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Tuesday, December 24, 2013

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NASA Astronauts Gearing Up for Christmas Eve Spacewalk

Two astronauts on the International Space Station are set for a Christmas Eve spacewalk tomorrow (Dec. 24). NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins will don their spacesuits and float out into the weightless wonderland of space for another spacewalk to repair the orbiting outpost's critical cooling system Tuesday. This EVA (extra-vehicular activity, or spacewalk) is the second in a series of spacewalks quickly planned after a problem with the vital system arose on Dec. 11. Originally, NASA officials planned three spacewalks to fix the issue, however, if all goes well during the Christmas Eve EVA, the astronauts should be able to get the system back up and running at full capacity without a third spacewalk.

The Virgin Birth: Why We Believe

About three-quarters of Americans believe in the Virgin Birth, according to a recent Pew survey. Belief in Jesus' immaculate conception isn't such a leap once you accept the possibility of miracles and the supernatural. And from a cognitive perspective, the human brain is primed for a belief in God and the supernatural. Those polls are "evidence that most people know scientific knowledge is not the only kind of knowledge," said Stacy Trasancos, a popular blogger on science and Catholicism and the author of "Science Was Born of Christianity" (Amazon Digital Services, 2013).

Night-Shining Clouds Show Up Early Over South Pole

Night-shining clouds started glowing high above Antarctica earlier than usual this year, observations from a NASA satellite show. They form when water molecules freeze around "meteor smoke" close to the edge of space, typically about 50 to 53 miles (80 and 85 kilometers) above Earth's surface — so high that they can reflect light after the sun sets. The phenomenon looks spectacular from the ground, but scientists also have watched these night-shining clouds from above with NASA's AIM (Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere) satellite since 2007. Data from AIM indicate that noctilucent clouds started forming around the South Pole on Nov. 20 this year as a tiny spot of electric blue that quickly expanded to cover the entire frozen continent, as this NASA video shows.

Astronauts ready for second spacewalk to repair station

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are planning a second and final spacewalk to fix the outpost's cooling system early on Tuesday, a NASA official said. NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins are expected to leave the station's Quest airlock to install a new ammonia pump, space station flight director Judd Frieling said during an interview on NASA Television on Monday.

6 Miracle Birth Stories Beyond Jesus

Christmas, in the religious sense at least, centers on one basic tenet of Christian belief: that Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born to a virgin mother. Unconventional births can be found far outside the manger in mythologies and religious traditions from ancient Egypt to the Aztec empire; LiveScience brings you the story behind six miracle births. Osiris' wife Isis picked up the pieces of her husband — all but his penis, which was thrown into the Nile and eaten by a fish, according to some accounts.

Mars Express to Fly Within 'Touching Distance' of Moon Phobos (Video)

A European spacecraft orbiting Mars is set to make its closest flyby yet of the largest Martian moon, Phobos, on Sunday (Dec. 29). Passing just 28 miles (45 kilometers) above the surface of Phobos, the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft will be traveling too close and too fast to take any images of the lumpy, potato-shaped moon. Phobos is small, measuring only about 16 by 14 by 11 miles (27 by 22 by 18 km), which means a 150-pound (68 kilograms) person standing on its surface would weigh just two ounces (56 grams). Nonetheless, Phobos' gravitational pull will tug Mars Express slightly off course during Sunday's flyby.

12 Days of Science: Celebrating Christmas with Cool Images

The British Royal Society, the world's oldest scientific society, is celebrating the 12 days of Christmas with gorgeous science illustrations from its picture library. In place of five golden rings are five pink rings surrounding a portrait of Sir Tim Berners-Lee, an Internet visionary and professor at MIT. On the ninth day of Christmas, The Royal Society celebrates "nine fireman leaping" with an 1825 illustration of Russian firefighters practicing rescue techniques on a spindly looking scaffolding. On the third day comes an illustration of three Inuit in a group portrait sketched by Capt. James Clark Ross, who was icebound in the Canadian Arctic for four winters.

