GoogleTrends

Sunday, June 14, 2015

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Scientists emerge from isolated dome on Hawaii volcano slope

HONOLULU (AP) — Six scientists who were living under a dome on the slopes of a dormant Hawaii volcano for eight months to simulate life on Mars have emerged from isolation.

Polar Bears Now Eat Dolphins, Thanks to Global Warming

Faced with a rapidly changing habitat, polar bears are adapting with a new entrée: For the first time, a polar bear was seen preying on a white-beaked dolphin carcass that had been trapped in the ice in Svalbard, a group of Norwegian islands in the Arctic Ocean. In April 2014, a male polar bear with a full belly was spotted near a recently devoured white-beaked dolphin, which could have weighed 120 to 680 lbs. (54 to 308 kilograms) and measured 5 to 9 feet long (1.5 to 2.7 meters), the researchers said in an article published online June 1 in the journal Polar Research. The bear was also seen with another white-beaked dolphin's thawing carcass, which he was likely saving for a later meal.

Simpsons in Splitsville: Experts Discuss Homer & Marge's Marital Woes

Marge and Homer Simpson's marriage has survived countless calamities, but the couple is set to separate (at least for an episode) this fall, according to news sources. In a recent interview, Al Jean, "The Simpsons" executive producer, shared a few details about the show's 27th season premiere, scheduled to air Sept. 27: "It's discovered after all the years Homer has narcolepsy and it's an incredible strain on the marriage," Jean told Variety. The Simpson's marriage isn't so different from those in the real world, especially now that the two are dealing with medical conditions on top of Homer's shenanigans, two sociologists told Live Science.

European space chief suggests making room for China, India on station

The incoming head of the European Space Agency said in a published interview that the International Space Station should be opened up to astronauts from India and China. The $100 billion space station, visible from Earth to the naked eye, is a habitable research outpost backed by 15 countries including the United States, Russia and Germany. China and India are not part of the group.

Philae space probe thought lost wakes in comet's shadows

The Philae lander space probe thought lost has woken up some seven months after officials thought it marooned in the shadows on a comet, the European Space Agency said on Sunday. ESA said it had received signals from the lander late on Thursday, which began "speaking" with its team on the ground for the first time since it went into hibernation following a botched landing on the comet in November. "Philae is doing very well," said project manager Stephan Ulamec in a statement on ESA's website.

Nobel Prize-winning scientist says he was forced to resign

LONDON (AP) — A Nobel Prize-winning British scientist says he was forced to resign after sexist comments drew widespread condemnation.

Aiden Gillen, Littlefinger on 'Game of Thrones,' Stars in Comet Video

As the hit HBO series "Game of Thrones" wraps up its fifth season tonight (June 14), remember that you can see Aiden Gillen (who plays the weaselly Littlefinger) in a short science fiction film about the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft. The comet short film "Ambition," which ESA released last October ahead of Rosetta's release of its Philae lander, takes place in a strange and distant future and features two characters who can apparently manipulate matter with their minds (or some unseen technology). The interaction between a teacher (Gillen) and his student (played by Aisling Franciosi) is used to explain how the Rosetta spacecraft, which is currently orbiting comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, will help scientists learn about the history of the Earth and the solar system.

It's Alive! Comet Lander Philae Phones Home After Months of Silence

The European Space Agency's Philae comet lander, which dropped onto Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from the Rosetta spacecraft last November, beamed an 85-second wake-up message to Earth via Rosetta yesterday (June 13), ESA officials announced today. "Philae is doing very well," Philae project manager Stephan Ulamec of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), said in a statement.

(Sponsor this newsletter)

Delievered to you by Feedamail.
Unsubscribe

Saturday, June 13, 2015

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

(Sponsor this newsletter)

Bluebird Bio's sickle cell gene therapy working for French boy

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - A pioneering gene therapy for sickle cell disease is working well so far for a 13-year-old French boy with the hereditary blood disorder, researchers said on Saturday, in a boost for the technology to fix faulty genes. SCD is caused by a mutated gene, resulting in abnormal red blood cell function. Patients suffer anemia, painful obstruction of blood vessels and, in some cases, early death.

New Photo Book Presents Rare 'Snapshots' from NASA's Early 'Spaceshots'

J.L. Pickering usually doesn't take kindly to books claiming "never before seen" NASA photographs. A space historian and one half of the team behind the new title, "Spaceshots and Snapshots of Projects Mercury and Gemini: A Rare Photographic History," now available from University of New Mexico Press, he has almost assuredly already seen the photos. "When we would go into any bookstore, we would naturally check out the space books," John Bisney, Pickering's co-author, said about the catalyst that led to their new book, which presents some of the truly seldom reproduced shots from NASA's first piloted space programs.

