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Thursday, October 15, 2015

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NASA Picks New Rocket Rides to Launch Small Satellites

NASA has awarded a total of $17.1 million to three companies to launch miniscule cubesats, which to date have had to tag along as secondary payloads on big rockets. "We're excited for the competition," Wiese added.

Bronze Age cemetery unearthed in southwestern Poland

DUNINO, Poland - Excavations for a motorway in southwestern Poland led to an unusual and unexpected discovery – the remains of a huge, almost perfectly preserved Bronze Age cemetery. Archaeologists thought they might find remains from the Battle of Kaczawa in 1813 during the Napoleonic Wars but not an ancient burial site. "It was a great surprise to all of us to discover a very rich, 3,000-year-old graveyard of people of the Lusatian culture," said archaeologist Izabela Kadlucka. ...

Upcoming El Niño May Be As Wild As 1997 Event

El Niño is expected to be more beast than "little boy" this year — a forecast about the weather pattern that becomes clear in newly released maps of the waters around the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The two maps show the sea-surface heights in the Pacific in October 1997 and 2015, revealing that conditions this year are looking a lot like they did during the strong El Niño event of 1997 to 1998. "Whether El Niño gets slightly stronger or a little weaker is not statistically significant now.

The Lure of Terrible Lizards: Why We Love Godzilla

Godzilla, the fictional, Tokyo-destroying sea monster, is actually a dinosaur dreamed up by the film's producer, Tomoyuki Tanaka, who let his mind wander during a flight back to Japan across the Pacific Ocean. Now, 30 movies later, people still flock to see the radioactive giant in theaters — likely because Godzilla reminds them of their childhood love of dinosaurs, said William Tsutsui, a professor of history and president of Hendrix College in Arkansas, and author of "Godzilla On My Mind: 50 Years of the King of Monsters" (St. Martin's Griffin, 2004). Tsutsui spoke about Godzilla's historical roots to a crowded room here at the 75rd annual Society of Vertebrate Paleontology conference Tuesday (Oct. 13).

Inky Coalsack Nebula Smudges Milky Way in Striking New Views

The enormous, inky smudges of the Coalsack nebula blot out a patch of the brilliant Milky Way in a new image from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) — but someday, that murky realm will burst into light. You can see a video tour of the Coalsack nebula here, incorporating the new image. The view comes from the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter (7.2 feet) telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile.

Amazing Jupiter Video Shows Slowing Shrinkage of the Great Red Spot

Jupiter's trademark Great Red Spot may be shrinking, but it's not going down without a fight. Amazing new maps of the Jupiter by the Hubble Space Telescope reveal that the Great Red Spot, a massive storm about twice the diameter of Earth, is slowing the speed at which it shrinks. The Jupiter maps, first in series of annual portraits of the outer planets, also reveal rare wave structures that scientists haven't seen for nearly 40 years.

Humans Exited Africa, and Trekked to China, Fossils Reveal

Teeth from a cave in China suggest that modern humans lived in Asia much earlier than previously thought, and tens of thousands of years before they reached Europe, researchers say. This discovery yields new information about the dispersal of modern humans from Africa to the rest of the world, and could shed light on how modern humans and Neanderthals interacted, the scientists added. Modern humans first originated about 200,000 years ago in Africa.

Stories Leap Into 3D with 'Augmented Reality' Coloring Books

Have you ever wished that the characters in your coloring book could come alive — leap from the page and dance around, perhaps? Developed by the tech nerds over at Disney Research (a network of laboratories affiliated with the Walt Disney Company), the new coloring book app turns your doodles into virtual, 3D figures that move around on screen like cartoon characters. Here's how it works: You color in one of the characters inside a regular (but app-compatible) coloring book and launch the Disney coloring app on your phone or tablet.

Nearly 30 Years After Chernobyl Disaster, Wildlife Returns to the Area

Almost 30 years after a horrific accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant released massive amounts of radiation and became one of the world's worst nuclear catastrophes, the long-abandoned site has some new inhabitants: New research finds that many native wildlife species are once again finding refuge in the human-free Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine. Scientists found that the numbers of moose, roe deer, red deer and wild boar living in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone — a roughly 1,000-square-mile (2,600 square kilometers) designated area of contamination around the disaster site — are similar to the animals' population numbers in nearby uncontaminated nature reserves. In fact, they noted that wolf census data in the area has a population seven times greater than populations in nearby reserves.

