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Tuesday, May 5, 2015

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Crash! How India Slammed into Eurasia at Record Speed

Two super-fast conveyor belts of sinking crust explain why India set a continental speed record as it crashed into Eurasia, according to a new study. The Indian Plate slammed into Eurasia 40 million years ago, raising the Himalayas and Mount Everest, the study's researchers explained. The new analysis suggests India raced toward the collision starting 80 million years ago because of two short subduction zones, one in front of the other, that emerged between the tectonic plates. "The collision scenario between India and Eurasia is more complex and protracted than most people think," said the study's lead author, Oliver Jagoutz, a geologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Pocket-sized fingerprint scanner could solve healthcare bottleneck

British postgraduate students have devised a pocket-sized fingerprint scanner designed to help patients in the developing world get improved access to healthcare. Toby Norman, Daniel Storisteanu, and Alexandra Grigore hooked up with Toby's brother Tristram to create Simprints, a scanner that gives health workers easy access to the medical records of patients in the developing world.

New self-cleaning paint offers stain and damage-free future

By Matthew Stock A self-cleaning paint that can withstand contact with substances such as oil, even after being scratched or scuffed with sandpaper, has been developed by British and Chinese researchers. The coating was devised by University College London (UCL) researcher Yao Lu and his supervisor, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry Claire Carmalt, and can be applied to clothes, paper, glass and steel. When combined with adhesives, its self-cleaning properties remain, in spite of attempts to scratch or scuff it. Self-cleaning surfaces work by being extremely repellent to water but are often rendered useless once damaged or exposed to strong substances like oil.

Size of the Milky Way Upgraded, Solving Galaxy Puzzle

Two ringlike structures of stars wrapping around the Milky Way's outer disk now appear to belong to the disk itself. Roughly 15 years ago, Heidi Newberg, an astronomer at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, and her colleagues found a group of stars beyond the disk's outermost edge. The so-called Monoceros Ring is about 60,000 light-years from the galactic center (just beyond where the disk was thought to end at 50,000 light-years). Over the years, astronomers were divided into two camps regarding the origins of the ring.

This Is Your Brain in Deep Space: Could Cosmic Rays Threaten Mars Missions?

Mice zapped with cosmic rays can incur brain damage, suggesting that astronauts' mental performance could suffer over time on deep-space missions to Mars and beyond, researchers say. "There is now cause for concern that cosmic rays can lead to cognitive deficiencies, and this effect is likely to occur in humans as well as rodents," study co-author Charles Limoli, a radiation biologist and neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine, told Space.com. As NASA plans for the first manned spaceflight to Mars in two decades or so, scientists want to know what happens to the brains of astronauts exposed to space radiation. "NASA wants to make sure that astronaut minds are up to performing at the best of their capabilities," Limoli said.

How Do Tesla's Home Batteries Work?

Last week, Tesla Motors announced an ambitious new product line: batteries to power homes or businesses. The idea is that homes and businesses powered by solar panels could harvest and store energy during the day that could be used to run homes at night, or be used as a backup during a power outage. Although the exact technology involved in the battery, called Powerwall, is a closely guarded secret, it probably isn't based on revolutionary concepts, said Jordi Cabana, a chemistry professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago who studies new battery materials. Tesla's newly unveiled system includes the $3,500 Powerwall, a home-based battery pack that can store 10 kilowatt-hours of power.

Stunning Total Solar Eclipse Observed Over the Arctic (Photos)

A stark black disc haloed by streaks of light — a team of scientists captured this image of a total solar eclipse over the Arctic in March. The international Solar Wind Sherpas team, led by astronomer Shadia Habbal at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, observed the March 20 solar eclipse from Longyearbyen on the island of Spitsbergen, in the Svalbard archipelago, located northeast of Greenland. The researchers had to contend with constantly changing weather predictions, temperatures of minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 20 degrees Celsius) and the danger of polar bears. At both sites, the team set up six digital SLR cameras fitted with lenses of different focal lengths, and four astrophotography cameras with special filters, to view the different colors of light given off by ionized iron atoms which are found in the hot outer layers of the corona.