NASA Astronauts Tackle Christmas Eve Spacewalk to Fix Space Station: Watch Live

Two American astronauts will spend Christmas Eve working in the vacuum of space to hopefully fix the vital cooling system aboard the International Space Station, and you can walk their spacewalk live. NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Rick Mastracchio are scheduled to venture outside the International Space Station today (Dec. 24) at about 7:10 a.m. (1210 GMT) for their second spacewalk in four days. You can watch the spacewalk live on SPACE.com via NASA TV. During the 6.5-hour spacewalk, Hopkins and Mastracchio will be working to replace a faulty pump module that helps cool equipment inside and outside of the space laboratory.

NASA Astronauts Begin Christmas Eve Spacewalk for Space Station Repairs

Two American astronauts are spending Christmas Eve working in the vacuum of space to hopefully fix the vital cooling system aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Rick Mastracchio officially started the spacewalk at 6:53 a.m. EST (1153 GMT). The two astronauts ventured outside of the space station's Quest airlock shortly afterwards, getting to work on their second spacewalk in four days. You can watch the spacewalk live on SPACE.com today (Dec. 24) via NASA TV.

Astronauts leave space station to replace cooling pump

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Two NASA astronauts floated outside the International Space Station on Tuesday for a second and final spacewalk to fix the outpost's critical cooling system. Flight engineers Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins were slated to spend about 6 1/2 hours outside the station to install a new ammonia cooling system pump. A nonworking unit was removed during a spacewalk on Saturday. The spacewalk was broadcast live on NASA Television.

Flu Vaccine May Work Better in Women

Women have a stronger immune response than men when given the flu vaccine, new research shows. In the study, researchers examined the inflammatory responses of 53 women and 34 men following vaccination with a flu shot. Scientists found that men had a weaker response, or less inflammation in their bodies, than women after receiving the vaccine, and the response was weakest among some of the men who had the highest testosterone levels. The finding "reinforces the message that there are major differences between men and women in terms of their immune systems," said study researcher Mark Davis, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Stanford School of Medicine.

Spacewalking Astronauts Gift Space Station with Christmas Eve Cooling Pump Fix

HOUSTON — Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have received a gift just in time for Christmas: a new pump module to repair their ailing cooling system and to restore the outpost to full power. NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins embarked on their second spacewalk together, setting out at 6:53 a.m. EST (1153 GMT) on Tuesday (Dec. 24) to complete the work they began Saturday to remove and replace an ammonia pump module with a faulty flow control valve. "It's like Christmas morning, opening a little present here," Mastracchio said early in the spacewalk, as he rummaged through a bag for tools to help in installing the new pump. The Christmas Eve EVA — extravehicular activity, NASA's term for a spacewalk — had the two astronauts retrieve a spare of the refrigerator-size cooling system device and install it on the space station's starboard, or right, side backbone truss.

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Monday, December 23, 2013

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High-Tech Santa: 5 Devices to Give Old St. Nick a Boost

Every year, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tracks Santa Claus' location on Christmas Eve, to the delight of millions who visit the military's website that night. After all, Santa isn't getting any younger, and Christmas Eve isn't getting any longer. So what should be on Santa's wish list this year to help him guide his sleigh from the North Pole and get presents to all the good girls and boys of the world?

Say Aahhh! Shark Photographed with Huge Mouth Open

Here's an image no swimmer would want to see in real life: a massive tiger shark with its jaws open, as if ready to devour an observer. Though the picture makes it look like the photographer was the shark's next meal, no one was ever in danger, said David Shiffman, a doctoral candidate in marine biology at the University of Miami's Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, who posted the photo on Twitter (but was not on the boat at the time the photo was taken). Several weeks ago, Shiffman's colleagues captured a tiger shark off the coast of Florida and brought the animal onto the semi-submerged platform behind their boat, with water still buoying the shark's body. "The shark's mouth was open enough to take that quick shot," Shiffman told LiveScience.

Robots of the Future: Q&A With DARPA Director Arati Prabhakar

The two-day DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials began Friday (Dec. 20) here at the Homestead Miami Speedway. Seventeen teams qualified for the contest, and the highest-scoring groups will move on to the DARPA Robotics Finals next year. As robots battled through each phase of the Trials, LiveScience sat down with DARPA director Arati Prabhakar to talk about the competition, the future of robotics, and how robots relate to national defense. LiveScience: What are DARPA's goals for the outcome of the Robotics Challenge?

