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Sunday, July 12, 2015

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New Horizons' Final Look at Pluto's Odd Dark Spots (Photo)

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has captured its last and best photo of Pluto's four mysterious dark spots. The dark spots lie on Pluto's far side, which always faces the dwarf planet's largest moon, Charon. New Horizons won't be able to see the far side when it zooms through the Pluto system during its highly anticipated flyby on Tuesday morning (July 14), mission team members said.

Anxious Brains Are Inherited, Study Finds

The brain function that underlies anxiety and depression is inherited, a new study finds — but there is still plenty of space for experience and environment to reduce the risk of a full-blown mental disorder. Like humans, some young rhesus monkeys have what's called an "anxious temperament." Expose them to a mildly stressful situation, like being in a room with a stranger, and the monkeys will stop moving and stop vocalizing while their stress hormones skyrocket. Extremely shy children do the same, said Dr. Ned Kalin, a psychiatrist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Rare Fossils of 400-Million-Year-Old Sea Creatures Uncovered

The Moroccan formation, known as the Fezouata Biota, holds some of the oldest known marine animals on Earth. A batch of horseshoe crab fossils show that the critters are about 25 million years older than was previously thought. What's more, the horseshoe crab fossils are incredibly complex, suggesting their ancestors evolved far earlier, said study lead researcher Peter Van Roy, a paleontologist at Yale University.

'Alice in Wonderland Syndrome' Caused by Acid Flashback

Lewis Carroll's delightful children's novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" turns 150 this year. This syndrome, named in 1955 by British psychiatrist John Todd, has long been known to co-occur with some migraines. These perceptual distortions are the hallmark of Alice in Wonderland syndrome, so dubbed because Alice experiences some very similar symptoms during her journey through Wonderland in Lewis Carroll's tale.

Spotted face of distant Pluto coming into focus

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla (Reuters) - NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is closing fast on an unexpectedly spotted Pluto, the most distant planetary body ever explored. From New Horizon's position more than 3 billion miles (4.88 billion km) from Earth, radio signals, traveling at the speed of light, take nearly four and a half hours to reach the ground. Not that the probe, which has been traveling toward Pluto for more than nine years, is currently spending much time relaying back pictures and data from its seven science instruments.

Comet team says lander gets back in touch with new data

European scientists received data from the newly revived comet lander Philae on Thursday night, a boost to the team as they try to establish a secure line of communication for their historic scientific experiments on the surface of the comet. The European Space Agency landed Philae on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November, but the lander bounced and landed in a position too shadowy to power its solar panels. As the comet approached the sun, the lander surprised scientists by waking up and sending signals to Earth on June 13.

A Brief History of Pluto Viewing: From Its Discovery to New Horizons Flyby

Pluto has captured people's imagination for nearly a century. The frigid world at the solar system's outer reaches that was discovered in 1930 remains mysterious to this day: because Pluto is relatively small and so far away, telescopes on and near Earth haven't been able to take its measure. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is already getting good looks at Pluto, and will return history's first up-close photos of the dwarf planet during a July 14 flyby.

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Saturday, July 11, 2015

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Moon Meets Beautiful Hyades Star Cluster Sunday Morning

A pre-dawn celestial pageant well worth getting up early to see will take place Sunday morning (July 12), with a lovely crescent moon in close proximity to one of the most beautiful star clusters. The constellation of Taurus, the Bull, will be coming up over the east-northeast horizon at around 3:30 a.m. local daylight time.

What Pluto Can Teach Scientists About 'Star Wars' Planet Tatooine

Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, orbit each other in a way that is similar to binary star systems, or two stars that orbit close together. "In terms of the dynamics of how planets form around binary star systems, Pluto is the closest example we have," Scott Kenyon, a theoretical astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), told Space.com. When young Luke Skywalker looked longingly at that beautiful skyscape, he seemed to be wondering whether he would ever leave his desert home and find adventure.

Weird Reason Plutonium Doesn't Act Like Other Metals

Plutonium is a metal, but it won't stick to a magnet, puzzling scientists for decades. Electrons that surround every atom of plutonium, finds the group, led by Marc Janoschek of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Each orbital has a certain maximum number of electrons it can hold.

Giant Redheaded Centipede Photo Goes Viral, Horrifies the Internet

Last week, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) posted a picture of a giant redheaded centipede to its social media pages that met all of the above criteria. However, giant redheaded centipedes (Scolopendra heros) — which can be found in certain regions of the southern United States and northern Mexico — do take people by surprise fairly often, said Ben Hutchins, an invertebrate biologist with the TPWD.