Planet Hunter Geoff Marcy Resigns Following Sexual Harassment Investigation

Geoff Marcy, a leader in the field of exoplanet research, has resigned from his position as a professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, following an investigation that found he violated the school's sexual harassment policies. A statement from Nicholas B. Dirks, the university's chancellor, and Claude Steele, its executive vice chancellor and provost obtained by Space.com, said Marcy resigned this morning (Oct. 14). The findings of the school investigation were first made public on Friday (Oct. 9) in a story by BuzzFeed News.

What a nightmare: sleep no more plentiful in primitive cultures

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Maybe we cannot blame late-night TV, endless Internet surfing, midnight snacks, good books, bothersome work deadlines and other distractions of modern life for encroaching on our sleep. Research unveiled on Thursday showed that people in isolated and technologically primitive African and South American cultures get no more slumber than the rest of us. Scientists tracked 94 adults from the Tsimane people of Bolivia, Hadza people of Tanzania and San people of Namibia for a combined 1,165 days in the first study on the sleep patterns of people in primitive foraging and hunting cultures.

Wet (But Warm) Winter: Strong El Niño to Usher in Lots of Rain

It's official: El Niño is back. The strong subtropical weather pattern boosts the odds for rainfall and warm temperatures across the Southern United States and the Eastern Seaboard — including drought-stricken regions such as California and the Southwest. But even if California is inundated with rain, the state's water woes probably won't be eliminated in one season, the experts said.

Pluto Is Beautiful, Complex and Thoroughly Puzzling for Scientists

The first-ever flyby of Pluto may have raised more questions than it answered. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft discovered a staggering diversity of terrain during its close approach on July 14, from towering water-ice mountains to a vast, crater-free plain largely divided into mysterious "cells" dozens of kilometers wide. New Horizons' observations also revealed that Charon, the dwarf planet's largest moon, sports a canyon system at least 650 miles (1,050 km) long and a dark polar cap that researchers informally named after Mordor, the realm of the evil wizard Sauron in J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Comet's Close Encounter with Mars Dumped Tons of Dust on Red Planet

Comet Siding Spring's close shave by Mars last year provided a rare glimpse into how Oort Cloud comets behave, according to new research. Comet Siding Spring also left behind a substantial quantity of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water that couldn't be detected because Mars' atmosphere is also made up of those elements. Siding Spring's journey from the Oort Cloud — a collection of comets beyond the orbit of Neptune that stretches for hundreds of astronomical units — meant it was pristine when it showed up beside Mars.

Repaired SpaceX rocket to fly by early December, company says

(In this version of the Oct. 13 story, first sentence of third paragraph, corrects to 'upper-stage liquid oxygen tank' from 'upper-stage engine'. In second sentence of third paragraph, corrects to 'causing the tank' instead of 'causing the engine'.) JERUSALEM (Reuters)- Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, expects to return a repaired and upgraded Falcon 9 rocket to flight around the start of December, a company vice president said, less than six months after one exploded shortly after liftoff. The 208-foot-tall (63-meter) rocket carrying cargo for the International Space Station exploded less than three minutes after liftoff from Florida on June 28.

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Wednesday, October 14, 2015

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

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Hold On to Your Lightsabers: Here Comes 'Star Wars Rebels' Season 2

You don't have to wait for December's "The Force Awakens" film to get your "Star Wars" fix — Season 2 of Disney XD's "Star Wars Rebels" premieres tomorrow! Cast members and creators previewed the twists and turns of the animated TV show's second season at a New York Comic Con panel Thursday (Oct. 8). "Star Wars Rebels" tells the backstory behind the Rebel Alliance, which was portrayed in the "Star Wars" movies (14 years after the events of "Star Wars: Episode III").

Leading Astronomer Violated Sexual Harassment Policies, Investigation Finds

Geoff Marcy, a leader in the field of exoplanet science, was found to have "violated campus sexual harassment policy" at the University of California, Berkeley, where he works, an investigation by the university has concluded. The investigation, conducted by the school's Title IX office, "stemmed from a number of incidents believed to have occurred between 2001 and 2010 and involved students who have since graduated," according to a statement from the university obtained by Space.com. The results of the investigation were first reported to the public in a story by BuzzFeed News published last Friday (Oct. 9).