These Astronaut Photos of the Great Pyramids & Earth Are Simply Breathtaking

Astronaut Terry Virts knows how to spend his last day in space: gazing at planet Earth from afar and posting photos of that jaw-dropping view online for all to see. Before a Soyuz space capsule returned Virts to Earth Thursday (June 11), the NASA astronaut took time out in space to photograph the Earth below, capturing spectacular vistas of the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, our home planet at night and what looked to be a stunning sunrise. "It took me to until my last day in space to get a good picture of these," Virts wrote on Twitter, where he posted photos, Vine videos and mission updates as @AstroTerry.

Robots Face Off in $1.5 Million NASA Sample Return Challenge

Robot-toting teams faced off in a NASA contest this week to see which automaton has the right stuff for working on Mars or other locations in the solar system.

How Dangerous Was 'High 5' With Great White Shark?

"Coming out of the cage like that is not as risky as it might seem," Carl Meyer of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology told Live Science. In the video, Joel Ibarra, a dive master on an expedition filmed for the Discovery Channel, appears to exit a shark cage and touch the pectoral fin of a female great white nicknamed Deep Blue. Ibarra was not really purposely slapping the female great white shark on the fin.

Nobel Scientist's Claim Examined: Do Women Actually Cry More?

Although the general consensus is that Hunt was completely out of line, studies show that overall, women do cry more than men — though not, as Hunt claimed, because they can't take criticism, but because of various biological, social and environmental factors. Hunt, who won the 2001 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, shared his sentiments on Monday (June 8) at the World Conferences of Science Journalists in South Korea. And Steve Diggle, a microbiologist at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, created a yellow caution sign that said, "Mixed gender lab! No falling in love or crying permitted," and posted it on Twitter.

(Sponsor this newsletter)

Delievered to you by Feedamail.
Unsubscribe

Friday, June 12, 2015

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

(Sponsor this newsletter)

How to Spot Asteroid Pallas in Binoculars and Telescopes This Week

Most of us have played video games shooting at asteroids, or watched a starship maneuvering through the asteroid belt on television. This week is an excellent opportunity to see one of the largest asteroids, Pallas, as it reaches opposition to the sun. At opposition, Pallas will reach magnitude 9.4, making it easily visible in binoculars.

SpaceCom Conference Launches Registration for Commercial Space Meeting

Registration is now open for a November conference that aims to help bring space technologies down to Earth. People can now register to attend the first-ever SpaceCom (short for the Space Commerce Conference and Exposition), which runs from Nov. 17 through Nov. 19 in Houston. "We want to accelerate the understanding of the applications of space technology that have been learned by NASA and its partners to Earth-bound industries — like advanced manufacturing, energy, the maritime industry, agriculture, et cetera," SpaceCom executive director James Causey told Space.com.

This Lonely Galaxy Looks 'Lost In Space' in Hubble Telescope Photo

The galaxy takes center stage in a new image from the Hubble Space Telescope, which shows NGC 6503 shining in visible and ultraviolet light, with different colors denoting zones of gas and star birth. NASA and the European Space Agency unveiled the image on Wednesday (June 10). In the image, galaxy NGC 6503 appears to stand alone beside an area dubbed the Local Void, a cosmic dead zone that is at least 150 million light-years across.

Stretchy spinal implant presents new paralysis treatment

By Matthew Stock A thin and flexible implant that can be applied directly to the surface of the spinal cord to administer electrical and chemical stimulation has been developed by scientists in Switzerland. In 2012 the researchers showed how electrical-chemical stimulation could restore lower body movement in rats with spinal cord injuries. The scientists then stimulated the spinal cord with electrodes implanted in the outermost layer of the spinal canal, called the epidural space.

Syfy Launches Mysterious 'Dark Matter' Series Tonight

A spaceship crew of six people wake up to find they have no idea who they are or how they got there, in SyFy's new series "Dark Matter," which debuts tonight. The series is based on a comic book of the same name by "Stargate" alumni Joe Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, who also wrote and produced the new series. You can watch the trailer for the series here on Space.com, as well as a clip from the pilot episode.

Robo-Klutz: Bipedal Bots Bite It at Competition

The challenge, hosted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), was a friendly competition among engineers from around the world, all of whom were tasked with building a two-legged bot suitable for disaster-response missions.

