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Wednesday, March 9, 2016

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Bezos' space company aims for passenger flights in 2018

Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin expects to begin crewed test flights of its reusable suborbital New Shepard vehicle next year and begin flying paying passengers in 2018, Bezos told reporters on Tuesday. Bezos' remarks, made during the first ever media tour of the Blue Origin manufacturing facility, marked the first time the billionaire founder of Amazon.com had put a target date on the start of the commercial space flights Blue Origin is developing. Blue Origin's first reusable rocket was lost in a test flight in April 2015, though the capsule parachuted safely back to the ground.

Mysterious extinction of prehistoric marine reptiles explained

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of the enduring mysteries of paleontology, the demise of a highly successful group of dolphin-like marine reptiles called ichthyosaurs that flourished in Earth's seas for more than 150 million years, may finally have been solved. Scientists on Tuesday attributed their extinction 94 million years ago to the combination of global warming and their own failure to evolve swiftly enough. The research, the most comprehensive analysis to date of their disappearance, undercut previous notions that ichthyosaurs had been in decline for tens of millions of years and had been out-competed by other predators such as the fearsome ocean-going lizards called mosasaurs that were just arriving on the scene.

Clouds over Indonesia obscure total eclipse of the sun for many

By Darren Whiteside and Kanupriya Kapoor PALEMBANG, Indonesia (Reuters) - A solar eclipse enthralled Indonesia on Wednesday but clouds spoiled the view for many skywatchers in the east of the archipelago, the only part of the country that had the opportunity to see it in totality. In Palembang city on the western island of Sumatra where the total eclipse should have been visible, cloudy skies and smog obscured the view for many of the thousands of people who gathered outside shortly after daybreak. ...

Going places: machine beats top Go player in another AI milestone

SEOUL (Reuters) - Google's AlphaGo computer program on Wednesday won the first of a series of five matches against one of the world's best players of the complex board game, Go, marking a new milestone in the development of artificial intelligence (AI). South Korean professional Go player Lee Sedol, an 18-time international title winner, conceded defeat in a match broadcast live, with one Youtube stream watched by tens of thousands of people worldwide, and domestic cable gave frequent updates. ...

'Overdosing' on Exercise May Be Toxic to the Heart

Extreme exercise may be toxic to your heart, according to a provocative review of studies set to appear in an upcoming issue of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology. Pushing your body to the max day after day can stress your heart and raise your risk for a type of abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation, or A-fib, which ultimately can lead to heart failure or a stroke, according to the review, which analyzed 12 studies on A-fib in athletes and endurance runners. But before you fall off your sofa laughing at the ambitious among us, note that not exercising at all is far worse for your heart than overdoing it, doctors emphasize.

Inhaled 'Poppers' Can Lead to Vision Problems

A 52-year-old man in Scotland who inhaled recreational drugs called poppers developed vision problems that have lasted for months, and the impairment may even become permanent, according to a new report of his case. Although the man has since recovered his vision to some extent, it remained reduced in both eyes at his last follow-up appointment about two months ago, said Dr. Joshua Luis, one of the doctors who treated the man and co-authored the report. "He may not be able to read as fine print as he used to, but it shouldn't have too much of an impact on day-to-day life," Luis told Live Science.

Man's Routine Dental Procedure Causes Life-Threatening Infection

A man in Pennsylvania developed a rare and potentially life-threatening infection after a routine dental exam and teeth cleaning, according to a new report of his case. The 57-year-old man recovered from the infection after treatment, said the doctors who treated the man and wrote the report. The type of infection that the man had is very rare, and the chances of getting this type of infection during a dental procedure are very low, said Dr. Faton Bytyci, a resident physician at Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, who treated the man and co-authored the report.

Shades of Luke Skywalker? Bionic Fingertip Lets Amputee Feel Textures

Using a bionic fingertip, an amputee for the first time has been able to feel rough and smooth textures in real-time, as though the fingertip were naturally connected to his hand. After Luke Skywalker got his hand cut off during a duel with Darth Vader in "Star Wars," the young Jedi received an artificial hand that helped him both grip and feel again. Doctors immediately amputated the appendage after Sørensen was brought to a hospital.

Apple vs. FBI: What's Really Going On?

Apple is embroiled in a battle with the FBI over an iPhone that was used by one of the shooters involved in the December attack that killed 14 and wounded 22 in San Bernardino, California. The two sides are involved in an ongoing court case over Apple's refusal to comply with a Feb. 16 order from a federal judge that demanded that the tech giant build custom software to help the FBI break into an iPhone 5c given to slain attacker Syed Rizwan Farook by his employer. Here's what you need to know about Apple's fight with the FBI.

