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Monday, March 23, 2015

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Humans Butchered Elephants 500,000 Years Ago, Ancient Tool Suggests

Stone tools that are half a million years old have been unearthed in Israel — and they still have traces of elephant fat clinging to them. Though anthropologists had strongly suspected that early humans used tools to break down a carcass for its muscle, fat and marrow, "there was no smoking gun to show that the stone tools were, indeed, used for these kinds of tasks," said study co-author Ran Barkai, a professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University in Israel.

Rosetta Spacecraft Makes Nitrogen Discovery on Comet

A peculiar mix of molecular nitrogen on the comet target of Europe's Rosetta spacecraft may offer clues to the conditions that gave birth to the entire solar system. Molecular nitrogen was one of the key ingredients of the young solar system. Its detection in Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, which Rosetta is currently orbiting, suggests that the comet formed under low-temperature conditions (a requirement to keeping nitrogen as ice), according to officials with the European Space Agency. "Its detection is particularly important since molecular nitrogen is thought to have been the most common type of nitrogen available when the solar system was forming," ESA officials wrote in a statement.

How Real-Life AI Rivals 'Chappie': Robots Get Emotional

Artificial Intelligence will rule Hollywood (intelligently) in 2015, with a slew of both iconic and new robots hitting the screen. From the Turing-bashing "Ex Machina" to old friends R2-D2 and C-3PO, and new enemies like the Avengers' Ultron, sentient robots will demonstrate a number of human and superhuman traits on-screen. In this five-part series Live Science looks at these made-for-the-movies advances in machine intelligence. Outside of Hollywood, engineers are working to more fully integrate emotional and artificial intelligence.

Weird 'Water Tongue' Lets Fish Feed on Land

A fish that uses water as a sort of tongue to feed on land could shed light on how animals with backbones first invaded land, researchers say. These fish evolved into the first tetrapods (four-legged land animals), which ultimately gave rise to amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.

Amazon's FAA Approval May Not Give Commercial Drones a Lift

After threatening to take its drone development abroad, Amazon got approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) this week to test its much-hyped Prime Air delivery drones on private property in the United States. But this certificate might not be what Amazon had hoped for, and this latest development could spell bad news for the rest of the burgeoning commercial drone business. "I view it as a setback for the industry," said Brendan Schulman, an attorney and expert in drone policy. Under the terms of the FAA certificate, Amazon drone operators will be able to test their aircraft during the day, up to an altitude of 400 feet (122 meters).

No More Lions and Mammoths: Real Explorers Eat Bugs

To cater the infamous cocktail hour at the 111th Explorers Club Annual Dinner at the American Museum of Natural History, Gordon has a $15,000 budget for the insects and other arthropods alone. "In the old days, the conservationists were hunters," Nichols said.

Astronaut and Cosmonaut to Launch on 1-Year Space Mission This Week

An American astronaut and two cosmonauts are set to fly up to the International Space Station Friday (March 27), and two of those crewmembers won't be back on Earth for about a year on a mission that aims to help open the doorway to deep space for Earthlings. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko are due to launch on their yearlong mission to the space station on Russian Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with cosmonaut Gennady Padalka. Kelly and Kornienko's mission will mark the first yearlong mission aboard the station, and the first time an American has spent a continuous year in space.

Tumors grown in dishes could help customize cancer treatment

Experiments conducted at an underground laboratory at Vanderbilt University could prove vital in the fight against cancer. Alex Walsh, a biomedical researcher, is using a laser to make what she calls organoids glow. The organoid is then dosed with a cocktail of cancer drugs and placed under a microscope at which point it is blasted with a laser. Measuring the variations in the intensity of the resulting fluorescence provides a readout of cellular metabolism which, Walsh says, is an accurate and speedy biomarker of drug response.

Marijuana Science: Why Today's Pot Packs a Bigger Punch

The marijuana that is available today may be much more potent than marijuana cultivated in the past, according to the results of new tests. The psychoactive component in the marijuana plant is the chemical THC, and the new tests showed that today's marijuana may contain 30 percent THC, Andy LaFrate, the author of the new report, said in a statement. By contrast, THC levels in marijuana 30 years ago were lower than 10 percent, said LaFrate, who is the president and research director at Charas Scientific, one of eight labs certified by the state of Colorado to conduct marijuana potency testing. At the same time, the marijuana samples tested had very low levels of a compound called cannabidiol, or CBD, that is touted for its medicinal properties.

Kids Whose Ears Stick Out Are Cuter, Science Confirms

The findings show that "protruding ears catch the eye, but not necessarily the imagination in a negative way," said Dr. Ralph Litschel, the lead author of the study. For some kids in the study, "protruding ears may have added to their cuteness," said Litschel, an ear, nose and throat specialist and facial plastic surgeon at Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Can You Really Freshen Up Women's 'Aging' Eggs?

