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Monday, March 9, 2015

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First round-the-world solar flight takes off from UAE

Two pilots attempting the first flight around the world in a solar-powered plane began the maiden leg of their voyage on Monday, the mission's official website said. Solar Impulse 2 took off from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates en route to the Omani capital Muscat at the start of a five-month journey of 35,000 km (22,000 miles) organized to focus the world's attention on sustainable energy. "Solar Impulse wants to mobilize public enthusiasm in favor of technologies that will allow decreased dependence on fossil fuels, and induce positive emotions about renewable energies," said the mission website, which maps out the plane's location and broadcasts audio from the cockpit in real time. The flight will make stopovers in India, Myanmar and China before crossing the Pacific Ocean and flying across the United States and southern Europe to arrive back in Abu Dhabi.

Electric 'noise' treats Parkinson's symptoms

A wearable device that stimulates the sense of balance with electric "noise" could help Parkinson's disease patients, according to Swedish scientists. Scientists from the University of Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Academy have developed a portable pocket-sized vestibular, or balance, stimulation device in a bid to improve the lives of Parkinson's sufferers. The research was led by Associate Professor Filip Bergquist, who said the simple device was similar to the TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) therapy which is used for pain relief, for example in child birth. So you do not get the impression that the world is moving or that you are moving, you actually do not feel anything," Bergquist explained.

NASA Finds Likely Source of Mars Rover Curiosity's Short Circuit

The short circuit that has stalled some of the science work by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity apparently originated in the robot's rock-boring drill, mission team members say. Those diagnostic tests have been productive, Curiosity Project Manager Jim Erickson, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said Friday (March 6). A brief short occurred during a test on Thursday (March 5) that used the drill's percussive action, NASA officials explained. Curiosity may start moving its arm again as early as next week, NASA officials said.

These 3 Student Inventions May Make Life Easier

Some of those dreams might become reality, thanks to a few engineering students at The Cooper Union in New York City, who, as part of a college competition, came up with a host of products that could save both time and energy. "Every [kind of] tape has a different dispenser, and a lot don't even have a dispenser," Marshall told Live Science.

6 Ways Albert Einstein Fought for Civil Rights

Albert Einstein earned international fame for his general theory of relativity, which was published 100 years ago. Most people know that Einstein was an anti-war activist, but after moving to the United States in 1933 and becoming a U.S. citizen, the iconic scientist also confronted American racism. According to the authors of "Einstein on Race and Racism," (Rutgers University Press, 2006), Einstein was keenly aware of the similarities between American segregation and the treatment of Jews in Germany. Before moving to Princeton, New Jersey, Einstein was harassed and denounced by the Nazis.

Secret Hideout Helped Penguins Survive the Ice Age

Earth's last ice age was so cold that even Antarctica's emperor penguins had trouble with the chill, a new study finds. Just three populations of emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) likely survived the last ice age, which occurred from about 19,500 to 16,000 years ago, with one such population likely setting up a refuge in the Ross Sea, an Antarctic body of water southeast of New Zealand, the researchers said. In the study, the researchers examined how climate change affected emperor penguins during the past 30,000 years. They looked at the genetic diversity of modern and ancient populations of emperor penguins in Antarctica, and estimated how it had changed over time.

Beyond Relativity: Albert Einstein's Lesser-Known Work

Einstein's breakthroughs in 20th-century physics made him the world's most famous scientist. In the 1870s, British chemist Sir William Crookes developed a neat little curiosity called the radiometer, or the light mill. The contraption was made up of a glass bulb with most of the air sucked out, with several metal, rectangular pieces aligned inside, like a windmill. He even convinced his niece Edith Einstein to focus on the topic for her research, said Daniel Kennefick, a physicist at the University of Arkansas and author of "Traveling at the Speed of Thought: Einstein and the Quest for Gravitational Waves" (Princeton University Press, 2007).

25 Robots Set to Compete in Ambitious Contest This Summer

Fourteen new teams from around the world, including participants from Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, China, South Korea and the United States, have joined 11 previously selected teams to compete in the June event, hosted by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Pomona, California. The winning three teams will take home a combined $3.5 million in cash prizes, DARPA officials said. "We are trying to make robots and human beings work together," Gill Pratt, program manager for the contest, said Thursday (March 5) in a news conference. In December 2013, 16 teams competed in the DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials, to compete for funding to take part in the Robotics Finals.

