online poll soliciting names for a U.K. polar research vessel. The whimsical suggestion captured the public imagination and rocketed the humorous moniker into first place, trouncing even recommendations honoring beloved British icons like Sir Richard Attenborough and recently deceased musician David Bowie. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) currently boasts two polar research vessels — a stately pair of ships named for famed arctic explorers: the Royal Research Ship (RRS) James Clark Ross, used primarily for conducting oceanographic research, and the RRS Ernest Shackleton, which transports cargo, passengers and fuel to polar research destinations.
| Read More » High Anxiety Risk in Adolescence Linked to One Gene Anxiety disorders often emerge in adolescence, when the brain goes through massive changes and new genes are expressed. Now, researchers have found a gene that may be a factor in the general peak of anxiety during this time. They also found that carrying a common version of this gene may protect people from anxiety. Read More » New Patch Analyzes Sweat to Detect Blood Sugar Levels A stick-on patch that tracks, and even regulates, blood sugar levels could be used by people with diabetes one day, according to a new study. Unlike finger pricking — the traditional method of monitoring levels of the blood sugar glucose — the new patch detects the levels of glucose in a person's sweat. Research has shown that glucose levels in sweat accurately reflect glucose levels in the blood, the researchers said. Read More » Beetle's chemical signal tells mate, 'Honey, I'm not in the mood'  | By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When a female "burying beetle" is focused on caring for babies and not making new ones, she releases a chemical signal to her libidinous mate that says in no uncertain terms, "Honey, I'm not in the mood." Scientists described on Tuesday how these females employ an anti-aphrodisiac chemical known as a pheromone during a three-day period critical for raising offspring to tell the male she is temporary infertile and prevent him from trying to copulate. It provides insight into how animals change their behavior to provide care for their young, in this instance favoring parenting over sexual activity to produce new offspring. "Our study helps to understand animal family life and how it is coordinated between family members," said biologist Sandra Steiger of Germany's University of Ulm, who led the study published in the journal Nature Communications.
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