Monkeys Move Wheelchairs Using Just Their Thoughts

Monkeys equipped with wireless brain implants were able to control robotic wheelchairs using only their thoughts, according to a new study. The brain waves of two rhesus macaques were used to direct motor commands on a motorized wheelchair. The monkeys were initially trained to navigate the wheelchair by simply watching it move, the researchers said.

Israeli placental cell therapy could cure radiation sickness

By Elana Ringler Israeli biotech firm Pluristem Therapeutics said it hopes its anti-radiation therapy will protect Fukushima workers decommissioning nuclear reactors and save lives in the future if ever a similar catastrophe occurs. The Haifa-based company said they have developed a placenta-based cell therapy injection that can fully cure patients with multiple organ failure caused by high radiation exposure. Pluristem Therapeutics' Vice President of Medical and Clinical Affairs Dr. Esther Lukasiewicz Hagai said cells grown from placentas donated by women who had undergone a C-section, are harvested to create a cocktail of therapeutic proteins which combat potentially lethal damage to the lungs, skin, bone marrow and gastrointestinal tract caused by radiation exposure. "We've been investigating the placenta for the last decade and we have discovered that the placenta cells have unique properties that can help the body to recover after exposure to high level of radiation," Lukasiewicz Hagai said.

NASA plans to fix Mars spacecraft leak then launch in 2018

NASA plans to repair a Mars spacecraft that was grounded in December because of a leak in its primary science instrument, putting the mission back on track for another launch attempt in 2018, the U.S. space agency said on Wednesday. The spacecraft, a satellite known as InSight, was designed to study the deep interior of Mars, information that will help scientists figure out how the planet, and other rocky planets such as Earth, formed and evolved. The space agency said it was reviewing how much the repair would cost, but the project's lead scientist last week estimated the price tag would be about $150 million above the $675 million already budgeted.

Could New Planets Form Around Old Stars, Too? (Video, Images)

The newly released image, which was captured by the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) in Chile, shows a dusty disk around an old double star called IRAS 08544-4431, which lies about 4,000 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of Vela (The Sails). "Our observations and modeling open a new window to study the physics of these disks, as well as stellar evolution in double stars," study co-author Hans Van Winckel, of the Instituut voor Sterrenkunde in Belgium, said in a statement. The scientists used several VLTI telescopes, an associated instrument called the Precision Integrated-Optics Near-infrared Imaging ExpeRiment (PIONIER) and a new high-speed infrared detector to take the photo.

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Tuesday, March 8, 2016

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This Week's Total Solar Eclipse: Science of the Celestial Event

Skywatchers, to your telescopes! This week, a total solar eclipse will put on a dramatic celestial show, darkening the skies over Southeast Asia in what will be the only total eclipse of the sun this year. This week's eclipse will happen early Wednesday (March 9) local time in Southeast Asia (Tuesday, March 8, EST). The total solar eclipse will begin over the Indian Ocean, casting a shadow over parts of Sumatra, Borneo and other islands, before moving east across the Pacific Ocean.

'Unbelievable Event': Uterus Transplanted in a First for US

A 26-year-old woman who learned at age 16 that she would be unable to have children now has a chance to do so, thanks to the first uterus transplant in the U.S. The transplant provides hope for women who are unable to have babies due to uterus-related issues, said the doctors who completed the transplant. A condition called uterine factor infertility — in which a woman is unable to get pregnant because she either does not have a uterus, or the uterus does not function properly — affects an estimated 50,000 women in the United States, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Orbital eyes first customer for in-space satellite servicing

By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Orbital ATK Inc on Monday said it hopes to announce within the next six to eight weeks its first contract for a new "in space" service aimed at extending the life and uses of aging commercial satellites in geosynchronous orbit. Tom Wilson, vice president of strategy and business development at Orbital ATK, said the company had invested tens of millions of dollars in the new capability, but gave no specific amount. Wilson said each year about 70 satellites of the 380 communications satellites in orbit could potentially need servicing as they reached the end of the propellant that allows them to maintain their position in space.

Mysterious 'Area 6' Landing Strip in Nevada Desert Baffles Experts

A mysterious, mile-long landing strip in the remote Nevada desert could be the home base for testing sensors on a top-secret fleet of drones, security experts speculate. The asphalt landing strip is in Area 6 of the Yucca Flat test site, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) northeast of the infamous Area 51 that has long been the subject of conspiracy theories. In Area 6, a handful of hangars with clamshell doors are clustered at one end of the airstrip, images from Google Earth reveal.

