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Monday, January 20, 2014

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Robotic probe to awaken for comet rendezvous, landing

After a 10-year journey, Europe's Rosetta spacecraft is due to end its hibernation on Monday and prepare for an unprecedented mission to orbit a comet and dispatch a lander to the surface. Rosetta's on-board alarm clock is due to go off at 5 a.m. EST (1000 GMT), but it will take the spacecraft about seven hours to warm up its star tracking navigation gear, fire up rocket thrusters to slow its spin, turn on its transmitter and beam a message back to Earth, the European Space Agency said in a status report posted on its website. Ground control teams hope to have confirmation of Rosetta's resuscitation by 1:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT), the European Space Agency said. It is due to reach a 2.4-mile diameter comet called 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in August.

Comet-Chasing Rosetta Spacecraft Wakes from Deep Sleep Monday: Watch It Live

After more than two years in a deep sleep, the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft is due to awake from its "hibernation" mode at 5 a.m. EST (1000 GMT) on Monday to gear up for an August arrival at its comet target. To mark the occasion, ESA officials will celebrate with a special day-long series of press briefings from the European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany. The Rosetta spacecraft launched in 2004 on a decade-long journey to the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. But in mid-2011, Rosetta entered a 31-month "hibernation" as it sailed out toward the orbit of Jupiter — where the available sunlight was too low to power all of its systems.

Rosetta Spacecraft Waking Up for Final Leg of Comet Journey

Rosetta, the first spacecraft built to orbit a comet and land a probe on these icy nomads, is now waking up after more than two years of slumber, and videos filmed as part of an international competition will help greet the spacecraft after it awakens. By analyzing the composition of the comet, the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft will help scientists learn more about the role comets have played in the evolution of the solar system and life on Earth. You can watch the Rosetta comet probe wake-up webcast live here, courtesy of the European Space Agency. The mission's final destination is the mysterious Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, which Rosetta is scheduled to reach in August.

For NASA, 2014 Brings a Big Year for Commercial Spaceflight (Video)

Four private companies working to build commercial spaceships to launch NASA astronauts into space are gearing up for a big year in 2014, space agency officials say. This year, private spaceflight companies Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada Corp., Boeing Space Exploration and SpaceX — which are all NASA partners the space agency's commercial crew program — will continue to perform tests and reviews for their respective space systems. NASA officials are planning on announcing one or two more Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contracts by August that would lead to commercial systems flying astronauts to the International Space Station.

The 5 Places Millennials Want to Work Most

"What are your plans after graduation?" It's a question that high school and college students are forced to answer ad nauseam to every academic adviser and older relative. If students don't have a post-grad plan yet, the very mention of this question can induce fear and panic. Since 2008, the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS), a nationwide organization of student academic scholars and young professionals, has released an annual survey highlighting the fields, companies and environments in which its members hope to work. James Lewis, president and co-founder of the NSHSS, said that businesses that want to attract, hire and retain top young, diverse talent should be paying attention to the career goals of this up-and-coming generation of workers.

Too Many Jobs? When Job Hopping Hurts Your Resume

Paul McDonald, senior executive director at Robert Half, said that because the job market has been unpredictable in recent years, most employers understand that job candidates may have had short stints in some positions. "Too much voluntary job hopping can be a red flag." [8 Words That Will Land Your Resume in the Trash] Robert Half offers questions employees should ask themselves when determining if they should stay at their current job or look for a new one: Have you looked within your current company?

Money Isn't The Only Thing Making Bosses Happy

A study by the Pew Research Center revealed that in addition to earning higher salaries, America's bosses are more satisfied with their family life, jobs and overall financial situation than nonmanagerial employees are. Additionally, top managers who have children are less likely than other working parents to say parenthood has been an obstacle to job advancement. Top managers are also significantly more likely than those who work for them to think of their job as a career and less likely to say it's just a job. The study showed that four in 10 top managers said they are very satisfied with their financial situation, compared with just 28 percent of nonmanagerial workers.

