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Monday, December 9, 2013

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Shrinking Arctic Sea Ice Means Scorching US Summers

Thirty years of shrinking Arctic sea ice has boosted extreme summer weather, including heat waves and drought, in the United States and elsewhere, according to a study published today (Dec. 8) in the journal Nature Climate Change. The new study — based on satellite tracking of sea ice, snow cover and weather trends since 1979 — links the Arctic's warming climate to shifting weather patterns in the Northern Hemisphere's midlatitudes. "The results of our new study provide further support and evidence for rapid Arctic warming contributing to the observed increased frequency and intensity of heat waves," said study co-author Jennifer Francis, an atmospheric scientist at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Changes in the Arctic can perturb midlatitude weather in such regions as the United States, Europe and China because temperature differences between the two zones drive the jet stream, the fast-moving river of air that circles the Northern Hemisphere, explained lead study author Qiuhong Tang, an atmospheric scientist at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research in Beijing.

Short-cut to produce hydrogen seen as step to cleaner fuel

By Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - Scientists have produced hydrogen by accelerating a natural process found in rocks deep below the Earth's surface, a short-cut that may herald the wider use of what is a clean fuel, a study showed on Sunday. Used in rockets and in battery-like fuel cells, hydrogen is being widely researched as a non-polluting fuel, but its use is so far hampered by high costs. A few hydrogen vehicles are already on the roads, such as the Honda FXC Clarity and Mercedes-Benz F-Cell, and more are planned. Researchers in France said aluminum oxide speeded up a process by which hydrogen is produced naturally when water meets olivine, a common type of rock, under the high temperatures and pressures found at great depths.

Small steps to Mars are a big leap for Indian companies

By Shyamantha Asokan NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian companies that built most of the parts for the country's recently launched Mars mission are using their low-cost, high-tech expertise in frugal space engineering to compete for global aerospace, defence and nuclear contracts worth billions. India's Mangalyaan spacecraft was launched last month and then catapulted from Earth orbit on December 1, clearing an important hurdle on its 420 million mile journey to Mars and putting it on course to be the first Asian mission to reach the red planet. The venture has a price tag of just 4.5 billion rupees ($72 million), roughly one-tenth the cost of Maven, NASA's latest Mars mission. Those firms with proven space know-how will find themselves with the advantage as India, the world's biggest arms importer, shells out $100 billion over a decade to modernise its military with the country favouring local sources.

Inflammation Linked to Lower Prostate Cancer Risk

Inflammation in a man's prostate may indicate he has a lower risk of developing prostate cancer in the future, according to a new study. Researchers looked at signs of inflammation in prostate tissue samples from 6,200 men who were having biopsies to check for cancer. At a follow-up biopsy two years later, prostate cancer was detected in 900 participants (14 percent). Men with signs of acute inflammation or chronic inflammation at the original biopsy were 25 percent or 35 percent, respectively, less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Did Volcano on Mercury Erupt for a Billion Years? (Op-Ed)

Olympus Mons, a treble Everest soaring above Mars' Northern Hemisphere, is the largest volcano in the solar system; Since Mariner 10 first revealed its surface in the 1970s, conspicuously smooth plains — reminiscent of the lunar mare— suggested that in places, the impact craters had once been resurfaced by giant lava flows. And now, NASA's latest mission to the inner solar system — the MESSENGER satellite, currently in orbit around Mercury — has begun to shed new light on its volcanic past; When MESSENGER performed its first flyby of Mercury in early 2008, it sent back a hazy image of a feature, from somewhere in the planet's Northern hemisphere, showing what its discoverers called a "kidney-shaped depression." This strange formation was clearly very different from the ubiquitous, uniform impact craters.

9,400 Kids Injured in High Chairs Every Year

Every year, about 9,400 young children in the U.S. are injured falling off high chairs, a new study finds. Doctors warn that despite the chairs' perceived safety, children in high chairs can be harmed if a chair is not used properly. Head injuries were the most common type of injury associated with high chairs, followed by bumps or bruises and cuts, according to the study. "Maybe even more concerning, the rate of head injuries has increased by almost 90 percent between 2003 and 2010, and I think it begs the question, what's going on?" said study researcher Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

How Elephant Seals Know Who's Boss

SAN FRANCISCO — Male elephant seals recognize the unique calls of their rivals, helping them know when to fight or flee, new research suggests. The findings, presented here at the 166th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, suggest that in the seals' hypercompetitive mating market, recognizing their rivals' calls to avoid senseless fights can be a good strategy. "If you can call at your rival and save yourself from having to fight again, that's really good," said study co-author Caroline Casey, a graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Odd Work Hours Could Weaken Family Bonds