One fertility treatment company claims it can, by rejuvenating women's aging eggs. The company, called OvaScience, says its method aims to improve the health of an egg's mitochondria, which are the tiny powerhouses that give cells the energy to divide and grow. Although some early evidence suggests aging mitochondria could reduce a woman's fertility, expert say, there are no studies that prove the new method will work. "They're quite private and secretive about what they're doing," said Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh, a San Francisco Bay Area ob-gyn and fertility specialist who has no affiliation to OvaScience.

As Forests Burn, Conservationists Launch Global Wildlife Rescue (Op-Ed)

Jeremy Radachowsky is assistant director for the Latin American and Caribbean Program at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). In 1998, in one of my first real experiences in the tropics, I volunteered as a research assistant to track tapirs in Corcovado National Park. As the months wore on, I watched as the forest understory withered and the creek beds dried up. But that year, the effects of El Niño were more extreme.

Hiding Out of Sight, Are Sharks Self Aware? (Op-Ed)

Ila France Porcher is a self-taught, published ethologist and the author of "The Shark Sessions." A wildlife artist who recorded the behavior of animals she painted, Porcher was intrigued by sharks in Tahiti and launched an intensive study to systematically observe them following the precepts of cognitive ethology. Credited with the discovery of a way to study sharks without killing them, Porcher has been called "the Jane Goodall of sharks" for her documentation of their intelligence in the wild. If you are in the water, and a shark becomes aware of you, on its first appearance it comes only briefly into view at the limit of the visual range (the distance at which a view is obscured, from both you and the shark, by particles in the water). For example, during my ethological study of reef sharks in French Polynesia, young males appeared after sunset in excited bands to mate.

Will We Combat Global Warming, Despite Our Nature? (Op-Ed)

In a recent article (Human Nature May Seal the Planet's Warming Fate), I used the allegory of "Who Moved my Cheese?" to suggest that people's innate biases may in fact be an evolutionary adaption, one that thwarts the changes demanded by climate change. This in contrast to simpler life forms such as mice: They have seemingly lower cognitive abilities, yet adapt far easier and more willingly to changes in their habitat.

Did Cosmic Inflation Really Jump-Start the Universe? (Kavli Hangout)

Kelen Tuttle, writer and editor for The Kavli Foundation, contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. The oldest light in the universe, the cosmic microwave background, is a fossil from the Big Bang that fills every square inch of the sky. Researchers working on the Planck satellite — which detects distant light from its orbit 930,000 miles above Earth — released new maps of the cosmic microwave background. In a second publication, scientists on both Planck and the Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization 2 (BICEP2) experiment — which, from its site at the South Pole, studies the cosmic microwave background — announced that previous data, which seemed to offer "smoking gun" evidence of inflation, had been misunderstood.

What Would It Be Like to Live on Jupiter's Moon Europa?

Jupiter's icy moon Europa has long been thought of as a potentially friendly place for life in the solar system. The gas giant has a small rocky core with a mass 10 times less than Earth's, but it's surrounded by dense liquid hydrogen extending out to 90 percent of Jupiter's diameter. If you were to step foot on the planet's core, "you would be crushed by the weight of the liquid hydrogen above," said Robert Pappalardo, a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). With its low radiation levels, geologic stability and large amount of water ice, Callisto probably would be the ideal Jovian moon for a settlement, said JPL astrobiologist Steve Vance.

Obama, wowed by young scientists, announces new STEM pledges

WASHINGTON (AP) — The small Lego machine inside the White House whirred, and in a moment it was turning the pages of a story book. One page flipped, then another, ever faster as President Barack Obama marveled at its efficiency.

First (Contraband) Corned Beef Sandwich in Space 50 Years Ago

Just about two hours into the flight of Gemini 3, NASA's first two-man space mission 50 years ago Monday (March 23), pilot John Young reached into his spacesuit's pocket and pulled out a surprise. What Young revealed was the world's first — and possibly last — corned beef sandwich to fly in space. Grissom's fellow Mercury astronaut Wally Schirra, who had a reputation for pulling pranks (he called them "Gotchas"), had purchased the sandwich from Wolfie's Restaurant and Sandwich Shop at the Ramada Inn in Cocoa Beach two days earlier.

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Sunday, March 22, 2015

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The 10 Happiest Countries Are All in Latin America

For the first time in a decade, the top 10 happiest countries in the world are all in Latin America, according to the 2014 Gallup Positive Experience Index. Gallup researchers released the results for the United Nations' third annual International Day of Happiness today (March 20).