Ice Lab Plays It Cool for Pluto Flyby

Researchers in an Arizona ice lab spend long hours making crystal-clear ice from mixes of methane, nitrogen and even carbon monoxide — and now, with data from the New Horizons mission to Pluto arriving soon, the lab's time has come. The surface of Pluto is likely covered in a coarse mixture of ices that don't resemble anything found naturally on Earth. The bitter cold on icy dwarf planets like Pluto and Eris, discovered in 2005, crystallizes blends of substances that on Earth occur more commonly as gases: mainly nitrogen, with a heaping dose of methane and a smattering of other molecules mixing things up.

Pluto Flyby: How NASA Space Probes Will Track Epic Encounter

While New Horizons will be all by its lonesome as it speeds past Pluto July 14, a fleet of spacecraft closer to home will also be watching the dwarf planet. Between Earth and Saturn, NASA machines will turn their eyes to the outer solar system.. At Saturn, the Cassini spacecraft plans to take an image of Pluto (just a tiny dot in its viewfinder) on the same day New Horizons makes its closest approach.

Eye Color Linked to Alcoholism Risk

People with light-colored eyes may have a higher risk of alcoholism than people with dark-brown eyes, new research suggests. In the study, researchers looked at 1,263 Americans of European ancestry, including 992 people who were diagnosed with alcohol dependence and 271 people who were not diagnosed with alcohol dependence. "This suggests an intriguing possibility — that eye color can be useful in the clinic for alcohol dependence diagnosis," study co-author Arvis Sulovari, a graduate student in cellular, molecular and biological science at the University of Vermont, said in a statement.

Severe Burns May Let 'Bad Bacteria' Take Over the Gut

People who have gotten severe burns are known to be at risk for a host of complications, but there may be other consequences lurking deeper within the body: A new study finds that a burn may change the community of bacteria within a person's gut, and possibly lead to an increased risk of infection. In the study, researchers analyzed fecal bacteria from four patients with severe burns over at least 30 percent of their body, and compared these bacteria with fecal bacteria of people with minor burns. In fact, Enterobacteriaceae made up 31.9 percent of the gut bacteria in the people with severe burns, compared with just 0.5 percent in those with minor burns, according to the study, published today (July 8) in the journal PLOS ONE.

'Hacking' Gut Bacteria Could Spur New Medical Treatments

Faintly glowing mouse droppings are now evidence that one of the most common microbes in the human gut can be easily "hacked," or genetically modified, researchers say. The finding means that the microbe could one day be used in making medicines or detecting diseases, the researchers said. The microbe only makes up about 0.1 percent of human intestinal bacteria.

Most Americans Still Don't Eat Their Fruits & Veggies

Didn't eat enough fruits and vegetables today? Join the club — 87 percent of Americans don't meet recommendations for fruit consumption, and 91 percent don't meet recommendations for vegetable consumption, according to a new U.S. report. Researchers analyzed a 2013 survey of more than 373,000 American adults in all 50 states who answered questions about how much fruit and vegetables they eat.

Pluto's Complex Surface Coming into Focus (Photo)

Pluto's frigid surface abounds with mysterious and complex features, the latest photo by NASA's approaching New Horizons spacecraft shows. "After nine and a half years in flight, Pluto is well worth the wait," New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, said in the same statement.

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Friday, July 10, 2015

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PlanetiQ tests sensor for commercial weather satellites

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL (Reuters) - PlanetiQ, a privately owned company, is beginning a key test intended to pave the way for the first commercial weather satellites. The Bethesda, Maryland-based company is among a handful of startups designing commercial weather satellite networks, similar to what companies like DigitalGlobe, Planet Labs and Google Inc's Skybox Imaging are undertaking in the sister commercial satellite industry of remote sensing. "I think weather is the next big market," PlanetiQ's chief executive and president, Anne Hale Miglarese, said.

'The Wait' Is Nearly Over: New Video Highlights July 14 Pluto Flyby

NASA is doing its best to make sure everyone knows that a historic spaceflight event is just around the corner. The space agency has released a video called "The Wait" to call further attention to the New Horizons spacecraft's epic flyby of Pluto on July 14. That wait has been a long one: Pluto was discovered by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh in 1930, and researchers have learned little about the frigid world in the eight and a half decades since.

Buzzkill: global warming shrinks range of pollinating bumblebees

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global warming is shrinking the terrain where bumblebees live in North America and Europe, with these vital pollinators departing the southernmost and hottest parts of their ranges while failing to move north into cooler climes, scientists say. The researchers found no evidence pesticide use or habitat destruction were to blame, instead implicating rising temperatures recorded since climate change began accelerating in the 1970s. "This is the 'climate vise,'" said University of Ottawa biologist Jeremy Kerr, with the bumblebees "stuck at the northern edges of ranges while the southern edges are crushed inward and those populations are lost." "Bumblebees are declining incredibly fast and the fingerprints of human-caused climate change are all over these changes," Kerr added.