Eerie 'X-Files' Sounds Recorded from the Edge of Space

Daniel Bowman, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, designed and built the equipment. "It sounds kind of like 'The X-Files,'" Bowman told Live Science. The infrasound sensors were dangling from a helium balloon that flew above New Mexico and Arizona on Aug. 9, 2014. The experiment was one of 10 payloads flown last year on the High Altitude Student Platform (HASP).

Real-life Star Trek 'replicator' prepares meal in 30 seconds

It's a revolution in food technology that could deliver your food fantasy to your plate in less than a minute. The Genie, similar in size and appearance to a coffee maker, can produce an unlimited variety of meals using pods, that contain natural dehydrated ingredients. Developed by Israeli entrepreneurs Ayelet Carasso and Doron Marco from White Innovation company, the device uses a mobile app to operate. "We're using only natural ingredients, we're not using any preservatives or anything that people add to their meals," she added.

New Test for Ovarian Cancer Finds More Cases

A new screening test for ovarian cancer can detect more women with the disease than previous methods, a new study from the United Kingdom suggests. Overall, the new screening method detected ovarian cancer in 86 percent of the women in the study who had the disease. The researchers created a computer program to assess a woman's risk of ovarian cancer based on a number of factors, including how her levels of CA125 changed over the years. In contrast, current methods used to screen for ovarian cancer involve checking to see whether CA125 levels are above a certain threshold at a single point in time.

Financial Stress Can Take a Toll on Women's Hearts

It's well-known that stress and heart attacks are linked, but it's not clear whether any particular kind of stress carries a greater risk for heart health. Using data from the Women's Health Study, a long-term survey that followed participants for an average of nine years, the researchers analyzed the stressful experiences of 267 women, whose average age was 56, who had suffered a heart attack sometime over the study period. For comparison, they also examined 281 women with similar risk factors, like age and smoking habits, who did not experience heart attack. It turned out that financial problems doubled women's risk of having a heart attack, and that women making less than $50,000 per year were especially susceptible to the effects of stressful events across the board.

Amazing Photo Shows SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Just Before Crash

An amazing new photo shows the first stage of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket just before it hit the deck of a robotic ship in the Atlantic Ocean during a bold landing attempt last month. The near-miss was the second in the span of three months for SpaceX, which also tried to bring a Falcon 9 rocket first stage down on the ship — which is named "Just Read the Instructions," after a sentient colony vessel in the novels of sci-fi writer Iain M. Banks — on Jan. 10. Developing rapidly reusable rockets is a priority for SpaceX and its billionaire founder and CEO, Elon Musk, who has said that such technology could revolutionize spaceflight by dramatically reducing its cost. Ocean landings, however, are just an intermediate step for SpaceX.

Cinco de Mayo Meteor Shower Rains Halley's Comet Bits on Earth: Watch It Tonight

When asked to name a comet, most people will remember Halley's. Tonight (May 5), the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, produced by debris from Halley's Comet, will peak in the night sky, and you can watch live coverage of this Cinco de Mayo meteor shower online. Late tonight (May 5) and during the early morning hours tomorrow (May 6), skywatchers will have a chance of sighting a few pieces of Halley's Comet – "comet litter," if you will – zipping through our atmosphere in the form of meteors.

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Monday, May 4, 2015

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Astronaut-Led Charity Auction Offers Rare Look at Orion Space Capsule

Since splashing down after its historic test flight last December, NASA's first Orion capsule to launch into space has been, for the most part, out of public sight. Now, an auction benefiting students is offering the chance for two lucky people to go behind-the-scenes and see the Orion spacecraft up close. The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF), founded by the Mercury astronauts in 1984 to award college students who are excelling in science and engineering degrees, is auctioning access to the Orion as part of its annual Spring sale of astronaut memorabilia and experiences. "You and a guest will join Hugh Harris, the legendary voice of NASA, for a private behind-the-scenes tour of Kennedy Space Center and the Orion!" the foundation states on its auction website.