Scientists hope comet-chaser spacecraft wakes up

BERLIN (AP) — Scientists at the European Space Agency are expecting an important call.

Panda Cub Bao Bao Makes Public Debut at National Zoo

Visitors to the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., can finally get a glimpse of the panda cub Bao Bao. Bao Bao, whose name means "precious" or "treasure" in Mandarin, was born on Aug. 23, 2013 to the 15-year-old panda Mei Xiang. The cub is one of more than 300 pandas living in captivity worldwide, most of them in China. The only other zoo in the United States that currently has newborn pandas on exhibit is Zoo Atlanta, where female twins were born in July.

Sunshine May Lower Your Blood Pressure

While too much sun exposure may bring on skin cancer, researchers have found evidence getting some rays could protect against high blood pressure, a condition known as the silent killer. Researchers in the United Kingdom gave healthy study volunteers a dose of Ultraviolent-A (UVA) radiation in a lab, correspondingto what they would receive while under the sun for about 30 minutes during summer in Southern Europe. In response, the participants' blood vessels dilated, and their blood pressure decreased, the researchers report. "But sunlight and the potential contribution the skin may make has never been on the radar," said study researcher Martin Feelisch, professor of experimental medicine and integrative biology at the University of Southampton.

Melatonin Linked to Prostate Cancer Risk

Men with higher levels of the sleep hormone melatonin may be less likely to develop prostate cancer, a new study suggests. The research also revealed that men who had higher levels of melatonin in their urine had a 75 percent decreased risk of advanced prostate cancer, compared with men with lower melatonin levels. "It's notable that we found a stronger association between melatonin levels and more advanced prostate cancer," said study researcher Sarah Markt, a doctoral candidate in the department of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

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Mock Mars Mission: Are the Spacesuits Really Accurate?

Editor's Note: In the Utah desert, scientists are attempting to recreate what a real-life mission to Mars might be like, and SPACE.com contributor Elizabeth Howell is along for the ride. HANKSVILLE, Utah – About four miles into a canyon walk near the Mars Desert Research Station here, my shoulders started to hurt. Some of my crewmembers experienced severe fogging in their helmets during past "Marswalks" in the Utah desert, but the ventilation in my helmet was keeping at least the front of my visor clear.

Will Your New Boss Be a Jerk? New Computer Program Can Tell

It's the lament of many hiring managers and Boards of Directors who discover, too late, that the new executive has some major personality problems. A team of researchers at Binghamton University claims it has developed a computerized content-analysis tool that reliably and validly measures narcissistic and psychopathic traits in leaders of Fortune 100 companies. The analysis program employs a built-in dictionary of words, phrases and rules that can be used to help predict certain negative personality traits. The study's co-author William Spangler, an associate professor in the School of Management at Binghamton, said the program first looks for self-focus words, such as "I," "me," "my," "mine" and "myself." It then looks for words related to several personality traits.

Entrepreneurial Spirit Burns Brightest in Minority Students

The drive among students to become entrepreneurs when they grow up decreases as they get older, new research shows.

'I Quit' Will Be Familiar Refrain in 2014

Research from CareerBuilder discovered that 21 percent of full-time employees plan to change jobs this year — the largest percentage of expected turnover seen in the post-recession era and up from 17 percent last year. Many factors could be contributing to the expected rise in turnover, including employees' overall dissatisfaction with their job, their chances of being promoted within the company and their work-life balance. The study shows that among those who are dissatisfied with their job, 58 percent plan to change jobs in the new year. The most cited reasons for employee dissatisfaction were concerns over salary and not feeling valued. The research also revealed that 45 percent of workers who are dissatisfied with advancement opportunities at their current company expect to look for new work this year.