Listeria Outbreak Mystery: Weird Chemistry Tainted Caramel Apples

Researchers may have finally found the source of a 2014 Listeria outbreak that was traced to caramel apples, a new study finds. Caramel apples were not considered to be a hospitable breeding ground for the disease-causing bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes. The juice from apples is acidic, and that acidity makes it hard for bacteria to grow, said Kathleen Glass, the associate director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Food Research Institute and lead author on the study.

Repaired SpaceX rocket to fly by early December, company says

Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, expects to return a repaired and upgraded Falcon 9 rocket to flight around the start of December, a company vice president said, less than six months after one exploded shortly after liftoff. The 208-foot-tall (63-meter) rocket carrying cargo for the International Space Station exploded less than three minutes after liftoff from Florida on June 28. The cause of the accident was traced to a faulty bracket inside the rocket's upper-stage engine.

Mom's Stress During Pregnancy Tied to Teen's Coordination Problems

Children born to women who experienced stressful events during pregnancy may be less coordinated in their body movements as teenagers, according to a new study. The new findings suggest that "programs aimed at detecting and reducing maternal stress during pregnancy" may improve the long-term outlook for these children, study author Beth Hands, professor of human movement at the University of Notre Dame Australia, said in a statement. In the study, doctors asked 2,900 women in Australia twice during their pregnancies — at 18 weeks and 34 weeks — whether they had experienced stressful events while they were pregnant.

Israeli engineer designs grounded drone delivery service

Israeli industrial designer Kobi Shikar has come up with the concept of a parcel delivery drone that will never get off the ground - and that's just fine with him. The Transwheel Delivery Drone is a sensor-packed motorized unicycle that Shikar says could be an earthbound alternative to Amazon's futuristic plans to use drone multicopters to deliver packages to your front door. It's a compromise, Shikar believes, between the need for speedy delivery and the dangers of flying drones encroaching on commercial airspace.

Solar plane prepares for Amazon mission

By Jim Drury Student engineers from ETH Zurich are preparing to fly their world-record breaking solar plane over the Amazon rainforest. The team is fitting its AtlantikSolar unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for a 400 kilometer, 12 hour, flight as it seeks to push the endurance limits of solar planes. The team broke the flight endurance world record for any aircraft below 50 kilograms by flying continuously on solar powered batteries for 81.5 hours (over four days and three nights) in Zurich.

Bye, Bye, Playboy Bunnies: 5 Ways Porn Affects the Brain

Playboy Magazine announced yesterday (Oct. 12) that it was revamping its design. "Playboy's great success was that it legitimized sexualized images in the context of good fiction, interesting articles and groundbreaking interviews," Kim Wallen, a psychologist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, wrote in an email to Live Science. The magazine, which first exploded into public consciousness when it published nude shots of Marilyn Monroe in 1953, has been losing readers for years, according the Alliance for Audited Media., largely thanks to the rise of Internet pornography.

Stars and Oil: Milky Way Shines Over Texas Oilfield (Photo)

The Milky Way illuminates a pump jack working at night in Texas. While oil fields through the state are well lit, this landscape shot captures the spectacular night sky. Astrophotographer Matt Smith captured this image near Batesville in South Texas on May 25.

New 'Habitability Index' Could Help Guide Search for Alien Life

The "habitability index" metric could help guide the operations of future observatories, such as NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), that will scan exoplanet atmospheres for signs of life, scientists said. "Basically, we've devised a way to take all the observational data that are available and develop a prioritization scheme so that as we move into a time when there are hundreds of targets available, we might be able to say, 'OK, that's the one we want to start with," study lead author Rory Barnes, of the University of Washington, said in a statement. Traditionally, assessing habitability has been a yes-or-no affair, with researchers attempting to determine whether or not an alien world resides in the "habitable zone" of its host star.

Ultrathin Microlenses Could Boost Space Science and Tech

"These flat lenses will help us to make more-compact and robust imaging assemblies," Mahmood Bagheri, a microdevices engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, said in a statement. Typical lenses, such as those used in eyeglasses or magnifying glasses, rely on curvature to bend and focus light. The new flat lenses can manipulate light in ways that are nearly impossible for conventional lenses, and they take up less space, allowing for smaller electronics.

Happy Ada Lovelace Day! Exhibit Honors 1st Computer Programmer

A century before the first computer was developed, an Englishwoman named Ada Lovelace laid the theoretical groundwork for an all-purpose device that could solve a host of mathematically-based problems. Widely credited as being the first-ever computer programmer, Lovelace's pioneering work is explored in a new exhibit that opens today (Oct. 13) at the Science Museum, London, in the United Kingdom. Tech geeks around the world are commemorating Lovelace's achievements today, as they do every year in mid-October — a day known as Ada Lovelace Day.