Mysterious Nazca Line Geoglyphs Formed Ancient Pilgrimage Route

The Nazca Lines, a series of fantastical geoglyphs etched into the desert in Peru, may have been used by two separate groups of people to make pilgrimage to an ancient temple, new research suggests. Sakai found that about four different styles of geoglyphs tended to be clustered together along different routes leading to a vast pre-Incan temple complex in Peru known as Cahuachi.

Shrinking Mount Everest: How to Measure a Mountain

The magnitude-7.8 earthquake that rocked Nepal on Saturday (April 25) may have caused the world's tallest mountain to shrink a bit. Official measures put Mount Everest at 29,029 feet (8,848 meters) above sea level, but recent satellite data suggest the sky-scraping peak may have shrunk by about 1 inch (2.54 centimeters), because the underlying tectonic plates have relaxed somewhat. Accurately measuring miniscule changes in a mountain that is more than 5 miles up is no easy feat, but surprisingly, measurements rely on geometric formulas and surveying techniques that haven't changed all that much since the 1800s, said Peter Molnar, a geologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

The Future Envisioned at Museum of Science Fiction (Op-Ed)

David Brin is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. Brin is also an advisory board member to the Museum of Science Fiction in Washington, D.C. Greg Viggiano is the executive director for the museum. The Museum of Science Fiction's first home will be a modular preview museum, which will open in late 2015 in nearby Arlington, Va., and remain in place until the creation of the full-scale museum facility is completed about four years later.

Fully Restored WWII Fighter Plane Up for Auction

1 Spitfire models still able to fly — will be sold to commemorate the 75th anniversary of two pivotal WWII skirmishes: the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. The iconic warplane is associated with the Battle of Britain, in which the German Air Force attempted to exert superiority over the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force (RAF). The Spitfire is credited with helping Britain hold its own and for preventing the Germans from becoming the dominant force in the air.

Chile Volcano Unleashes Massive Plume of Ash (Photo)

The Calbuco volcano in southern Chile awoke with a vengeance on April 22, splashing lava down its slopes and sputtering a plume of ash high into the atmosphere. This photo captured April 25, two days after the second eruption — by the Advanced Land Imager on NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite — shows Calbuco's plume rising high above Chile's cloud deck. Data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument on NASA's Aura satellite show that 300,000 to 400,000 tons of sulfur dioxide were released into the atmosphere over the three days since the first eruption. When sulfur dioxide gas interacts with water vapor, it can create sulfate aerosols.

Color Me Confused! Iridescence Helps Animals Evade Predators

Iridescent creatures — such as dragonflies, catfish and boa constrictors — often dazzle onlookers with their shimmering colors. These alluring, luminescent hues may be key to an animal's survival, helping it to confuse and escape from predators looking for a meal, a new study finds. Iridescence is hardly the only conspicuous coloration that befuddles predators, said the study's author, Thomas Pike, a behavioral and sensory ecologist at the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom. For instance, contrasting stripes may help animals escape from predators, likely because stripes make it hard for predators to judge speed and movement, Pike said.

LA's Island Playground Could Trigger Tsunamis

PASADENA, Calif. — Landslides coming off Catalina Island's steep slopes could send tsunamis racing toward popular Los Angeles and Orange County beaches with just a few minutes of warning, geoscientists said on April 23 here at the annual meeting of the Seismological Society of America.

2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami Had Deadly Predecessors

Indian Ocean tsunamis destroyed one of the world's most important silk-route ports in the 15th century, new research finds. Yet there is little record of this devastating tragedy passed down in stories or written records on the island of Sumatra. "Probably not enough people survived to rebuild," said study author Kerry Sieh, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore. Archaeologists working with Sieh have now found smashed pottery sherds, broken gravestones and other artifacts in towns hit by the tsunamis, from when the region was a refueling stop on the maritime silk route.