This Zero Gravity Cocktail Glass Could Be Out This World

Astronauts hoping to sip drinks in style may soon have an open-top cocktail glass to look forward to. Called the Zero Gravity Cocktail Project, the idea is to create an open-top cocktail glass that can be used in space. The creators of the glass design, called the Cosmic Lifestyle Corp., are currently seeking funding for the project on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter.com. With the Zero Gravity Cocktail glass, astronauts would be able to drink from something that's more like the drinking glasses used on Earth.

See Venus and the Crescent Moon Shine Together Tonight

As darkness falls tonight (March 22), be sure to take a look low toward the western part of the sky for yet another beautiful celestial tableau formed by a lovely crescent moon and the brilliant planet Venus. Weather permitting, you will see Venus will appear to hover to the right of and just a bit above the moon. Indeed, if Venus were stationary and did not appear to move against the star background, then a Venus-moon encounter would occur every 27 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes. Since Venus and the moon were together (along with much fainter Mars) on Feb. 20, we might have expected a return engagement this past Thursday (March 19) if we tried to apply this "sidereal month rule" to this schedule. Of course that rule didn't work because Venus is not stationary, but moving in its own orbit around the sun.

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Saturday, March 21, 2015

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DIY robotics device developed

It's a revolution in robotics that makes building your own personal robot a reality for the masses. The new device developed by Polish scientists Dominik Nowak and Radoslaw Jarema of the Husarion Company, acts as a robot's central nervous system and provides people with the hardware and software to build almost any type of robot they can think of.. ... So you don't need any programming or engineering skills.

U.S., United Arab Emirates move forward on space cooperation

The United States and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to work toward greater civil and national security space cooperation after officials from the two countries met in Washington this week, the U.S. State Department said on Friday. The officials reviewed "a broad list of potential areas of space cooperation," department spokesman Jeff Rathke said in a statement.

Flight to Totality: How I Chased the Total Solar Eclipse of 2015 on a Jet

A total eclipse of the sun on Friday (March 20) thrilled skywatchers across Europe, Africa and Asia where it was visible, but nowhere was the view as perfect as aboard a chartered jet soaring over the top of the world. The reason was that the sun was situated almost directly behind the planes, mostly precluding us from getting a good view of the promised sky show.

'Haunting' Pony Uterus Wins Top Prize in Medical Image Contest

The pony uterus was one of 20 health and medical images to win top honors in the 14th annual competition sponsored by the Wellcome Trust, a research-funding agency. The judges of the 14th annual image contest were unanimous in their choice for first prize, noting the emotional response evoked by the pony uterus image. Michael Frank, of the Royal Veterinary College, captured the winning photograph, revealing the uterus of the 5-month-pregnant New Forest pony specimen preserved in formalin at the Anatomy Museum of the Royal Veterinary College in London.

Mars One Colony Project Delays Manned Red Planet Mission to 2026

The private colonization project Mars One has pushed its planned launch of the first humans toward the Red Planet back by two years, to 2026. The delay was necessitated by a lack of investment funding, which has slowed work on a robotic precursor mission that Mars One had wanted to send toward the Red Planet in 2018, Mars One CEO Bas Lansdorp said in a new video posted today (March 19). Mars One, a Netherlands-based nonprofit, awarded contracts to aerospace firms Lockheed Martin and Surrey Satellite Technology to work on the lander and orbiter, respectively.

Arctic Sea Ice's Winter Peak Is Lowest on Record

Arctic sea ice hit its annual peak early this year, and climate scientists say the region's below-average ice conditions made this year's maximum extent the lowest on record. Every year, Arctic sea ice — ice that forms and floats in Arctic waters — grows during the winter and typically reaches its peak in March. A new report from the National Snow & Ice Data Center (NSIDC), however, reveals this year's Arctic sea ice likely reached its maximum extent earlier than expected, on Feb. 25. At this peak, sea ice covered 5.61 million square miles (14.54 million square kilometers) — the lowest maximum extent since satellite record keeping began in 1979.

Richard III Reburial Celebration Starts Sunday

More than 500 years after he was buried in a hastily dug grave in Leicester, England, Richard III is getting a proper funeral. On Sunday (March 22), Richard's fans will kick off a week of events complete with fireworks, choirs and solemn processions to celebrate the reburial of the medieval king. Richard's lead-lined oak coffin coffin will make its first public appearance at 10:50 a.m. local time (6:50 a.m. EST) Sunday as it leaves a building at the University of Leicester, the institute where scientists had been studying Richard's remains for the past two years. Then, Richard's coffin will be brought to Leicester Cathedral, the king's final resting place.

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