"Research indicates that approximately one in five workers works a nonstandard schedule and we need support systems — such as after-school programs — to accommodate the needs of those families," Toby Parcel, a professor of sociology at North Carolina State University, said in a statement. The researchers looked at the work schedules of the kids' parents, the kids' own reports about delinquent behavior (such as vandalism and cutting school) and the kids' reports about their relationship with their parents. Children living with single moms working nonstandard hours, however, reported both weaker bonds with their parents and higher levels of delinquent behavior, the researchers said. "They also reported lower levels of delinquent behavior.

Distinct Humpback Whale Populations Found in North Pacific

Five distinct humpback whale populations have been identified across the North Pacific Ocean in the most comprehensive genetic study of the mammals in this region yet, a new study reports. and an additional West Pacific population whose range has yet to be determined more specifically. Humpback whales are found in all oceans of the world, but the North Pacific humpbacks are genetically isolated enough to be considered a subspecies of other humpbacks, of which the new populations are further subclassifications, study co-author Scott Baker, a professor of fisheries and wildlife at Oregon State University, said in a statement. "The Mexico population, for example, has 'discrete' sub-populations off the mainland and near the Revillagigedo Islands, but because their genetic differentiation is not that strong, these are not considered 'distinct' populations."

Formula 1 Racing Loud Enough to Damage Hearing

SAN FRANCISCO — Formula 1 racing is so loud that fans would have to wear both earplugs and earmuffs in order to enjoy the spectacle at safe noise levels, new research suggests. "Noise levels at Formula 1 races are loud enough to potentially cause hearing loss," Craig Dolder, a doctoral candidate in acoustical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, said at a news conference Wednesday (Dec. 4) here at the 166th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America.

Cold-Loving Asian Cockroach Invades New York

A new species of cockroach that can withstand freezing temperatures has taken up residence in New York, scientists confirmed. The resilient critter, Periplaneta japonica, had never been seen in the United States until an exterminator spotted some strange-looking roach carcasses last year on the High Line, a mile-long park built on an old elevated railway in Manhattan. Researchers confirmed the identity of the species, which is native to Asia and notable for its ability to thrive in cold climates, unlike the American cockroaches that populate New York and take shelter indoors when winter comes. "About 20 years ago colleagues of ours in Japan reared nymphs of this species and measured their tolerance to being able to survive in snow," Rutgers insect biologist Jessica Ware said in a statement.

Ancient Mars Lake Could Have Supported Life, Curiosity Rover Shows

NASA's Curiosity rover has found evidence of an ancient Martian lake that could have supported life as we know it for long stretches — perhaps millions of years. This long and skinny freshwater lake likely existed about 3.7 billion years ago, researchers said, suggesting that habitable environments were present on Mars more recently than previously thought. "Quite honestly, it just looks very Earth-like," said Curiosity lead scientist John Grotzinger, of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "You've got an alluvial fan, which is being fed by streams that originate in mountains, that accumulates a body of water," Grotzinger told SPACE.com.

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Sunday, December 8, 2013

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Ancient Estate and Garden Fountain Unearthed in Israel

The remains of a wealthy estate, with a mosaic fountain in its garden, dating to between the late 10th and early 11th centuries have been unearthed in Ramla in central Israel. "It seems that a private building belonging to a wealthy family was located there and that the fountain was used for ornamentation," Hagit Torgë, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said in a statement. Fountains from the Fatimid period were mostly found around the center of the Old City of Ramla called White Mosque, Torgë added.

Scientists test ideas in bird botulism outbreaks

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — For more than a decade, people walking along Great Lakes beaches have come upon a heartrending sight: dozens, or even hundreds, of dead loons, gulls and other waterfowl — victims of food poisoning that paralyzed their muscles and eventually caused them to drown.

Is Dark Matter Made of Tiny Black Holes?

A planet-hunting NASA spacecraft has detected no sign of moon-size black holes yet in the Milky Way galaxy, limiting the chances that such objects could make up most of the "dark matter" that has mystified scientists for decades. It remains so mysterious that scientists are still uncertain as to whether dark matter is made of microscopic particles or far larger objects. The consensus right now is that dark matter consists of a new type of particle, one that interacts very weakly at best with all the known forces of the universe except gravity. As such, dark matter is invisible and mostly intangible, with its presence only detectable via the gravitational pull it exerts.