Royal Baby: Second Siblings Who Changed the World

Princess Kate Middleton and Prince William just welcomed their second child, a baby girl, into the world — and into the growing queue to the British throne. Based on custom, the baby girl will be fourth in line to the throne, after Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince George. King Henry VIII, who ruled England from 1509 to 1547, ascended to the throne only because his elder brother, Arthur, died in 1502.

Out-of-Body Experience Is Traced in the Brain

What happens in the brain when a person has an out-of-body experience? In a new study, researchers using a brain scanner and some fancy camera work gave study participants the illusion that their bodies were located in a part of a room other than where they really were. Then, the researchers examined the participants' brain activity, to find out which brain regions were involved in the participants' perceptions about where their body was. The findings showed that the conscious experience of where one's body is located arises from activity in brain areas involved in feelings of body ownership, as well as regions that contain cells known to be involved in spatial orientation, the researchers said.

Kids with 'Night Terrors' More Likely to Sleepwalk

Young children who get "night terrors" could be at greater risk for sleepwalking later in life, a new study from Canada suggests. Night terrors were most common in younger children, whereas sleepwalking was most common at age 10. But children who experienced night terrors before age 4 were nearly twice as likely to sleepwalk later in childhood, compared with children who didn't experience early night terrors, the study found. Overall, 34 percent of kids with early childhood night terrors sleepwalked later in life, whereas 22 percent of kids who didn't have early night terrors later sleepwalked.

Insomnia Can Worsen Chronic Pain Conditions

People who have problems sleeping may also be more sensitive to pain, thus potentially worsening the effects of chronic pain conditions, new research from Norway shows. In the study, researchers measured pain sensitivity in more than 10,000 adults who were participants in the Tromsø Study, anongoing public health study in Norway that began in 1974. The results of the study showed that people who had insomnia were more sensitive to pain than people who didn't have sleep problems. In particular, people who were experiencing chronic pain and who also had insomnia showed a greater increased sensitivity to pain.

Ebola Survivors Should Use Condoms Indefinitely, CDC Says

The Ebola virus can remain in semen for longer than previously thought, and so men who survive the disease should always use a condom during sex until more information is known, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. The woman, who developed Ebola in mid-March, had not had contact with anyone with Ebola symptoms, and hadn't traveled to other areas where people have Ebola. Although the man had been declared Ebola-free six months earlier, in October 2014, a sample of his semen taken in late March of this year found genetic material from the Ebola virus. What's more, when researchers looked at part of the genetic sequence of the Ebola virus in the man's semen, this part matched the Ebola virus found in the woman, according to a new report of the case.

Child Prodigies and Autism: Is There a Genetic Link?

Child prodigies may share certain genetic traits with people who have autism, new research suggests. They also looked at 39 other people who were all members of the children's families, including 10 family members who had autism, and four prodigies who also had autism. For example, one prodigy had played an entire DVD of classical music by ear at age 3, and earned a spot on a symphony by age 6, said study co-author Joanne Ruthsatz, an assistant professor of psychology at The Ohio State University. Prodigies clearly share traits with children who have autism, such as exceptional memories and attention to detail, Ruthsatz told Live Science.

Astronomers Salute Hubble Telescope, Look Forward to Its Successor

Just three decades ago, scientists didn't know how old the universe was, that supermassive black holes lurk at the hearts of galaxies or that you could directly image planets around other stars. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope changed all that. At a panel discussion Thursday (April 30) at New York's Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, scientists discussed how much Hubble has allowed humans to see, and the possibilities for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the $8.8 billion Hubble successor scheduled to launch in 2018.

