Two spacewalking astronauts made repairs to a leaky radiator system outside the International Space Station Thursday, a short while after maneuvering the station to avoid a menacing piece of space debris. In a six-hour procedure, space station commander Sunita Wiliams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide successfully reconfigured ammonia coolant lines to bypass the suspect radiator, […]
Spacewalkers Bypass Space Station Coolant Leak
Posted November 1st, 2012 at 7:05 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment
Spacewalkers Try To Bypass Space Station Coolant Leak
Posted November 1st, 2012 at 12:25 pm (UTC-5)
Two astronauts are working outside the orbiting International Space Station to try to bypass a leak in a cooling system. Engineers suspect the radiator was hit by a micrometeoroid or a piece of space debris, which created a tiny hole that has allowed ammonia to escape. The radiators dissipate heat from the station’s equipment. Station […]
Common Food Preservative May Slow, Halt Tumor Growth
Posted October 31st, 2012 at 4:00 pm (UTC-5)
A common food preservative appears to slow or even stop the growth of certain head and neck cancers, according to a University of Michigan study. The researchers found that the anti-bacterial agent Nisin activates a protein that promotes cell death in cancer cells, but does not harm normal ‘good’ cells. Oral cancer is a leading […]
1,000 Genomes Project Paints Detailed Picture of Human Variation
Posted October 31st, 2012 at 2:00 pm (UTC-5)
Results of a project that has mapped the genetic material, or genomes, of 1,092 individuals from 14 countries will help researchers interpret genetic changes in people with disease. The first phase of the so-called ‘1,000 Genomes Project,’ published in the journal Nature, profiles the rare and common genetic variations in the human species. Scientists believe […]
100-Million-Year-Old Fish Discovered in Texas
Posted October 25th, 2012 at 2:10 pm (UTC-5)
A paleontologist in Texas has identified a new species of coelacanth , an ancient fish most closely related to land-dwelling vertebrates, including humans. John Graf, of Southern Methodist University, says the pieces of the tiny fossil skull found recently near Fort Worth are 100 million years old, and represent a new family of this remarkably […]
Bacterium Could Deliver Vaccine with No Needles
Posted October 23rd, 2012 at 4:10 pm (UTC-5)
A type of bacterium that forms long-lasting spores could be a vehicle for delivering vaccines without the use of needles. Simon Cutting, a bacterial geneticist at Royal Holloway, University of London, worked with one of the most intensively studied bacteria, Bacillus subtilis. He discovered that the microorganism’s spores could be used to carry into the […]
Mars Rover Ready to Take First Sample
Posted October 4th, 2012 at 8:15 pm (UTC-5)
The U.S. space agency says the Mars rover Curiosity is ready to scoop up its first sample of soil from the red planet Saturday. NASA officials made the announcement Thursday. It said the rover’s robotic arm will take several samples of Martian soil in the coming days and process them to help determine if there […]
Father’s Age Linked to Autism Risk
Posted August 22nd, 2012 at 1:55 pm (UTC-5)
The older a man is when he fathers a child, the more likely it is that he will pass on damaging mutations, such as those that lead to developmental problems like autism. While that had been suspected, scientists in Iceland have quantified the risk. They found that the average child born to a 20-year-old father […]
Study Shows Ancient Human Relatives
Posted August 8th, 2012 at 9:55 pm (UTC-5)
A famous research family that found fossils recently in northern Kenya says the discovery strengthens their theory that there were two other pre-human species in addition to the one that eventually led to modern humans eons ago. A team led by the daughter-in-law of famed paleontologist Louis Leakey found facial bones from one creature and […]
Benefits of HIV Drugs Show Smaller-Than-Expected Gain
Posted July 23rd, 2012 at 6:25 pm (UTC-5)
Researchers say the proportion of HIV-positive patients in the United States whose infection with the AIDS virus are effectively controlled by drugs jumped from 45 to 72 percent during the past decade. But despite this impressive 60 percent gain in viral suppression rates, the new analysis falls short of previous estimates. The finding is important […]
