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Tuesday, February 3, 2015

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Groundhog Day: How Often Does Punxsutawney Phil Get It Right?

The many groundhogs that have been designated as Phil over the years have predicted 99 forecasts of more winter and 15 early springs, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, which takes care of the animals. A number of other parts of the country have their own weather-forecasting rodents.

Running Too Hard? Light Jogging Linked with Living Longer

"Light joggers" were defined as those who ran at a speed of about 5 mph (8 km/h) a few times a week, for less than 2.5 hours per week total. The finding "suggests there may be an upper limit for exercise dosing that is optimal for health benefits," study co-author Dr. Peter Schnohr, of the Copenhagen City Heart Study and Frederiksberg Hospital in Denmark, said in a statement. Dr. Karol Watson, co-director of preventive cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, agreed, and said that many previous studies have produced similar findings: A moderate amount of jogging is linked with the best outcomes in terms of a longer life span, but when people run too far for too long, the health benefits start to drop off.

White House Seeks $18.5 Billion NASA Budget, with Deep Space in Mind

The $18.5 billion budget request, presented by Bolden today (Feb. 2), includes funding for developing a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa, and the agency's asteroid redirect mission (ARM). Officials think ARM could help pave the way for crewed missions to the Red Planet by the 2030s. "NASA is firmly on a journey to Mars," Bolden said. If the budget request proceeds as is, NASA could end the long-running Opportunity rover's mission on Mars next year.

For Teens, Falling Asleep Gets Harder with More Screen Time

Teenagers who while away the hours on an electronic device — whether it's a computer, cell phone, tablet or TV — tend to have more problems with sleeping at night, a new study finds. "One of the surprising aspects was the very clear dose-response associations," said the study's lead researcher Mari Hysing, a researcher and a psychologist at Uni Research Health, a research company based in Norway.

Exclusive - The FAA: regulating business on the moon

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The United States government has taken a new, though preliminary, step to encourage commercial development of the moon. The Federal Aviation Administration, in a previously undisclosed late-December letter to Bigelow Aerospace, said the agency intends to "leverage the FAA's existing launch licensing authority to encourage private sector investments in space systems by ensuring that commercial activities can be conducted on a non-interference basis." In other words, experts said, Bigelow could set up one of its proposed inflatable habitats on the moon, and expect to have exclusive rights to that territory - as well as related areas that might be tapped for mining, exploration and other activities. It also bans nuclear weapons in space, prohibits national claims to celestial bodies and stipulates that space exploration and development should benefit all countries. "We didn't give (Bigelow Aerospace) a license to land on the moon.

NASA May Ax Long-Lived Mars Rover Opportunity Mission Next Year

NASA's long-lived Mars rover Opportunity mission is poised to lose its funding in 2016, but that financial future is not etched in stone, space agency officials say. The White House unveiled its proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2016 today (Feb. 2), and it does not include money for Opportunity, according to NASA budget documents. But NASA has not officially axed Opportunity — or the agency's prolific Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which finds itself in the same budgetary situation — NASA Chief Financial Officer David Radzanowski told reporters during a conference call today.

Hubble Space Telescope Could Survive Through 2020, Scientists Say

Scientists working with the long-lived Hubble Space Telescope say that the intrepid eye on the sky could continue functioning through 2020, and even beyond. The instruments repaired during the last Hubble servicing mission in 2009 have operated longer since the repairs than they did with the original hardware, Kenneth Sembach of the Space Telescope Science Institute said during a news conference in January at the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society. NASA did a study in 2013 evaluating Hubble's engineering and subsystems that ultimately showed a good likelihood that the telescope would continue functioning at least until 2020, Sembach said. Hubble's successor — NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) — should launch in 2018, creating a one-two punch of space telescope observations for at least a couple years before Hubble's mission ends.

Lava Bomb Fossils Hold Clues to Islands' Fiery Origin

Tiny fossils resurrected from a watery grave and shot to the ocean's surface in steaming lava bombs could help unravel the ancestry of the Canary Islands volcanic chain, according to a new study. The Canary Islands, located offshore of northwestern Africa, are a long chain of volcanic islands similar to the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Many scientists think that such strings of fiery volcanoes — such as the Canary Islands and the Hawaiian Islands — are evidence that the Earth's mantle contains plumes of hot rock that pool and remain stationary while the plates of the Earth's crust move over them. As tectonic plates trundle over the plumes, the heat generates magma that feeds volcanic eruptions.

F-35 Fighter Jet Tested in Extreme Weather Conditions

Solar radiation, freezing rain, dense fog: The next-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter warplane can withstand all that and more, according to U.S. Air Force officials. For the past five months, technicians at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory,at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, have put the fighter jet through a series of rigorous tests to see how well it holds up to the stresses of extreme weather. The warplane endured a range of simulated conditions, including high winds, solar radiation, fog, humidity, ice, snow and freezing rain. Developed by Lockheed Martin, the F-35 Lightning II is marketed as an all-weather stealth aircraft.