Marijuana May Trigger Allergies in Some People

Just like ragweed and birch trees, marijuana plants may trigger allergic reactions in some people, according to a new review of previous studies. And because of the increasing use and cultivation of marijuana that has followed in the wake of legalization in some places, allergies to marijuana may be on the rise, experts say. "Although still relatively uncommon, allergic disease associated with [marijuana] exposure and use has been reported with increased frequency," wrote the authors of the review, published March 3 in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. In fact, allergies to marijuana have likely gone underreported, because of marijuana's illegal status, said Dr. Purvi Parikh, an immunologist of the Allergy & Asthma Network, a nonprofit organization that promotes allergy research and education.

Alcohol Intake Peaks at Age 25, But Continues into Old Age

Men generally drink more alcohol than women, but the genders go through similar changes in their drinking habits over their lifetimes, a new study on people in the United Kingdom finds. Both men and women in the study reported a sharp uptick in alcohol intake during adolescence that peaked in early adulthood, plateaued in midlife and then declined into older age. But the researchers also found that, although younger guys drank the largest quantities of alcohol, it was older men who drank the most often, "with lots of men drinking on a daily basis in later life," said lead researcher Annie Britton, a senior lecturer of epidemiology at University College London. It could mean that they are becoming dependent on alcohol, she told Live Science.

High-Fiber Diet May Help Prevent Allergies

From overly clean dishes to skyrocketing rates of cesarean-section births, scientists have proposed dozens of explanations for the sharp rise in food allergies in recent years. Now, several new studies suggest another factor that could play a role in food allergies: dietary fiber. This notion is based on the idea that bacteria in the gut have the enzymes needed to digest dietary fiber, and when these bacteria break down fiber, they produce substances that help to prevent an allergic response to foods, said Charles Mackay, an immunologist at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Up to 15 million Americans have food allergies — a number that increased by 50 percent between 1997 and 2011, according to Food Allergy Research & Education, a nonprofit organization that advocates for people with food allergies.

Fitness Trackers May Boost Weight Loss

Fitness trackers may help some people get more out of using a weight loss app, a new survey suggests. The survey, which involved more than 5,000 people who use the popular weight loss app Lose It!, found that 60 percent of users said they lost more weight when they paired a fitness tracker with the app, compared with when they didn't use a tracker. In fact, 96 percent of the responders said they were using an activity tracker along with the app. Adding a fitness tracker to the app may provide "another level of accountability" for users, said Charles Teague, CEO of Lose It! "Motivation is a major factor in helping our members lose weight and it was exciting to see the role connecting an activity tracker to Lose It! can play," Teague told Live Science.

Solar-Powered Plane Takes Off on Epic Round-the-World Flight

A solar-powered plane, dubbed Solar Impulse 2, took flight today (March 8), embarking on the historic first leg of a planned journey around the world. The aircraft, which can fly without using any fuel, took off from Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, shortly after 11:10 p.m. EDT (7:10 a.m. local time on March 9). After journeying across the Atlantic Ocean, the plane will make a stopover either in southern Europe or North Africa before returning to Abu Dhabi, according to company officials. If successful, Solar Impulse 2 will become the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the globe.

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Sunday, March 8, 2015

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Watch Out: Daylight Saving Time May Cause Heart Attack Spike

As people set their clocks forward an hour for daylight saving time this Sunday (March 8), they may also want to take extra care of their heart. In fact, the number of heart attacks increased 24 percent on the Monday following a daylight saving time, compared with the daily average for the weeks surrounding the start of daylight saving time, according to a 2014 study in the journal Open Heart. With this in mind, people who are at risk of a heart attack — such as those who smoke, have a strong family history of heart attack or have high cholesterol or high blood pressure — shouldn't delay a trip to the emergency room if they feel chest pain, said senior researcher Dr. Hitinder Gurm, an interventional cardiologist and an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Health System. In the study, Gurm and his colleagues tallied the number of hospital admissions for heart attacks in Michigan from Jan. 1, 2010, and Sept. 15, 2013, using a large insurance database.

