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Tuesday, July 14, 2015

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Chain of Underwater Volcanoes Discovered During Lobster Hunt

During a recent marine excursion, researchers searching for lobster larva unexpectedly discovered a geologic wonder: a 50-million-year-old cluster of extinct volcanoes submerged in the water off eastern Australia. The four volcanoes are located about 155 miles (250 kilometers) off the coast of Sydney, the researchers found during the mission, which lasted from June 3 to 18. The scientists immediately recognized them as calderas, a cauldronlike structure that forms after a volcano erupts and collapses into itself, creating a crater.

Watch the Pluto Flyby: How to See NASA Make History Online

On Tuesday (July 14), NASA will give Pluto its first close-up since the dwarf planet's discovery 85 years ago, and you can follow it all online. At 7:49 a.m. EDT (1149 GMT) on Tuesday, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will fly by Pluto in what is arguably the planetary event of the year, if not the decade. For the first time since NASA's Voyager mission in 1989, a spacecraft will fly by an unexplored planet.

Testicular Cancer & Cycling: Is There a Link?

Cyclist Ivan Basso's announcement today that he has testicular cancer comes decades after Lance Armstrong famously battled the disease. Could two cases of testicular cancer in the world's top cyclists be a coincidence, or does something about competitive cycling increase men's risk of the disease? Basso said at a news conference today (July 13) that he is withdrawing from the Tour de France after being diagnosed with testicular cancer during the race, according to BBC News.

Mushroom Poisoning Caused Woman's Liver to Fail

Eating wild mushrooms is dangerous, as a new report highlights: A woman in Canada recently suffered liver failure and needed a liver transplant after consuming poisonous mushrooms she found in a park. The woman was able to get the transplant at short notice, but if she had not, the outcome of her case could have been much worse, said Dr. Corey M. Stein, of the University of Toronto, who treated the woman and co-authored the new report of her case. "Mushroom poisoning can be fatal," Stein said.

Australian tracking station to get first new images of Pluto

By Pauline Askin SYDNEY (Reuters) - A space tracking station surrounded by cows in an Australian valley will on Tuesday become the first place in the world to get close-up images of Pluto, the most distant planetary body ever explored. After nine-and-half years of traveling 5.3 billion km (3.3 billion miles), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s spacecraft New Horizons will get within 12,500 km (7,800 miles) of Pluto on Tuesday evening. The spacecraft has been sent specifically to take pictures of Pluto, a part of the solar system that has been in deep freeze for billions of years.

Google Doodle Celebrates Pluto Flyby by NASA's New Horizons

LAUREL, Md. -- Today, July 14, 2015, NASA will make history when its New Horizons spacecraft becomes the first mission ever to fly by Pluto, and the folks at Google are celebrating with an appropriately celebratory Google doodle.

Pluto Flyby Occurs 50 Years After 1st Mars Encounter

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is winging past Pluto this morning (July 14) exactly 50 years after the first robotic visit to Mars. On July 14, 1965, NASA's Mariner 4 probe flew by the Red Planet, becoming the first spacecraft ever to capture up-close looks at another planet. "You couldn't have written a script that was better," New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, told Space.com.

CERN scientists claim discovery of new particles

BERLIN (AP) — Scientists working at the world's biggest atom smasher say they have discovered a new kind of particle called "pentaquarks."

After 50-year hunt, science finds pentaquarks

By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - Data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) outside Geneva appears to have proved the existence of particles made of five quarks, solving a 50-year-old puzzle about the building blocks of matter, scientists said on Tuesday. Quarks are the tiny ingredients of sub-atomic particles such as protons and neutrons, which are made of three quarks. A five-quark version, or "pentaquark", has been sought, but never found, ever since Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig theorized the existence of such sub-atomic particles in 1964.

All Aboard! Slug Poop Carries Worms to Destinations

Tiny nematode worms have an unusual way of getting from point A to point B: They travel on the slug poop express. Nematodes are worms that eat the bacteria growing on rotting vegetation. "Our study reveals a previously unknown nematode lifestyle within the guts of slugs," Hinrich Schulenburg, a zoologist at Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel, Germany, said in a statement.

Hello, Pluto! NASA Spacecraft Makes Historic Dwarf Planet Flyby

The first age of solar system exploration is in the books. NASA's New Horizons probe flew by Pluto this morning (July 14), capturing history's first up-close looks at the far-flung world — if all went according to plan. To celebrate, NASA unveiled the latest photo of Pluto, showing a reddish world with a stunning heart-shaped feature on its face.