'Missing Oil' from 2010 BP Spill Found on Gulf Seafloor

Up to 10 million gallons (38 million liters) of crude oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill has settled at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, where it is threatening wildlife and marine ecosystems, according to a new study. "This is going to affect the Gulf for years to come," Jeff Chanton, the study's lead researcher and a professor of chemical oceanography at Florida State University, said in a statement. The researchers took 62 sediment cores from an area encompassing 9,266 square miles (24,000 square kilometers) around the site of the Deepwater Horizon spill.

All About the Bass: How Baleen Whales Hear Very Low Frequencies

Baleen whales, the largest creatures on Earth, can send extremely low-frequency underwater calls to one another. If the sound waves are short — that is, shorter than the whale's body — the sound's pressure waves can travel through the whale's soft tissue before reaching the tympanoperiotic complex (TPC), which holds the whale's rigid ear bones on its skull. But if the sound waves are longer than the whale's body, they can vibrate its skull in a process known as bone conduction. These longer wavelengths can be amplified, or louder, when they vibrate the skull, the researchers said.

Prehistoric High Times: Early Humans Used Magic Mushrooms, Opium

Opium, "magic" mushrooms and other psychoactive substances have been used since prehistoric times all over the world, according to a new review of archaeological findings. The evidence shows that people have been consuming psychoactive substances for centuries, or even millennia, in many regions of the world, said Elisa Guerra-Doce, an associate professor of prehistory at the University of Valladolid in Spain, who wrote the review. Guerra-Doce's previous research showed the use of psychoactive substances in prehistoric Eurasia. For example, the evidence shows that people have been chewing the leaves of a plant called the betel since at least 2660 B.C., according to Guerra-Doce's report.

Cheap Holograms Could Give Rise to Glasses-Free 3D TVs

The secret to developing such holographic video displays could be using acoustic waves to control the way a crystal bends light, the scientists added. The pixels making up each hologram scatter light falling onto them in very specific ways, causing these light waves to interact with each other to generate an image with depth.

Hillary Clinton on vaccines: 'The science is clear'

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton is tweaking Republicans who say vaccinations should be optional, writing on social media that vaccines protect the lives of children.

What Would It Be Like to Live on Mercury?

With its extreme temperature fluctuations, Mercury is not likely a planet that humans would ever want to colonize. The first, Mariner 10, conducted a series of Mercury flybys in 1974, but the spacecraft only saw the lit half of the planet. NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft, on the other hand, conducted flybys and then entered Mercury's orbit — in March of 2013, images from the spacecraft allowed scientists to completely map the planet for the first time. Mining this ice would be a good way to live off the land, but setting up bases at the poles might not be a good idea, said David Blewett, a participating scientist with the Messenger program.

NASA Europa Mission Gets White House Approval

The quest to explore Jupiter's ocean-harboring moon Europa has taken a big step forward. The White House's fiscal year 2016 budget request for NASA, which was released Monday (Feb. 2), allocates $18.5 billion to the space agency, including $30 million to formulate a mission to Europa, perhaps the solar system's best bet to host alien life. NASA has been studying a potential Europa mission for a while now, but the new budget proposal signals a commitment from the White House that wasn't there before. "For the first time, the budget supports the formulation and development of a Europa Mission, allowing NASA to begin project formulation, Phase A," NASA officials wrote in a summary of the proposed budget.

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Taxon matters: promoting integrative studies of social behavior

Understanding the astonishing diversity of social behavior displayed by animals – including humans – is a central goal of biological research [1,2]. Such diversity has been studied from multiple, often non-overlapping perspectives. For example, behavioral ecologists and evolutionary biologists have long sought to understand the ultimate (functional) explanations for social interactions. By contrast, psychologists, endocrinologists, and neurobiologists have typically focused on the proximate (mechanistic) bases for these behaviors.

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Monday, February 2, 2015

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

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See NASA Launch Rockets Into the Northern Lights in These Spectacular Photos

Five rockets launched from Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska this week carried experiments aimed at studying the science behind the aurora borealis. Photographer Jamie Adkins captured long exposures of the rockets as they lifted off, and combined them into a single image. The first rocket, a NASA Terrier-Improve Malemute sounding rocket, took off at 4:13 a.m. EST (0913 GMT), followed one minute later by a NASA Terrier-Improved Orion rocket. Another Malemute rocket was launched at 4:46 a.m. EST (0946 GMT), followed one minute later by another Orion rocket.

Greenland's Hidden Ice Layers Revealed in New Map

Layer by layer, scientists have filled in a new map of the hidden expanses of Greenland's vast ice sheet, revealing where the island hides its oldest ice. The research team built the 3D map of Greenland's ice sheet using data from airborne radar and ice cores. Radar measurements revealed the ice's thickness, and was also used to find internal layers concealed under the surface. The ice cores provided precisely dated ages for these different layers at various points around the island.

Facebook Users Aren't Bragging — Really!