Why Some People May Be Harder Hit by Daylight Saving Time

The transition to daylight saving time this Sunday at 2 a.m. may be particularly hard for people who are unhealthy, a new study suggests. Researchers found that people who are obese or have obesity-related health problems have higher amounts of "social jet lag," which is when the body's internal clock is out of sync with a person's social and work clocks. Daylight saving time can worsen this condition. Social jet lag can be measured as the difference in people's sleep patterns between the days they work and the days they have off, which for many people translates to the amount of sleep they get on weekdays compared with the weekend.

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Saturday, March 7, 2015

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Ancient Celtic Prince's Grave and Chariot Unearthed

The 2,500-year-old lavish tomb and chariot of an ancient Celtic prince have been unearthed in France. The ancient princely tomb, which was discovered in a large burial mound, was filled with stunning grave goods, including gorgeous pottery and a gold-tipped drinking vessel. The giant jug was decorated with images of the Greek god of wine and revelry, and was probably made by Greek or Etruscan artists. The stunning new finds "are evidence of the exchanges that happened between the Mediterranean and the Celts," Dominique Garcia, president of France's National institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP), told journalists at a field visit, according to France 24.

Search for Alien Life Should Consider All Possibilities, Experts Say

Scientists scanning the atmospheres of exoplanets for gases produced by alien life should look for more than just oxygen, methane and the other familiar biosignatures that swirl about in Earth's air, Sara Seager and William Bain, both of MIT, wrote in a review article published today (March 6) in the journal Science Advances.

ISIS' Attack on Ancient History Called a 'War Crime'

Last week, ISIS released a video of the group ransacking the Mosul Museum in northern Iraq. Yesterday (March 5), Iraq's Ministry of Culture announced that ISIS had razed one of the famous capitals of the Assyrian empire, the 3,300-year-old city of Nimrud, near the banks of the Tigris River. "The deliberate destruction of cultural heritage constitutes a war crime," UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova said in a statement today. The bulldozing of Nimrud was especially shocking because it is one of the most important archaeological sites not just in Mesopotamia, but the world, said Ihsan Fethi, director of the Iraqi Architects Society.

Post-menopausal orcas take lead role in food search, study shows

Female killer whales live long and productive lives after they stop having babies, playing a critical role in survival of the pod as they lead the hunt for food, particularly in lean times, according to a study released on Friday. Resembling in many ways their human counterparts, female killer whales breed between ages 14 and 40 but can survive well into their 90s, while male orcas, by contrast, die much younger, rarely making it past 50, according to the study in the journal Current Biology. Killer whales join short-finned pilot whales and humans as the only species in which the females can live decades after menopause. In that time, the female killer whales, not burdened by childbearing, pass on important information to the other whales, says the study.

Post-menopausal orcas take lead role in food search, study shows

Cold Comfort: Winter Was No Record-Breaker, NOAA Says

The bone-chilling cold weather that blasted the eastern United States this winter was miserable for some (and bliss for kids), but no record-breaker. In California, the winter temperature was 1.5 F (0.8 C) above last year's record high, NOAA said.

Geologists Climb Into Iceland Volcano, Come Out With Stunning Images

Four geologists in Iceland had one of the hottest jobs on Earth this week. To capture accurate measurements of toxic volcanic gases, the scientists climbed directly into Iceland's Baugur crater on Wednesday (March 4), where lava bubbled and frothed only three weeks ago. Baugur crater was the tallest and largest crater in the long line of sputtering cones built by the Barbarbunga eruption's spectacular fire fountains. The surface is still a red-hot 1,110 degrees Fahrenheit (600 degrees Celsius) in spots, and the scientists had to wear gas masks and carry oxygen, according to Evgenia Ilyinskaya, a volcanologist with the British Geological Survey.

Laser Weapon Stops Truck in Its Tracks — from a Mile Away

A laser weapon made by Lockheed Martin can stop a small truck dead in its tracks from more than a mile (1.6 kilometers) away, the company announced this week. The laser system, called ATHENA (short for Advanced Test High Energy Asset), is designed to protect military forces and key infrastructure, Lockheed Martin representatives said. The milestone is the highest power ever documented by a laser weapon of its type, according to the company. Lockheed is expected to conduct additional tests of ATHENA.

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