Ancient Rome's Aqueducts Held Less Water Than Previously Thought

The majestic aqueduct that fed water to ancient Rome carried less of the life-giving liquid than previously thought, new research suggests. The Anio Novus aqueduct carried water from the mountains into Rome at a rate of about 370 gallons of water per second, said lead author Bruce Fouke, a geologist and microbiologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Anio Novus aqueduct drew from the Aniene River, high in the Appennine Mountains.

Soft Robotic Tentacles Pick Up Ant Without Crushing It

Tiny soft robotic tentacles might be ideal for delicate microscopic surgery, say researchers, who were able to use the teensy "limbs" to pick up an ant without damaging its body. In experiments, these new tentacles also wrapped around other tiny items — such as fish eggs, which deform and burst easily when handled by hard tweezers — without damaging them, scientists added.

Burned Bones in Alexander the Great Family Tomb Give Up Few Secrets

The latest volley in the debate over which Philip occupies the tomb makes a case for the illustrious Philip II, arguing that the woman found interred alongside the much-debated male body was too old to have been the younger Philip's wife. The tomb's discoverers declared the man was Philip II, who took the throne of Macedonia in 359 B.C. as regent for his infant nephew. This went well until 336 B.C., when one of Philip II's bodyguards assassinated him as he walked into a theater in the Macedonian capital of Aegae.

CPR Mobile App System Sends Trained Adults to Rescue

When a person's heart suddenly stops beating, CPR can sometimes save that person's life. Now, researchers hoping to fix this problem have developed a mobile app that alerts people who are trained in CPR when someone nearby needs their help. In a new study, the researchers report that the app did indeed increase the rates of CPR performed on people undergoing cardiac arrest by 14 percentage points, according to the study.

Google Searches for 'Skin Cancer' Rise in Summer

Warm weather and sunny days may make people think about skin cancer: A new study finds that people do more Google searches for the terms "skin cancer" and "melanoma" during the sun-soaked summer months than they do in other seasons. The finding suggests that people have an increased interest in, or awareness of, melanoma during the summertime, making this season "the most efficient time for educational and public health initiatives" about skin cancer, the researchers wrote in their study. For the study, the researchers looked at Google search trends from 2010 to 2014, and analyzed the number of searches for "melanoma" and "skin cancer." They also looked at data on newly diagnosed cases of melanoma in the United States, as well as deaths from the disease, to see whether these correlated with the Web search trends.

Tim Hunt's Boys' Club: Women Still Face Challenges in Science

Earlier this week, Nobel-winning biochemist Tim Hunt made waves when he said he had "trouble with girls" in science. "Three things happen when they are in the lab: You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticize them they cry," Hunt said on Monday (June 8) to a shocked audience at the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea. Hunt won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2001.

Major Surgical Mistakes Still Happen in the US

In about 1 in 100,000 surgeries, doctors make a "wrong site" error — for example, they operate on the wrong side of a person's body, or sometimes even on the wrong person, the study found. "Never events are, fortunately, very rare," said the study's lead researcher, Susanne Hempel, co-director of the Evidence-based Practice Center at the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit global policy think tank headquartered in California. Hempel and her colleagues conducted the review for the U.S. Veterans Affairs National Center for Patient Safety, "to evaluate the state of the evidence 10 years after the introduction of the Universal Protocol, a concerted effort to improve surgical safety," she told Live Science in an email.

Great White Shark High 5? Here's What Really Happened

One of the biggest great white sharks ever recorded has sent waves across the Internet not just for her plus size, but for what seemed to be a high five with a dive master hanging out in a shark cage. Turns out, Joel Ibarra, the dive master of an ecotourism boat, was trying to keep the 22-foot-long (6.5 meters) great white shark, nicknamed Deep Blue, from harm. "The dive master was pushing the shark away — it has a big laceration on the right side," said shark researcher Mauricio Hoyos Padilla, director of Pelagios-Kakunjá A.C., a nonprofit organization that focuses on sharks and other open-water species.

Jack King, NASA's 'Voice of Apollo,' Dies at 84

NASA's "Voice of Apollo" – gave start to the first mission to land men on the moon. King, who served for 12 years as the space agency's chief of public information, spanning the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, died on Thursday (June 11). "Jack helped establish the original systems to ensure the media received timely and accurate information about both the early human flight programs and unmanned missions," said Hugh Harris, a retired director of public affairs at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

(Sponsor this newsletter)

Delievered to you by Feedamail.
Unsubscribe