New Horizons: 5 Things Pluto Flyby Could Reveal About Planet Earth

Nine and a half years after it launched into space, a NASA probe is set to become the first spacecraft to fly by the dwarf planet Pluto. The New Horizons spacecraft is expected to make its closest approach tomorrow (July 14) at 7:49 a.m. EDT (1149 GMT), coming within 7,800 miles (12,500 kilometers) of Pluto's surface. This is because studying other objects in the solar system can provide clues about Earth's history.

U.S. spacecraft flies by Pluto after nine-year, 3 billon mile trip

By Irene Klotz LAUREL, Md. (Reuters) - More than nine years after its launch, a U.S. spacecraft sailed past Pluto on Tuesday, capping a 3 billion mile (4.88 billion km) journey to the solar system's farthest reaches, NASA said. The craft flew by the distant "dwarf" planet at 7:49 a.m. after reaching a region beyond Neptune called the Kuiper Belt that was discovered in 1992. The achievement is the culmination of a 50-year effort to explore the solar system.

Funeral Directors May Be at Increased Risk for ALS

People who work as funeral directors may be at a higher risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, new research finds. ALS is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that kills the nerve cells that control voluntary movements. Typically, the diagnosis is followed by death within three to five years, according to the ALS Association.

Painter with Parkinson's Switches Hands, Mystifying Doctors

In a case that has mystified doctors, a professional artist who developed Parkinson's disease and then suffered a debilitating arm injury managed to continue to paint with his other arm — just as well as he had painted with his good arm, according to a new report. Doctors diagnosed Juan Mallol Pibernat, a Spanish artist, with Parkinson's disease when he was in his early 70s. One day, Mallol Pibernat lost his balance while carrying one of his works.

Obamacare, Nixoncare: Health Care Debates Are All About Politics

Once upon a time, two health care plans that were far more liberal than "Obamacare" were debated in the halls of Congress. The plans were introduced by none other than President Richard Nixon, a Republican and conservative stalwart. First came Nixon's National Health Strategy in 1971, which the Democrats ridiculed and fought tooth and nail, warning it would hurt the middle class.

This Amazing Photo of Pluto Is Just the Beginning, NASA Says

The new image was the last snapshot taken before New Horizons went quiet in anticipation of its close flyby of Pluto, which was scheduled to take place early this morning (July 14). The photo shows two major features on Pluto's surface that have been coming into view over the last few weeks: a large, bright, heart-shaped feature and the head of a darker region that is unofficially being called "the whale" (lower left). The image was taken on Monday (July 13), when NASA's New Horizons spacecraft was only 476,000 miles (766,000 kilometers) from the surface of Pluto.

New Inhaled Ebola Vaccine Works in Monkeys

A new Ebola vaccine that is designed to be inhaled works to protect monkeys from the virus's deadly effects, according to new research. Although this Ebola vaccine still has to clear many hurdles before it could be used in large numbers of people, it could have advantages over other vaccines in development, said Alexander Bukreyev, a virologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, and co-author of the study published today (July 13) in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. One key advantage is that because the vaccine could ultimately be delivered through a breathing device, the "administration of such a vaccine will not require trained medical personnel," Bukreyev told Live Science.

New, Ultra-Precise Measure Could Help Redefine the Kilogram

A new, extremely precise measure of Avogadro's number, a fundamental constant, could ensure solid footing for a new definition of the kilogram that does not rely on a single hunk of metal sitting in France. Every junior high school chemistry student learned Avogadro's number, or 6.022 X 10 ^23, a huge value that dwarfs the number of stars in the universe. Because Avogadro's number defines how many atoms or molecules are in a mole of matter, each mole of a substance weighs a different amount depending on the substance in question.

'Cursed' Artifacts Returned — 20 Years Later

Two decades after stealing antiquities from a first-century Jewish city in the Golan Heights, on the borders of Israel and Syria, a robber returned the loot to a museum's courtyard, Israeli authorities announced. The returned artifacts included two 2,000-year-old sling stones, also called ballista balls, which would've been used as weapons, and an anonymous typed noted saying, "These are two Roman ballista balls from Gamla, from a residential quarter at the foot of the summit. Although archaeologists "attempted to stow away all the ballista balls as best we could," on site, after wrapping up initial excavations in 1989, "the theft occurred in 1995 when there was no one at the site," Danny Syon an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said in a statement.