New Record for Human Brain: Fastest Time to See an Image

The human brain can achieve the remarkable feat of processing an image seen for just 13 milliseconds, scientists have found. This lightning speed obliterates the previous record speed of 100 milliseconds reported by previous studies. In the study, scientists showed people a series of images flashed for 13 to 80 milliseconds. "The fact that you can do that at these high speeds indicates to us that what vision does is find concepts," study leader Mary Potter, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT in Cambridge, Mass., said in a statement." That's what the brain is doing all day long — trying to understand what we're looking at." [10 Odd Facts About the Brain]

Widespread Damage to Syria's Ruins Seen from Space

Archaeologist Jesse Casana couldn't have foreseen the violence that would break out in Syria less than a year after he left his dig site in summer 2010. Casana, a professor at the University of Arkansas, was director of an expedition at Tell Qarqur, an artificial mound in northwest Syria built up through 10,000 years' worth of debris left by human occupation. He had to cancel his 2011 field season, and because of the ongoing war in Syria, he hasn't returned since.

Potato-Shaped Mars Moon Phobos May Be a Captured Asteroid

The origin of the two small moons of Mars, called Phobos and Deimos, have been shrouded in mystery since their discovery in 1877. The surface of the moons and their orbits hint at different origins. But new models provide stronger suggestions that Phobos, at least, may be a captured asteroid.

Are You Getting Enough Exercise? 3 Tips to Be Sure

A study published in the January issue of the journal Medicine & Science in Sports Medicine found that both men and women overstated the time they spent on moderate exercise by nearly an hour. Read more tips on her blog, Health in a Hurry!

Toilet Paper Could Hide a Cancer Warning Sign, Doc Says

Toilet paper containing red ink could disguise a dangerous medical condition, one doctor believes. Paper that is decorated with pictures or designs that include red ink could look bloody when wet, and traces of red blood in the toilet are one of the most common signs of colon cancer, colorectal surgeon Dr. Guy Nash of Poole Hospital, in England, wrote in a letter published Jan. 15 in the journal BMJ Case Reports. "Those patients bleeding will miss real blood, and those not bleeding will report 'blood' in the toilet mistakenly," Nash said. Colon cancer, or colorectal cancer, develops in the cells that line the large intestine (colon) or rectum.

Brain Structure May Predict Pain Sensitivity

Some people feel pain more intensely than others, and new research suggests differences in pain sensitivity may be related to differences in brain structure. In other words, people who spend more time in "default mode" may be less sensitive to pain.

Klondike: The Real Story Behind the Gold Rush Miniseries

Discovery Channel is now prospecting the hearts of television viewers around the world with their first-ever scripted miniseries, called "Klondike" — a period piece set at the end of the 19th century during a brief but fervent gold rush in the Klondike region of the Yukon. In the three-part miniseries that launches on Monday (Jan. 20) at 8 p.m. EST, two friends in their early 20s climb snowy passes, raft rapid-strewn rivers, dodge wolves, and nearly lose everything several times as they make their way into the lawless gold rush town of Dawson City. Filming was done in the Canadian province of Alberta, south of Klondike but still full of the icy and rugged conditions that Klondike miners would have faced. "It was a hard challenge, especially in period costume because you are not equipped for the world you are in," lead actor Richard Madden told LiveScience yesterday (Jan. 16) on the gold carpet of Klondike's premiere.

Extreme El Niños Could Hit Twice As Often

The most intense El Niño events may soon hit every 10 years, instead of every 20 years, thanks to warming water in the eastern Pacific Ocean, a new study predicts. When changing wind patterns start piling up warm water in the eastern part of the equatorial Pacific, the redistribution of hotter water triggers changes in atmospheric circulation that influences rainfall and storm patterns around the world — an El Niño. During extreme El Niños, sea surface temperatures warmer than 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius) develop in the normally cold and dry eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. "Under global warming, the barrier to convection shifts," Cai told LiveScience.

Genome of the Blood-Sucking Hookworm Decoded

Scientists have decoded the genome of a lowly, blood-sucking hookworm, an advance they say could lead to cures for hookworm infection, a painful condition afflicting more than 700 million people worldwide, mostly in underdeveloped countries. But the worm's unique relationship with the human immune system means the new findings may also provide insights into treating autoimmune diseases rampant in the United States, such as inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, asthma and allergies. An international team of scientists focused on one of the two main hookworm species that affects humans, Necator americanus.