Private Mars Lander Launching in 2018 Will Build on NASA Legacy

WASHINGTON — Mars One is gearing up to send an unmanned lander to the Red Planet that would follow in the mold of NASA's successful Mars landers. The Netherlands-based nonprofit has sealed a deal with security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin to develop a mission concept for its lander. This surface craft is slated to launch toward the Red Planet along with a communications satellite in 2018 — six years before Mars One aims to blast four people toward the Red Planet on a one-way colonization mission. Based on NASA's Phoenix lander, Mars One's lander will include new thin-film solar cells, a water extraction experiment, and other demonstration technologies that will be required for human settlement on Mars.

Huge Asteroid Vesta Shines in Dazzling New Light (Images)

The subdued, gray-hued photos of the enormous asteroid Vesta captured by NASA's Dawn spacecraft last year have received an overhaul. "The key to these images is the seven color filters of the camera," Andreas Nathues, framing camera lead at Max Planck, said in a statement. Launched in 2007, the $466 million Dawn mission visited Vesta from July 2011 to September 2012. Upon departing Vesta, the probe began its journey to another denizen of the asteroid belt, the dwarf planet Ceres.

Greenland's Snow Hides 100 Billion Tons of Water

Big surprises still hide beneath the frozen surface of snowy Greenland. "We thought we had an understanding of how things work in Greenland, but here is this entire storage system of water we didn't realize was there," said Richard Forster, lead study author and a glaciologist at the University of Utah. The discovery will help scientists better understand the fate of Greenland's annual surface melt, which contributes to sea level rise.

What?! The 10 Weirdest Animal Stories of 2013

The past year had its share of bizarre animal discoveries, from butterflies that feast on the tears of turtles to a two-headed shark fetus. To put that in perspective: If the rock-climbing goby were human, the equivalent would be running a marathon vertically, against running water, Clemson University biomechanist Richard Blob told LiveScience.

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Sunday, December 22, 2013

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Astronauts nail first spacewalk to fix station's cooling system

By Irene and Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Two NASA astronauts, their spacesuits rigged with snorkels in case of a water leak, floated outside the International Space Station for 5-1/2 hours on Saturday, successfully completing the first steps to fix the outpost's cooling system. The spacewalk, which was broadcast live on NASA Television, was the first for NASA since July when the spacesuit helmet worn by Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano began filling with water, a situation that could have caused him to drown. No such leaks were detected in Saturday's spacewalk, the first of two or possibly three that will be needed to complete the cooling system repair. While the six-member crew is not in danger, the remaining cooling system cannot support the three laboratories and other modules on the U.S. side of the $100 billion station, a project of 15 nations.

Ants Stay Clean by Squirting Antimicrobials from Their Butts

Ants may not seem particularly germaphobic, since they live in bacteria-rich dirt and often eat decaying plants and animals. But some ants have evolved to be quite fastidious sanitizers, regularly bathing themselves in antimicrobial secretions emitted from glands in their rear ends. Now, research from scientists based at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom suggests some ants also take it upon themselves to sanitize young, vulnerable members of their colonies by scrubbing their broods and nesting materials with their cleaning fluids. "We knew that [the secretions] help adults, and we knew that the brood survives and isn't constantly being affected by fungi," study co-author Christopher Tranter told LiveScience.

Robots to the rescue at international trials in Florida

The robot, developed by the Tartan Rescue team from the National Robotics Engineering Center at Carnegie Mellon University, is one of 17 competing in the U.S. military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Robotics Challenge. The challenge was launched in 2011 in response to the meltdown of Japan's Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant after it was hit by a massive earthquake-spawned tsunami. The backup power systems needed to cool plant's reactors failed and an emergency team from Tokyo Electric Power Company was unable to enter the damaged reactor building due to the intense radiation. DARPA sent robots designed to disarm improvised explosive devices in Iraq to Japan, yet by the time workers were trained to use them it was too late to prevent a nuclear meltdown.