Bear necessities: low metabolism lets pandas survive on bamboo

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Giant pandas eat vegetables even though their bodies are better equipped to eat meat. The critically endangered panda is the only one of the world's eight bear species with a vegetarian diet. The researchers studied three wild pandas at Foping Nature Reserve in Shaanxi province and five captive pandas at the Beijing Zoo.

Cause of SpaceX Rocket Explosion Still Unknown, Elon Musk Says

Elon Musk has been speaking with reporters about the June 28 explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, but the company CEO has not been able to offer any insight as to what went wrong. While attending a conference event in Sun Valley, Idaho, Musk told reporters that he and his company did not yet know what caused the June 28 failure of a Falcon 9 rocket, which exploded a few minutes after liftoff. The rocket was carrying a Dragon cargo capsule filled with supplies for the International Space Station.

How Hungry Pitcher Plants Get the Poop They Need

Pitcher plants that "eat" bat poop have come up with a unique way to attract their meal tickets, new research finds: The plants are shaped to stand out against a bat's echolocation cries. The pitcher plant Nepenthes hemsleyana grows in the peat forests of Borneo and is a common roost for bats of the species Kerivoula hardwickii. Researchers had previously found that the bats and the pitcher plants have a mutually beneficial relationship: The plants provide a comfy roost with few parasites and an ideal microclimate, and the bats poop in the plants.

Giant Pandas' Lazy Lifestyle Justified by Science

Giant pandas have an insatiable hankering for bamboo, but scientists have long wondered how the bears survive on such a fibrous and low-nutrient plant. Now, a new study finds that giant pandas have clever ways to conserve energy, including having lazy lifestyles, small organs and special genes. The researchers followed five captive and three wild giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) for about a year.

Earth's Groundwater Basins Are Running Out of Water

One-third of Earth's largest groundwater basins are under threat because humans are draining so much water from them, according to two new studies. What's more, researchers say they lack accurate data about how much water remains in these dwindling reservoirs.

Fin Count: Global Shark Census Will Aid Conservation

The giant shark census, dubbed the Global FinPrint, is expected to last three years and involves surveying more than 400 reef locations around the world. Researchers will use underwater cameras on the ocean floor to capture images of sharks and other animals as they pass by, and the scientists are calling on boaters, sailors and other ocean lovers to help get this equipment into position, according to the Global FinPrint website. While those involved with the project don't expect to count every shark in the ocean, they do hope to get a better sense of shark numbers in certain areas of the world where statistics about these animals are scarce, according to FIU.

Distant Pluto finally gets its day in the sun

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla (Reuters) - NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is poised to become the first probe to visit distant Pluto, capping a reconnaissance of the solar system that began more than 50 years ago. The 3 billion-mile (5 billion-km) journey to Pluto, an unexpectedly peach-hued world with contrasting dark and light regions across its face, has taken more than nine years. Clipping along at 9 miles per second (14 km per second), New Horizons awoke in January to begin observations of Pluto and its primary moon, Charon, located beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt region, which was discovered in 1992.

'Star Trek: Axanar' Fan Film Kicks Fundraising into Warp Drive

A crew of "Star Trek" fans is taking the beloved franchise where it's never been before: For a fraction of the cost of a Hollywood film, they plan to create a feature-length production funded by crowdsourcing. The project, called "Star Trek: Axanar", aims to raise $250,000 in 32 days and officially launched Thursday (July 9) on the crowdsourcing website Indiegogo. "For you, the 'Star Trek' fan, Axanar is a return to the type of 'Star Trek' we all grew up on, with a hopeful future where mankind works with other races to explore the stars, via storytelling that is positive and teaches us about ourselves," the new Indiegogo page for the film stated.

Ancient Jellies Had Spiny Skeletons, No Tentacles

Ancient gelatinous animals that resemble Christmas tree ornaments were protected by hard, spiny skeletons and lacked the trademark tentacles of today's jellies, fossils of the long-dead jellyfishlike creatures suggest. This is a startling snapshot of extinct comb jellies, whose modern relatives today are at least 95 percent water and sport soft bodies with no skeletons that are typically trailing tentacles. Soft bodies don't fossilize well, and the geologic evidence for comb jellies and other members of the phylum Ctenophora (true jellyfish belong to the phylum Cnidaria) has been so meager that ancient ctenophores were long suspected to be as soft-bodied as present-day comb jellies.

Pluto 'Totally Different' from Big Moon Charon, New Photos Show

The new images — which were taken late Wednesday (July 8) from a distance of 3.7 million miles (6 million kilometers) — show that Pluto and Charon are very different bodies, though they circle a common center of gravity and are separated by a mere 12,200 miles (19,640 km), NASA officials said. "These two objects have been together for billions of years, in the same orbit, but they are totally different," New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado, said in a statement.

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