A 35-Inch Waist and Your Health: What's the Link?

In reaction to model Ashley Graham gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated's latest swimsuit issue, former Sports Illustrated cover girl and supermodel Cheryl Tiegs sounded not so positive about women with larger waistlines. "I don't like it that we're talking about full-figured women, because it's glamorizing them, and your waist should be smaller than 35 [inches]," Tiegs said in an interview with E! on the red carpet of the 13th Annual Global Green USA pre-Oscar party. Celebrity feuds aside, Tiegs' reaction left many people curious about whether a 35-inch waist is a true marker of health.

Bionic fingertip gives sense of touch to amputee

By Matthew Stock A bionic fingertip has given an amputee the sensation of rough or smooth textures via electrodes implanted into nerves in his upper arm. Scientists from EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) and SSSA (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Italy) successfully allowed amputee Dennis Aabo Sørensen to receive this sophisticated tactile information in real-time. The research, published in science journal eLife, says Sørensen is the first person in the world to recognize texture using a bionic fingertip connected to electrodes surgically implanted above his stump.

Microbial Manifesto: The Global Push to Understand the Microbiome (Kavli Roundtable)

Read more perspective pieces on the Kavli Expert Voices landing page. With a unified focus, researchers hope to learn how microbiomes could not only cure infectious diseases and reduce antibiotic drug resistance, but also reclaim exhausted farmland, cut fertilizer and pesticide use, and produce new fuels and carbon-based chemicals. Such analyses show that microbial communities can be incredibly diverse , including hundreds of thousands of different microbial species, all interacting with one another.

A Demon Ate the Sun: How Solar Eclipses Inspired Superstition

The first and only total solar eclipse of 2016 will roll across the sky this week. Total solar eclipses — when the moon's shadow blocks the sun entirely — are spectacular events, highly anticipated by astronomers, astrophotographers and casual spectators alike. Throughout history, cultures around the world sought to provide context and explanation for eclipses, and like the eclipses themselves, the legends attached to the events were dramatic. This week's total solar eclipse will be visible from Indonesia and from the North Pacific Ocean early on Wednesday (March 9) local time, (late Tuesday, March 8, EST).

The World's Most Innovative Research Institutions

Topping the list is France's Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), for its research into areas including renewable power, public health, and information security. On a country-by-country basis, the United States leads the list, with six organizations ranked (France and Japan each have four, and Germany has three).

Slippery Asteroid Surprises Scientists With Early Earth Flyby

An asteroid zoomed past Earth at a safe distance Monday (March 7), a day earlier than scientists had predicted. The near-Earth asteroid 2013 TX68 flew by our planet at 8:42 a.m. EST (1342 GMT) Monday at a distance of 2.54 million miles (4.09 million kilometers), according to researchers at the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who pegged the object's diameter at between 56 and 177 feet (17 to 54 meters). This threat would likely come via serious climate effects, with the impact from such an object potentially throwing up enough dust and soot (from resulting fires) to plunge Earth into a mini ice age for several years.

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Monday, March 7, 2016

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Australia's ugly mammals fail to catch the eye of scientists, study shows

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Pushed out of the limelight by cuddly koalas and kangaroos, Australia's less glamorous native bats and rodents have failed to catch the eyes of scientific researchers, a new study shows. Just 11 percent of scientific studies on Australian wildlife since 1901 have looked at native bats and rodents, although they make up 45 percent of all species, says the study published in the Mammal Review Journal. ...

Australia's ugly mammals fail to catch the eye of scientists, study shows

Pushed out of the limelight by cuddly koalas and kangaroos, Australia's less glamorous native bats and rodents have failed to catch the eyes of scientific researchers, a new study shows. Just 11 percent of scientific studies on Australian wildlife since 1901 have looked at native bats and rodents, although they make up 45 percent of all species, says the study published in the Mammal Review Journal. Australia has already had some unique bat species become extinct and there is a risk more could follow without anyone noticing, said Trish Fleming, a wildlife biologist from Murdoch University.

Now you're talking: human-like robot may one day care for dementia patients

By Paige Lim SINGAPORE (Reuters) - With her brown hair, soft skin and expressive face, Nadine is a new brand of human-like robot that could one day, scientists hope, be used as a personal assistant or care provider for the elderly. The 1.7-metre tall Nadine was created in the likeness of its maker, Nadia Thalmann, a visiting professor and director of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University's Institute of Media Innovation who has spent three decades researching into virtual humans. Nadine is not commercially available, but Thalmann predicted robots could one day be used as companions for people living with dementia.