Real-Life 'RoboCop' May Be Coming to a Street Near You

The K5 Beta, a just-unveiled prototype from California-based company Knightscope, might change all that. But what it does have, Knightscope representatives said, is an onboard sensor array that can see, hear, touch and smell its surroundings. The K5 can also combine that sensory data with "existing raw business, government and crowdsourced social data sets, and subsequently assigns an alert level that determines when a business, community or authorities should be notified of a concern," according to Knightscope's press release. If the K5 does detect that an "incident" is occurring, it makes all of its sensor data publicly available via Wi-Fi, "to allow the entire community to review the information transparently and contribute additional relevant, real-time information," Knightscope representatives said.

Japanese Humanoid Robot Dominates DARPA Challenge

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — A Japanese robotics team dominated the field after an ambitious two-day competition that saw robots driving cars, climbing ladders and wielding power tools.

Smart Move? Costs and Benefits of a Smart Grid

Simply put, a smart grid is an electrical grid that's integrated with computerized, two-way communication networks. "A smart grid is one that has real-time monitoring and reaction, which allows the system to constantly modify and tune itself to an optimal state," said Massoud Amin, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Minnesota and an outspoken proponent of smart-grid development. Indeed, the advantages of a smart grid are almost too numerous to list, but according to SmartGrid.gov (a website developed by the Department of Energy), a smart grid will permit more efficient transmission of electricity, lower operating and kilowatt costs, quicker restoration of electricity after outages and reduced energy use during peak-demand hours. In addition to keeping your lights on and your cellphone charged, the development of a smart grid would have substantial environmental and economic benefits, proponents say.

Astronauts nail first spacewalk to fix station's cooling system

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Two NASA astronauts, their spacesuits rigged with snorkels in case of a water leak, floated outside the International Space Station for 5-1/2 hours on Saturday, successfully completing the first steps to fix the outpost's cooling system. The spacewalk, which was broadcast live on NASA Television, was the first for NASA since July when the spacesuit helmet worn by Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano began filling with water, a situation that could have caused him to drown. No such leaks were detected in Saturday's spacewalk, the first of two or possibly three that will be needed to complete the cooling system repair. While the six-member crew is not in danger, the remaining cooling system cannot support the three laboratories and other modules on the U.S. side of the $100 billion station, a project of 15 nations.

Robots to the rescue at international trials in Florida

By Zachary Fagenson HOMESTEAD (Reuters) - As a squat, red-and-black robot nicknamed CHIMP gingerly pushed open a spring-loaded door a gust of wind swooped down onto the track at the Homestead-Miami Speedway and slammed the door shut, eliciting a collective sigh of disappointment from the audience. The robot, developed by the Tartan Rescue team from the National Robotics Engineering Center at Carnegie Mellon University, was one of 17 competing in the U.S. military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Robotics Challenge. ...

Spacesuit Issue Delays Next Spacewalk Until Christmas Eve

NASA has delayed the second of three planned holiday spacewalks by 24 hours, setting up a Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) excursion from the International Space Station for two astronauts. The agency made the decision after noticing an issue with the spacesuit of Rick Mastracchio, who ventured outside the orbiting lab with fellow NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins Saturday (Dec. 21) to address a problem with the station's cooling system. Water may have entered part of Mastracchio's spacesuit in the orbiting outpost's airlock after Saturday's extravehicular activity (EVA), NASA officials said. So the flight control team at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston have directed Mastracchio to use a spare suit for the next spacewalk, which was originally planned for Monday (Dec. 23);

Pregnant and Looking for Work? Attack Stereotypes Head-On

While it is often a difficult task for pregnant women to find new work due to the discrimination they sometimes face, there are steps they can take to make it easier, new research suggests. A study funded by Rice University discovered that pregnant women can minimize the discrimination they face while searching for jobs by addressing negative pregnancy stereotypes in the application process. The experiment measured formal discrimination (whether applicants for retail positions were told a job was available and were allowed to complete a job application), as well as interpersonal discrimination (whether sales personnel attempted to prematurely end the conversation, pursed their lips, exhibited hostility, treated the applicant rudely, furrowed their eyebrows and seemed awkward). The study revealed that ratings from three perspectives — those of applicants, observers and independent evaluators — converged to show that pregnant job applicants received more interpersonal hostility than their nonpregnant job peers.