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Saturday, January 18, 2014

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Israeli prize honors foreign scientists, artist

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's prestigious Wolf Prize this year will honor American, Canadian, Swedish and Taiwanese scientists.

Mock Mars Mission: How to Drive on the Red Planet

Editor's Note: In the Utah desert, scientists are attempting to recreate what a real-life mission to Mars might be like, and SPACE.com contributor Elizabeth Howell is along for the ride. After rolling forward a few feet, I checked a small mirror on my left arm to watch Paula Crock's progress behind me. As we ventured several miles away from Utah's Mars Desert Research Station, we were figuring out how to safely maneuver vehicles while wearing mock spacesuits.

Smoking Report: Why 'Lighting Up' Causes So Many Diseases

Fifty years after the first U.S. Surgeon General's report in 1964 warned about the link between smoking and lung cancer, research continues to identify more diseases that are directly caused by smoking. Cigarette smoke contains thousands of compounds, including 69 known to be carcinogens, chemicals that are directly involved in causing cancer. They are carried through the blood to many organs," said Stanton Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California at San Francisco, who was not involved in compiling the report. In colorectal cancer, tumors often originate in the glands and the cells that cover the inside of the bowel.

Pelvic Bone in Museum Storage May Be King Alfred the Great's

A piece of an ancient pelvis bone that had been tucked away in museum storage might belong to the English King Alfred the Great or his son Edward, scholars announced Friday (Jan. 17). Archaeologists had mounted a search to find the lost remains of Alfred the Great, who was king of Wessex and dominated England from 871 until his death in 899. Last year, researchers exhumed an unmarked grave at Saint Bartholomew's Church in Winchester, England, but none of the bodies buried there were a match with Alfred. After that initial disappointment, the group then turned to bones in storage boxes at the Winchester City Museum that had been excavated from a nearby monastery, Hyde Abbey, in the 1990s.

Supreme Court Confusion: Why Judging Distance Is Tough

The justices of the Supreme Court may be among the best legal minds in the country, but they have no eye for distances — and new research may help explain why. After the tests, the researchers "trained" the volunteers to conduct virtual experiments: They placed motion-capture tags on the participants' forearms, and asked them to reach for a virtual cylinder on a computer screen.

T. Rex Set for April Road Trip to Washington, D.C.

Stopped dead in its tracks when the government shut down, a famous T. rex skeleton will finally make its road trip from Montana to Washington, D.C., this spring. Officials at the dinosaur's new home, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, announced Friday (Jan. 17) that the Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton is set to arrive on April 15, two weeks before the museum's fossil hall closes for a major five-year renovation. Randall Kremer, a spokesperson for the museum, said the dinosaur's arrival will mark the most significant addition to the museum since the Hope Diamond was donated to the collection in 1958. Rancher Kathy Wankel is credited with the dinosaur's discovery after spotting the creature's arm bones poking out of Montana's Fort Peck reservoir in 1988.

'Sixth Sense' Can Be Explained by Science

At least one type of "sixth sense" isn't real, new research suggests. The new study, detailed Monday (Jan. 13) in the journal PLOS ONE, found that what people perceive as a sixth sense may simply be their vision systems detecting changes they can't articulate. "People can sense things that they believe they cannot see," such as changes in a person's appearance, said study co-author Piers Howe, a vision scientist at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Howe's interest was piqued when a student came to him claiming she had a quasi-magical sixth sense.

Mock Mars Mission: Stunning Night Sky Shines Over Utah Outpost

Editor's Note: In the Utah desert, scientists are attempting to recreate what a real-life mission to Mars might be like, and SPACE.com contributor Elizabeth Howell is along for the ride. HANKSVILLE, Utah — In the desert here, the nearly full moon was so bright that we didn't even need a flashlight to walk to the Mars Desert Research Station Musk Observatory. About 100 feet away from our Habitat, two crew members had captured (the Andromeda Galaxy M31) in the telescope at the Mars Society observatory, which is a tiny room just barely big enough to fit a crew of five or six.

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