U.S. spacecraft sails by Pluto, capping 9-year journey

By Irene Klotz LAUREL, Md. (Reuters) - A U.S. spacecraft sailed past the tiny planet Pluto in the most distant reaches of the solar system on Tuesday, capping a journey of 3 billion miles (4.88 billion km) that began nine and a half years ago. The event culminated an initiative to explore the solar system that the space agency embarked upon more than 50 years ago. "It's truly a mark in human history," John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science, said from the mission control center at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory outside Baltimore.

After Pluto Flyby, NASA Plays the Waiting Game

Although NASA's New Horizons spacecraft made its closest approach to Pluto this morning (July 14), mission operators won't hear from the probe until tonight, and images of the pass-by won't be released until tomorrow (July 15). The probe's handlers don't expect to hear from New Horizons until 9 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT Wednesday) or so tonight.

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Monday, July 13, 2015

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

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Huge Canyon Spied on Pluto Moon Charon (Photos)

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has spotted multiple craters and canyons on Pluto's big moon Charon, including one chasm that appears to be longer and deeper than Arizona's Grand Canyon, mission team members said. The photo also provides a good look at the 200-mile-wide (320 kilometers) dark patch at Charon's north pole, whose origin and nature remain mysterious. "This is the first clear evidence of faulting and surface disruption on Charon," William McKinnon, deputy lead scientist with New Horizons' geology and geophysics investigation team, said in a statement.

First Flybys: From Mercury to Pluto, a History of Solar System Surveys

Humanity is now just one day away from completing the initial reconnaissance of our local home in the universe. A journey nine years in the making, but which dates back more than a half century to our first encounter with another planet, NASA's New Horizons robotic spacecraft will fly by Pluto at 7:49 a.m. EDT (1149 GMT) on Tuesday (July 14), soaring past the final world in our classical solar system. The piano-sized probe, traveling at 30,800 mph (49,600 km/h) some 3 billion miles (5 billion kilometers) away from Earth, will come within 7,800 miles (12,500 km) of the dwarf planet, flying close enough to Pluto that if New Horizons was the same distance away from Earth, its camera would not only discern New York City, but also the ponds within Manhattan's Central Park.

Pluto at Last! NASA Spacecraft Arrives for Dwarf Planet Close-Up Tuesday

On Tuesday morning (July 14) — nine and a half years after launching, and a quarter-century after its mission began to take shape — NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will perform history's first flyby of Pluto. Closest approach will occur at 7:49 a.m. EDT (1149 GMT) Tuesday, when New Horizons zooms within just 7,800 miles (12,500 kilometers) of the dwarf planet's frigid surface. "It's thrilling," New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, told Space.com.

'Surfer's Waves' Found in Space

Researchers have discovered a breaking-wave pattern over the magnetosphere, the magnetic field that surrounds Earth. As seen in a new NASA image, these waves look similar to the ocean waves that surfers crave. Waves caused by a fast-moving fluid traveling over a slow-moving fluid are called Kelvin-Helmholtz waves.

Rare Harpy Eagle Chick Captured in New Pics

Harpy eagles nesting high above the understory of the Peruvian rainforest have been captured in a series of stunning new photos. Because the giant bird of prey lives in the darkest portions of the rainforest and hunts its quarry in dead silence, many Peruvian Amazon birders can go their entire lives without seeing one, said nature photographer Jeff Cremer, who photographed the eagles. Harpy eagles (Harpia harpyja) are imposing creatures.

Does Science Back Samsung's 80% Battery Boost Claim?

But could the new battery really boost battery life by that much? "I don't see it as a breakthrough technology," John B. Goodenough, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas, and the man who invented the lithium-ion battery, told Live Science. Lithium-ion batteries on the market today generate power by using lithium cobalt oxide as the positive terminal (the cathode), with carbon, usually in the form of graphite, as the negative terminal (the anode), and a lithium polymer compound as the electrolyte.

Ancient Native Americans May Have Had Pet Bobcat

A 2,000-year-old burial mound discovered in the area that's now Illinois contained the remains of a young bobcat, new research reveals. The ancient bobcat was wearing a special collar and was found in a ritual burial mound normally reserved for humans. "It really looked like it had been buried not because it was a feral accessory for a human, but because it was, in some way, kind of respected on its own," said study co-author Angela Perri, a zooarchaeologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany.

For Girls, Mom's Physical Activity Level Sets the Example

The study of 40 girls ages 5 to 12 found that those with more active mothers were more physically active themselves. "Mothers are the first potentially powerful female role model for their daughters, and their daughters' beliefs and behaviors may stem directly from those of their mothers," said study co-author Alyce Barnes, an education researcher at the University of Newcastle in Australia. "Importantly, our study has shown that mothers have an important influence on their daughter's physical activity in relation to their parenting for physical activity and behaviors," Barnes said.