The Most Unusual Flexible Jobs of 2013

As technology continually makes remote employment easier, more and more individuals are finding that flexible work opportunities suit their personal lives and schedules better than a 9-to-5 office gig. Job listings on the company's site have increased by 25 percent since this time last year, and CEO Sara Sutton Fell believes it's a sign of the changing job market. "Every year, I look over the industry changes, and this year, the growth in the number of flexible job offerings really stands out to me," Sutton Fell said. The company, which currently has more than 17,000 job listings, recently released its 2013 list of the most surprising flexible job opportunities posted on its website.

10 Kinds of Customer Service Calls That Drive Customers @!*%ing Nuts

No one draws the wrath of irate consumers like satellite television providers, new research shows. A study by mobile advertising technology company Marchex revealed that one in every 82 calls to a satellite TV provider elicits cursing from the customer. Satellite TV narrowly edged out housing contractors, who get sworn at by customers on one out of every 90 calls. John Busby, senior vice president at the Marchex Institute, concludes that television providers draw the ire of customers for two reasons.

Ancient Spider Rock Art Sparks Archaeological Mystery

Archaeologists have discovered a panel containing the only known example of spider rock art in Egypt and, it appears, the entire Old World. The rock panel, now in two pieces, was found on the west wall of a shallow sandstone wadi, or valley, in the Kharga Oasis, located in Egypt's western desert about 108 miles (175 kilometers) west of Luxor. Facing east, and illuminated by the morning sun, the panel is a "very unusual" find, said Egyptologist Salima Ikram, a professor at the American University in Cairo who co-directs the North Kharga Oasis Survey Project. The identification of the creatures as spiders is tentative and the date of it uncertain, Ikram told LiveScience in an email.

How to Give a Tiger a Root Canal

A 4-year-old male Siberian tiger named Marty had to undergo the dreaded dental procedure in his den at Scotland's Highland Wildlife Park on Wednesday (Dec. 18) after keepers noticed signs of trouble. Marty apparently had a small chip on his lower right canine and was starting to rely on the left side of his mouth while chewing, according to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. "A problem for big carnivores like tigers and polar bears, the pulp layer of the tooth is only a couple of millimeters below the tip of the tooth, so even chipping a tiny bit of tooth off can cause problems as the pulp underneath is exposed and infection can set in," Douglas Richardson, head of living collections for the Highland Wildlife Park, said in a statement.

Hawaii Night Sky Revealed in Stunning New Video

A new viral time-lapse video depicts the Milky Way over Mauna Kea, Hawaii, in amazing detail, complete with telescopes and dancing laser beams. Sean Goebel, a graduate student in astronomy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, created the new Hawaii night sky video from photographs shot on three consecutive nights in April and four nights in the summer of 2013. The film features the night sky progression over Mauna Kea, a 13,803-foot (4,207 meters) mountain on Hawaii's Big Island, and its many telescopes. Goebel used a home-built rotary table to create motion in the scenes.

Mars Curiosity Rover LEGO Model Set for New Year's Day Release

LEGO will launch its 2014 toy line with a fan-created model of NASA's Mars Curiosity rover. The Danish toy company announced on Wednesday (Dec. 18) that its new "NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover" building brick set will be available for sale from the LEGO Shop online beginning Jan. 1. "Hailed by NASA as a 'miracle of engineering' when [the real rover] landed on Mars in August 2012, we are thrilled to present a LEGO set based on this historic spacecraft," Tim Courtney, LEGO's community manager, wrote on the company's website. The Curiosity model is the fifth product to be released in the LEGO CUUSOO line of fan-designed sets.

NY school all-in on trend of all-digital textbooks

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — At Archbishop Stepinac High School, the backpacks got a whole lot lighter this year because nearly every book — from freshman biology to senior calculus — is now digital, accessible on students' laptops and tablets.

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