Twins! Toronto Zoo Welcomes 2 Baby Pandas

Two giant-panda cubs were born today (Oct. 13) at the Toronto Zoo, becoming the first pandas ever born on Canadian soil. The zoo's female giant panda, Er Shun, gave birth to the first cub early this morning, at 3:31 a.m. EDT. The first cub weighed 6.6 ounces (187.7 grams), and its slightly younger twin weighed 4 ounces (115 g).

Lilly pill trumps Humira in arthritis study

(Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co's experimental pill for rheumatoid arthritis proved superior to Abbvie Inc's leading injectable Humira treatment in a large study, which analysts said could prod them to raise sales forecasts for the medicine. Lilly said on Wednesday it was the first study to show that a once-daily oral treatment was superior to $13 billion-a-year Humira, the world's best-selling drug, in improving signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. It was the fourth successful late-stage trial for Lilly's medicine, called baricitinib, which it is developing in partnership with Incyte Corp. "What is disclosed is quite impressive - about as good an outcome as Lilly could hope for," Sanford Bernstein analyst Tim Anderson said in a research note.

Science of Sexy: Why Emilia Clarke Reigns Supreme

In many ways, it's not surprising Esquire picked Clarke, who plays the fearless dragon rider and rightful heir to the Iron Throne on Game of Thrones. Data from the dating website OkCupid reveals that men up to the age of 50 rate women between the ages of 20 and 24 the most beautiful. "From the time you're 22, you'll be less hot than a 20-year-old, based on this data," Christian Rudder, one of the founders of OkCupid, told fivethirtyeight.com.

Two Small Pluto Moons Get Their Close-Ups (Photos)

Pluto's small moons are starting to come out into the light. The most jaw-dropping photos captured by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft during its historic July flyby of Pluto depict the dwarf planet or its largest moon, Charon. "Nix isn't very large, and there is a very fine line between an impact that will make a crater that big and one that will break Nix apart," New Horizons team member Simon Porter, of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, wrote in a blog post last week.

'Cute furball' is best-preserved mammal from dinosaur age

This intrepid little guy now is providing the best look ever at the mammals that thrived during the Mesozoic Era, the age of dinosaurs. "Yes, indeed, it is the best-preserved mammal fossil from the Mesozoic," University of Bonn paleontologist Thomas Martin said.

Baby Duck-Billed Dinos Unearthed in 'Dragon's Tomb' Nest

Scientists examining a roughly 1-foot-long (0.3 meters) piece of rock from the Dragon's Tomb site, which is located in the Gobi Desert, discovered at least three new baby Saurolophus angustirostris fossils. Saurolophus were large duck-billed hadrosaurs with distinctive crests on the top of their heads.

(Bee)autiful Shot: Pollen-Covered Eyeball Wins 'Small World' Photo Contest

More than 2,000 photographers submitted images to the 2015 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition, but just 20 of those images were chosen as winners. The first-place picture of the bee's eye was taken by Australian photomicrographer Ralph Grimm, who spent 4 hours mounting the eye under a microscope and focusing the instrument to capture the stunning shot. Grimm, a high school teacher and former beekeeper, said that, in light of the ongoing collapse of bee colonies worldwide, he hopes his image is a reminder of the important role these pollinators play in local ecosystems.

Teeth from Chinese cave recast history of early human migration

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A trove of 47 fossil human teeth from a cave in southern China is rewriting the history of the early migration of our species out of Africa, indicating Homo sapiens trekked into Asia far earlier than previously known and much earlier than into Europe. Scientists on Wednesday announced the discovery of teeth between 80,000 and 120,000 years old that they say provide the earliest evidence of fully modern humans outside Africa. The teeth from the Fuyan Cave site in Hunan Province's Daoxian County place our species in southern China 30,000 to 70,000 years earlier than in the eastern Mediterranean or Europe.

At Icy Saturn Moon Enceladus, Cassini Begins Final Close Encounters

NASA's Cassini spacecraft has spent a decade studying Saturn and its family of moons. Cassini's first flyby, which occurred this morning at 6:41 a.m. EDT (3:41 PDT/1041 GMT), bringing the spacecraft within 1,142 miles (1,839 kilometers) of Enceladus.

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