To Boldly Brew: Astronaut Uses ISSpresso to Make 1st Cup of Coffee in Space

Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, dressed in a "Star Trek" captain's uniform, became the first person in space to sip from a freshly-made cup of coffee on Sunday (May 3), using the International Space Station's newly-installed espresso machine. Her sci-fi styling aside, Cristoforetti made real-life space history. Until Sunday, they only had instant coffee crystals. Launched with other cargo and supplies on a SpaceX Dragon capsule last month, the commercially-developed coffee machine is the first such device designed for use in microgravity.

It's Charlotte! Royal Baby Name Is 'Perfectly Balanced'

Looks like Prince George has a new sibling with a suitably impressive moniker: Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. The wee royal, now fourth in line to the throne, will be known as Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge. "This is a name of perfect balance," said Laura Wattenberg, founder of babynamewizard.com. Not only is the name both classic and relatable, but it is also a very diplomatic choice that honors several members of the extended royal family, Wattenberg said.

US in Longest 'Hurricane Drought' in Recorded History

Hurricane Wilma, a hurricane that hit Florida in 2005, was the last Category 3 storm to make landfall in the United States. Other storms — including Hurricane Ike (Category 2, 2008), Hurricane Irene (Category 1, 2011) and Hurricane Sandy (Category 1, 2012) — caused significant damage, but their winds weren't as strong. Several storms identified as Category 3 or higher have hit Cuba during the past nine years, but they substantially weakened by the time they reached the United States, the researchers found. "There's been a lot of talk about how unusual the string is, and we want to quantify it," Timothy Hall, the study's lead author and a hurricane researcher at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, told the American Geophysical Union blog.

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Saturday, May 2, 2015

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'Wired' Underwater Volcano May Be Erupting Off Oregon

An underwater volcano off the coast of Oregon has risen from its slumber and may be spewing out lava about a mile beneath the sea. Researchers were alerted to the possible submarine eruption of the Axial Seamount, located about 300 miles (480 kilometers) off the West Coast, by large changes in the seafloor elevation and an increase in the number of tiny earthquakes on April 24. Geologists Bill Chadwick, of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and Oregon State University, and Scott Nooner, of the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, successfully forecast the eruption in a blog post in September 2014, though they had presented their ideas at a meeting before then. Axial Seamount is an underwater mountain that juts up 3,000 feet (900 meters) from the ocean floor, and is part of a string of volcanoes that straddle the Juan de Fuca Ridge, a tectonic-plate boundary where the seafloor is spreading apart.

Auditors: National Science Foundation suspends UConn grants

Auditors say the National Science Foundation has frozen more than $2 million in grant money to the University of Connecticut after a foundation investigation found two UConn professors used grant money ...

Scientists monitor undersea volcanic eruption off Oregon coast

By Courtney Sherwood PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - An undersea volcano about 300 miles (480 km) off Oregon's coast has been spewing lava for the past seven days, confirming forecasts made last fall and giving researchers unique insight into a hidden ocean hot spot, a scientist said on Friday. Researchers know of two previous eruptions by the volcano, dubbed "Axial Seamount" for its location along the axis of an underwater mountain ridge, Oregon State University geologist Bill Chadwick said on Friday. Last year, researchers connected monitoring gear to an undersea cable that, for the first time, allowed them to gather live data on the volcano, whose peak is about 4,900 feet (1,500 meters) below the ocean surface. "The cable allows us to have more sensors and monitoring instruments than ever before, and it's happening in real time," said Chadwick, who also is affiliated with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Scientists monitor undersea volcanic eruption off Oregon coast

Penguins Use Poop to Melt Ice, Make Baby Nurseries (Video)

Gentoo penguins have given the term nesting a whole new meaning. The new insight came from thousands of hours of video taken by researchers from the University of Oxford in England, along with the Australian Antarctic Division. The researchers spent a year videotaping the behavior of a colony of Gentoo penguins on Cuverville Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula. Gentoo penguins, or Pygoscelis papua, are among the rarest of the Antarctic birds, with fewer than 300,000 breeding pairs on the icy continent, according to the British Antarctic Survey.

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