Volvo's Scary-Looking Front Car Seat Is Probably Safe

Volvo recently unveiled a new concept for a car with a change that may scare some parents: The front passenger seat is a baby car seat that swivels and then locks in place to face the rear of the car.

Why Your Birth Date May Not Match Your Body's Age

The researchers determined these participants' "biological ages" based on how well their body systems were working. They found that the participants' biological ages ranged from 28 to 61. "We set out to measure aging in these relatively young people," the study's first author, Dan Belsky, an assistant professor of geriatrics at the Duke University Center for Aging and Human Development, said in a statement.

Supersonic Jet Could Fly People from NYC to London in 3 Hours

A new luxury jet could get you (and 17 of your closest friends) from New York to London in just 3 hours. Spike Aerospace's S-512 Supersonic Jet was introduced in 2013, but the Boston-based company recently announced a few exciting updates to the plane's design that could make it safer for jetsetters. Spike Aerospace's engineers claim the S-512 could reach a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 (1,370 mph, or 2,205 km/h), which is 1.8 times the speed of sound.

Little Pluto bigger than scientists thought as flyby looms

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Little Pluto is a little bigger than anyone imagined.

Why Do People Love Pluto?

Pluto — the once (and to some people, forever) ninth planet of the solar system — gets a lot of love from the general public. When Pluto's official status in the solar system was changed from "planet" to "dwarf planet," the public outcry was overwhelming. Neil deGrasse Tyson received angry letters from kids who disagreed with the decision, and the majority of people still think Pluto should retain "planet" status.

Pluto Is Larger Than Thought, Has Ice Cap, NASA Probe Reveals

With less than 24 hours to go before NASA's New Horizons probe makes its close flyby of Pluto, scientists are already learning more about the dwarf planet than ever before, including the fact that it is bigger than previously thought. New Horizons' latest views of Pluto have shown the dwarf planet to be 1,473 miles (2,370 kilometers) across, making it the largest body in the icy Kuiper Belt at the edge of the solar system. The observations also confirmed the presence of a polar ice cap on Pluto, and measured three of the dwarf planet's moons.

NASA's New Horizons probe finds Pluto is bigger than predicted

By Irene Klotz LAUREL, Md. (Reuters) - Mysterious Pluto looms large and turns out to be larger than expected as NASA's New Horizons spacecraft wraps up a nearly decade-long journey, with a close flyby on track for Tuesday, scientists said on Monday. The nuclear-powered probe was in position to pass dead center of a 60-by-90-mile (97-by-145 km) target zone between the orbits of Pluto and its primary moon, Charon, at 7:49 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, said managers at New Horizons mission control center, located at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory outside of Baltimore. During the 30-minute dash past Pluto and its entourage of five moons, New Horizons will perform a carefully choreographed series of maneuvers to position its cameras and science instruments for hundreds of observations.

NASA's New Horizons probe finds Pluto is bigger than predicted

By Irene Klotz LAUREL, Md. (Reuters) - Mysterious Pluto looms large and turns out to be larger than expected as NASA's New Horizons spacecraft wraps up a nearly decade-long journey, with a close flyby on track for Tuesday, scientists said on Monday. The nuclear-powered probe was in position to pass dead centre of a 60-by-90-mile (97-by-145 km) target zone between the orbits of Pluto and its primary moon, Charon, at 7:49 a.m. EDT (1149 GMT) on Tuesday, said managers at New Horizons mission control centre, located at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory outside of Baltimore. During the 30-minute dash past Pluto and its entourage of five moons, New Horizons will perform a carefully choreographed series of manoeuvres to position its cameras and science instruments for hundreds of observations.

Will LSST Solve the Mysteries of Dark Matter and Dark Energy? (Kavli Hangout)

Adam Hadhazy, writer and editor for The Kavli Foundation, contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. During a traditional Chilean stone-laying ceremony, the first building block of a powerful new astronomical observatory, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), was placed in the ground on Cerro Pachón in Chile April 14. Although LSST will not see first light until 2022, the astronomical community is already abuzz about how this ambitious project will open up the "dark universe" of dark matter and dark energy as never before.

Lifting the Veil on Pluto's Atmosphere

Sophia Nasr is a science writer for Simulation Curriculum's free Pluto Safari app. You might guess that a small and distant world almost 40 times farther from the sun than the Earth is from the sun would not have an atmosphere, but in the case of Pluto, you'd be wrong. In fact, Pluto is a complex world, particularly when it comes to weather patterns.

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