Ancient Burial Ground with 100 Tombs Found Near Biblical Bethlehem

An ancient necropolis that once held more than 100 tombs from as far back as 4,000 years ago has been discovered near the Palestinian town of Bethlehem in the West Bank. In 2014 a team from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Palestine excavated some of the tombs, and in 2015 a joint Italian-Palestinian team surveyed the necropolis and created a plan for future exploration. The archaeologists found that the necropolis covered 3 hectares (more than 7 acres) and originally contained more than 100 tombs in use between roughly 2200 B.C. and 650 B.C.

How Speedy Beetles 'Ski' Across the Water

Prakash, an assistant professor with the Department of Engineering at Stanford University in California, filmed the beetles as they skittered over plates filled with water, explaining in a statement that working with them in the lab was difficult because they were hard to find when they got loose. "Although these potholes are being generated by the insect itself," Prakash added.

Rare Amber-Entombed Lizards Preserved in Amazing Detail

The tiny, trapped fossils, found in Myanmar, represent an unparalleled sampling of species diversity for tropical lizards from the Cretaceous era, which lasted from 145.5 million years ago to about 65.5 million years ago. The fossils are astonishingly well-preserved, the researchers said, including specimens with intact skin, visible skin pigment and soft tissues — and in one case, a lolling tongue. One individual's spindly toes earned it the nickname "Nosferatu," after the long-fingered silent-movie vampire, said study co-author David Grimaldi, a curator in the division of invertebrate zoology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Earth's Fiery Depths Filled with Brimstone

Earth's inner core is a metallic mix of iron and light elements such as sulfur, hydrogen and silicon, a new study finds. This isn't the first time scientists have proposed that Earth's fiery depths are filled with brimstone, another name for sulfur. Researchers at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, mimicked the inner core in a laboratory equipped with a laser-heated diamond anvil cell.

Zika Virus May Infect, Kill Neural Stem Cells

The Zika virus may infect and kill a type of brain cell that is crucial for brain development, according to a new study done in human cells growing in lab dishes. Although the results don't prove the Zika virus can cause the condition called microcephaly in babies, the findings do suggest where and how the virus may cause damage in the brain, the researchers said. The researchers showed that the Zika virus can infect brain cells, in lab dishes; however, the researchers still don't know if the same thing happens to cells in a developing fetus that is infected with the virus, Song added.

The Brain Science Behind Raising the Tobacco Buying Age to 21

San Francisco's new tobacco ordinance — which raises the legal age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21 — could help improve the health of a new generation of people by preventing addiction, health officials said. Nationally, 18-year-olds can buy tobacco products, including cigarettes and cigars. These new policies could lead to better brain development among young adults who might have otherwise chosen to smoke at a younger age, said Brian King, the deputy director for research translation at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office on Smoking and Health.

Time short to protect Africa's food supply from climate change - scientists

By Megan Rowling BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Without action to help farmers adjust to changing climate conditions, it will become impossible to grow some staple food crops in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, with maize, beans and bananas most at risk, researchers said on Monday. In a study of how global warming will affect nine crops that make up half the region's food production, scientists found that up to 30 percent of areas growing maize and bananas, and up to 60 percent of those producing beans could become unviable by the end of the century. Six of the nine crops - cassava, groundnut, pearl millet, finger millet, sorghum and yam - are projected to remain stable under moderate and extreme climate change scenarios.

Doesn't Make Scents? Snakebite Causes Man to Lose Ability to Smell

In an unusual medical case, a man in Australia lost his sense of smell for more than a year after he was bitten by a venomous snake, according to a new report of his case. The man has since regained some of his sense of smell, but he is still unable to fully detect smells the way he did before his encounter with the reptile, called the mulga snake, said the doctors and other experts who examined the man's neurological condition about a year after he was bitten and who wrote the report of his case. "As far as I know, he is still affected but somewhat improved," said Kenneth D. Winkel, a toxinologist at the University of Melbourne in Australia, who co-authored the report.

Time short to protect Africa's food supply from climate change - scientists

Can You Outrun a Supervolcano? Maybe, Study Finds

Can you outrun a supervolcano? "I wouldn't recommend anyone try to outrun a volcano, but there's a few of us that could," said Greg Valentine, a volcanologist at the University at Buffalo in New York. By analyzing rocks trapped in volcanic ash, Valentine and his colleagues discovered the lethal ash flow spread at street speeds — about 10 to 45 mph (16 to 72 km/h).

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