Science Scanner: Venus Mission Ends, Organic Chemistry on Mars, Hormone Changes in Expectant Dads, New High in CO2 Output
ESA’s Venus Express Mission Ends The European Space Agency (ESA) announced this week that the space probe it sent to orbit Venus back in 2006 has reached the end of its life. Called the Venus Express, the spacecraft ran out of its propellant after executing a number of thruster burns that returned the probe to […]
Science Scanner – Big Asteroid Won’t Hit Us, Artificial Skin Detects Pressure, Link Found: ER Visits and Internet Searches
Huge Asteroid Won’t Hit Us After All The NASA/JPL Near-Earth Object Program Office says that we can all breathe easier now: Reports indicating that a gigantic asteroid is heading our way and would possibly impact the Earth are not true. The 400-meter wide ‘2014 UR116’ asteroid, found on October 27 at the MASTER-II observatory in […]
Science Scanner: Orion Set for Test, Mars Meteorite May Have Organic Matter, Heavy Newborns Excel in School, Oceans Help Warming Hiatus
NASA Readies Orion Spacecraft for Test Flight Excitement continues to build in Florida as NASA makes final preparations for the tomorrow’s (12/4/14) first unmanned flight test of Orion spacecraft, which the space agency plans to use to send astronauts to an asteroid and then to Mars. Liftoff has been set for 1105 UTC from Space […]
Obesity Found to Age the Liver Faster
U.S. and German scientists have found, for the first time, that obesity significantly quickens the aging process of the liver and have revealed that carrying excessive weight can negatively impact certain human tissues. While scientists have suspected that obesity does play a significant role in aging a person faster the American/German team said that their […]
New Treatment in Fight Against Antibiotic-Resistant Infections Shows Promise
Researchers in New York say their new ‘programmable antibiotic’ treatment that fights dangerous bacterial infections without harming other more benign or even helpful microbes shows promise. The technique could also some day prove to be a useful tool in the fight against the growing global health threat of antimicrobial resistance In a study published in […]
Unique Carbon-Based Molecule Found in Deep Space May Indicate Origins of Life
Astronomers from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, and the University of Cologne found an unusual carbon-based molecule called isopropyl cyanide in a gas cloud some 27,000 light years away. Those involved with the discovery say the finding suggests the type of complex molecules needed for life may have […]
Science Scanner: Gravity Dip & Ice Loss Linked, Settling an Scientific Argument, Powerful Solar Flares Found on Mini-Star, Dolphins May Like Magnets
Drop in Gravity Field Over West Antarctic Linked with Ice Loss A group of German, Dutch and U.S. scientists who analyzed high-resolution satellite data from November 2009 until January 2012 found a drop in the gravity field over West Antarctica, which according to various reports has also experienced record ice loss. The researchers studied data […]
Two Martian Probes Set to Orbit Red Planet
Two unmanned spacecraft headed to Mars, one launched by the United States and the other by India, will soon reach the Red Planet within days of each other. NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) probe, launched November 18 is set for insertion into Mars orbit (MOI) on Sunday, September 21. India’s first interplanetary spacecraft, […]
Science Scanner: Ultra-Fast Data Transmission, Why Humans Look Different, Exoplanet Makes Young Sun Act Old, Scientists Find New Branch of European Family Tree
California Scientists Develop Radio Based Ultra-Fast Data Transmission System Back in 2012, an international team of scientists led by electrical engineering professor Alan Willner, of the University of Southern California, made news when they announced that they were able to transmit data at incredibly high speeds with a system that used eight twisted light beams. […]
Some Bacteria are Sneakier Than First Suspected
The emergence and rapid growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria has become a serious worldwide health concern. The World Health Organization said in its 2014 report on antimicrobial resistance that “without urgent, coordinated action, the world is heading towards a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries, which have been treatable for decades, can […]