Everyone knows that Facebook is just a place for people to brag about their perfect lives: engagements, job promotions, weddings. New research finds that although positive news is more likely to be shared on the social media site than negative news, people do attempt to be modest. Positive news is more likely to be shared indirectly — with a subtle status change, for example — compared to a more direct approach, such as with a boastful wall post. "We suspect that there are 'face' considerations related to this finding," study leader Jennifer Bevan, a professor of communication studies at Chapman University in California, wrote in an email to Live Science.

When Ant-Eating Bears Arrive, A Native Plant Thrives

Biologist Josh Grinath seized a rare chance to study an ecosystem from top to tiny bottom when a black bear blundered through his Rocky Mountain meadow research plot, gobbling up ants and gnawing on equipment. Grinath, a researcher at Florida State University, was already analyzing the codependent relationship between ants and treehoppers, which are tiny insects that poop sweet honeydew juice. The ants ward off predators that eat treehoppers, and in return, gorge on honeydew. Grinath's earlier research in the meadow showed that rabbitbrush produces fewer seeds and struggles to grow whenever ants and treehoppers are present on the plants.

1st Americans Used Spear-Throwers to Hunt Large Animals

Despite a lack of archaeological evidence, the first North Americans have often been depicted hunting with spear-throwers, which are tools that can launch deadly spear points at high speeds. Current models of Paleo-Indian society are based on the assumption that hunters sometimes used spear-throwers, or atlatls, said study author Karl Hutchings, an archaeologist at Thompson Rivers University in Canada. "We can now be assured that those assumptions were right," Hutchings told Live Science. Archaeological evidence indicates that hunter-gathers in the Old World used atlatls beginning at least 18,000 years ago.

650-Year Drought Triggered Ancient City's Abandonment

Scientists have long debated whether it was drought or cultural forces that led to the abandonment of Cantona, a once-fortified city located just east of modern-day Mexico City. In its heyday, about 90,000 people lived in Cantona, which is located in a dry volcanic basin.

People with Dementia May Have Hidden Talents, Strange Case Shows

A 60-year-old businessman lost his job and much of his personality to dementia. The Korean man, called J.K. in the report, had developed a form of dementia known as frontotemporal dementia (FTD), in which the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain shrink. As a result of the condition, J.K.'s personality gradually changed. The case shows that people with dementia may have hidden talents and abilities that can emerge when given the opportunity, said Dr. Daniel Potts, a dementia specialist in Alabama and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

Toddler Foods Have as Much Salt as Junk Food

Unfortunately, new research finds that many foods marketed to the 1- to 3-year-old set are high in salt and added sugar. Meanwhile, 32 percent of toddler dinners, and most fruit-based and savory snacks, include at least some added sugar, the researchers reported. "Some of the foods had about similar [sugar or salt] content to what we see in adult foods," study co-author Mary Cogswell, a senior scientist in the division for heart disease and stroke prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told Live Science. These findings are concerning, Cogswell said, because research shows that kids set their taste preferences early in life.

As Bamboo Forests Fade, Can Pandas Survive? (Op-Ed)

Giant pandas, with their fuzzy raccoon eyes and innocent faces, are one of the world's most treasured endangered species. It helps explain why the latest threat to giant pandas , rising global temperatures, has raised such alarm. Poaching and habitat destruction over the past 3,000 years have brought the total panda population down below 2,000 individuals in the wild. Today, giant pandas exist in an area that is less than 1 percent of their historical range.

The Cheapest, Cleanest Way to Meet Electricity Demand (Op-Ed)

Last year, the United States' largest electric grid operator held an auction to determine how to meet future electricity demand in its service area, spanning all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia. The winning resource, which will supply 47.5 percent of all new electrical capacity for PJM in 2017–2018, was "demand response," a set of techniques for reducing peak electricity demand. Demand response technologies, which range from smart thermostats and water heaters in homes to sophisticated industrial systems, aren't discussed as often as renewables or conventional fossil fuel technology, but they will be critical for the future of our electricity system. During different hours of the day and different days of the year, demand for electricity is not constant.

Human Nature May Seal the Planet's Warming Fate (Op-Ed)

Raghu Murtugudde is executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Forecasting System at the University of Maryland Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) and a professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science. The metaphor of a frog in a pot being warmed slowly seems quite apt for the way humanity is struggling with global warming.

Fear, Ridicule, Danger: Is It Safe to Be a Climate Scientist? (Op-Ed)

Minda Berbeco is programs and policy director at the National Center for Science Education and visiting scholar at the UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology.

The Hunt for Alien Extremophiles is Taking Off (Kavli Q+A)

Lindsay Borthwick, writer and editor for The Kavli Foundation, contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Jocelyne, how have those boundaries shifted in recent years?

'Rise of the Machines' is Not a Likely Future (Op-Ed)

Michael Littman is a professor of computer science at Brown University. He is co-leader of Brown's Humanity-Centered Robotics Initiative, which aims to document the societal needs and applications of human-robot interaction research as well as the ethical, legal and economic questions that will arise with its development. Every new technology brings its own nightmare scenarios. Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are no exceptions.

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