3 Words That Sell: Made in America

Researchers say that finding suggests that quality and safety may be the true motivating factors behind these purchase decisions. According to the BCG research, U.S. millennials are receptive to this type of marketing and are more likely than nonmillennials to purchase items associated with a particular cause, such as "Made in America."

Top-Secret US Spy Satellite Launches into Orbit (Photos)

A classified U.S. spy payload rocketed into orbit from California on an Atlas 5 launcher Thursday (Dec. 5), joining the nation's eyes and ears in the sky to supply intelligence to the government's national security agencies. The satellite is owned by the National Reconnaissance Office, but government officials do not disclose the identities of the NRO's spacecraft, only saying the payload will serve national security purposes. But independent satellite-watchers believe the spacecraft will join the NRO's fleet of spacecraft with radars to penetrate cloaks of clouds and darkness and reveal what adversaries are doing regardless of weather or time of day. The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 11:14:30 p.m. PST Thursday (0714:30 GMT;

Lemon Sharks Return to Their Birthplace to Have Babies

"We found that newborn sharks captured in the mid-1990s left the safety of the islands when they were between five and eight years old," biologist Kevin Feldheim, of The Field Museum in Chicago, explained in a statement. In 1995, the researchers captured, tagged and released more than 2,000 baby sharks in the lagoon in Bimini, a set of islands located 53 miles (81 kilometers) east of Miami. Samuel Gruber, president and director of the Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation, who started the project, explained that lagoon is "almost like a lake." Their slow growth rate is one of the reasons why overfishing can seriously damage shark populations.

Nobel winner: scientists get it wrong most of time

STOCKHOLM (AP) — One of this year's Nobel Prize laureates says learning how to handle failure is key to becoming a successful scientist.

Scientists to Congress: We Have the Technology to Find Alien Life

To find extraterrestrial life, be it microbes or intelligent life, scientists need telescopes capable of detecting Earth-like planets in Earth's neighborhood and ways to detect biological signatures of life or signs of alien technology. "This is the first time in human history we have the technological reach to find life on other planets," Sara Seager, a planetary scientist at MIT, said at a House Committee on Science, Space and Technology hearing today. "Astrobiology has become a crosscutting theme of all NASA space science endeavors," and continued funding is important, said Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D., Texas). The Kepler mission has identified more than 3,500 potential planets outside Earth's solar system, including 10 that are Earth-size and lie within their star's habitable zone.

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Friday, December 6, 2013

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Commercial Space Race Revolutionizing Business Off Planet Earth

LONDON — For decades, the space race was seen as being mostly about national pride. The first man in space, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, was proclaimed by the Kremlin as Citizen of the World and hailed as a sign of communist leadership. Watching NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon made Americans grin in triumph and forced Soviet leaders to grit their teeth. On Nov. 5, India's national space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization, launched a spacecraft dubbed Mangalyaan to Mars.

Fearful Experiences Passed On In Mouse Families

Now, new research in mice reveals how experience can be passed down through generations due to changes in DNA. Scientists trained mice to associate the scent of cherry blossoms with the fear of receiving an electric shock, and found that the mice's pups and grandpups were more sensitive to the scent, even though they didn't receive the shock training. The mice appear to have inherited the fear knowledge through modifications to their genetic code.

3D Virtual Birth Simulator Could Help Doctors Prepare for Delivery

It seems there's almost nothing computers can't simulate these days: Now, a new computer program simulates human birth using 3D virtual reality. It could help doctors and midwives prepare for unusual or dangerous births, according to the researchers in England who developed it. The simulator shows you what's happening inside," said Rudy Lapeer, a computer scientist at the University of East Anglia, leader of the research that was presented Nov. 22 at a conference on E-Health and Bioengineering in Romania. Hospitals have used models to simulate the birthing process since the 1800s, Lapeer told LiveScience.

Great Pyramids of the Gophers: Mima Mound Mystery Solved

A new twist on an old mystery may finally settle the debate over the origin of Mima mounds, which bulge out of the ground like enormous, grass-covered bubble wrap. Mima mounds (sounds like dime-a) were named in 1841, when a vast pimply prairie (the Mima Prairie) was discovered in western Washington during the United States Exploring Expedition. Early explorers thought Mima mounds were Native American burial sites, but no skeletons or grave relics were inside. Because the rich prairie soil at many Mima mound sites turns sodden when it rains, scientists often blamed burrowing pocket gophers, the same rodents that pockmark golf courses and lawns — perhaps, scientists surmised, the gophers built up to escape drowning.

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