Carbon dioxide frost consigns Phoenix Mars Lander to history

WASHINGTON – NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander has ended operations after carbon dioxide frost damaged the spacecraft’s solar panels.

Repeated attempts to contact the spacecraft were unsuccessful and a new image transmitted by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, or MRO, shows signs of severe ice damage to the lander’s solar panels.

An image of Phoenix taken this month by …. Original source  : Carbon dioxide frost consigns Phoenix Mars Lander to history.

Patent-run for synthetic life form could be ‘damaging’, says Brit scientist

LONDON – Efforts to patent the first synthetic life form would give its creator a monopoly on a range of genetic engineering, said a top UK scientist who helped sequence the human genome.

Professor John Sulston said that the run for patent would inhibit important research.

US-based Dr Craig Venter led the artificial life form research, details … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Patent-run for synthetic life form could be ‘damaging’, says Brit scientist.

How poverty shapes the brain

TORONTO – Using a number of imaging techniques, a Canadian researcher will compare the structure and function of brains of young adults from families with low socioeconomic status to those who are middle-class.

James Swain, from University of Michigan, is part of a new generation of neuroscientists investigating how poverty shapes the brain.

He knows that the … Original source on Gaea Times at : How poverty shapes the brain.

Silver and gold nanowires to improve touch screens

WASHINGTON – Silver and gold nanowires can improve touch screen flexibility and durability, say scientists from Stanford University.

Rather than the protective glass that shatters when dropped, wires can be embedded in flexible plastics, which can reduce the weight and increase the … Read : Silver and gold nanowires to improve touch screens.

New method ‘to determine if dinosaurs were warm or cold-blooded’

WASHINGTON – Scientists have introduced the first method to directly measure body temperatures of extinct vertebrates and help reconstruct temperatures of ancient environments.

The study, by researchers from five institutions including the University …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : New method ‘to determine if dinosaurs were warm or cold-blooded’.

Erratic orbits of neighbouring planets may make life sustenance difficult

WASHINGTON – Astronomers have found that fluctuating orbits of surrounding planets around a seemingly habitable planet could render life impossible on it.

New findings from computer modelling show that the forces exerted by giant neighbours with eccentric orbits could cause extreme … Read more >>>.

Dose of testosterone ‘makes women less trusting’

LONDON – A dose of sex hormone testosterone can make women less trusting of men, claims a study.

But, according to the study’s researchers, the effect only seems to be true for the more trusting members of society.

Tied to aggression and competitive behaviour, testosterone is produced by both sexes, although in much smaller quantities in women.

In … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Dose of testosterone ‘makes women less trusting’.

Premature birth risk ‘genetic’

LONDON – Premature birth risk is genetic, according to a group of researchers.

In the University of Aberdeen study, which was published in Obstetrics and Gynecology journal, boffins found that early births tend to run in families.

The study, based on maternity records of 22,343 Scottish mothers and their daughters, found that women born prematurely or who … Read more : Premature birth risk ‘genetic’.

New DNA-cancer vaccine starves tumours of blood

WASHINGTON – Scientists at the Karolinska Institutet have developed a DNA-vaccine that restricts the supply of blood to tumours.

The vaccine slows the growth of breast cancer tumours in mice.

If a cancer tumour is to become larger than a few millimetres it must be able to stimulate the formation of new blood vessels, in order to …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : New DNA-cancer vaccine starves tumours of blood.

NASA ends effort to contact silent Phoenix Mars Lander near north pole; ice damage possible

NASA ends effort to contact Phoenix Mars Lander

LOS ANGELES – NASA has ended efforts to regain contact with its Phoenix Mars Lander near the red planet’s north pole.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Monday that repeated attempts to contact the lander were unsuccessful and an image taken by an orbiting spacecraft suggests severe ice damage to its …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : NASA ends effort to contact silent Phoenix Mars Lander near north pole; ice damage possible.

‘Stress’ protein may stop aging process

WASHINGTON – Excessive amounts of HSP10 (Heat Shock Protein) inside mitochondria – ‘organs’ that act as energy generators in cells – can halt the body’s ageing process by preserving muscle strength, scientists have found.

HSP10 helps monitor and organise protein interactions in the body, and responds to environmental stresses, such as exercise and infection, by increasing …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : ‘Stress’ protein may stop aging process.

Officials say poisoning mission in Chicago-area river kills many fish, but no Asian carp found

Chicago poisoning operation finds no Asian carp

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – A poisoning operation aimed at rooting out the voracious Asian carp in a Chicago-area river before they make their way into the Great Lake didn’t turn up any of the unwanted fish, Illinois officials said Monday.
Officials said more than 100,000 pounds of dead fish had …. Read the original article  : Officials say poisoning mission in Chicago-area river kills many fish, but no Asian carp found.

Playing in the dirt can make you smarter

Washington, May 25 (ANI): Exposure to a natural soil bacterium, which people likely ingest or breathe in when they spend time in nature, could increase learning behavior, claim researchers.

The finding will be presented at the 110th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego.
“Mycobacterium vaccae is a … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Playing in the dirt can make you smarter.

Boffins develop model that demonstrates infectious cause of asthma

Washington, May 25 (ANI): An animal model that shows how an early childhood lung infection can cause asthma later in life has been developed by scientists from the University of Massachusetts.

The boffins present their data …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Boffins develop model that demonstrates infectious cause of asthma.

Folate could prevent alcohol-induced congenital heart defects in mice

WASHINGTON – High levels of the B-vitamin folate (folic acid) could prevent heart birth defects induced by alcohol exposure in early pregnancy, a condition known as foetal alcohol syndrome, according to a new animal study.

Researchers at the University of South Florida College of Medicine …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Folate could prevent alcohol-induced congenital heart defects in mice.

Early umbilical cord clamping may interrupt ‘nature’s first stem cell transplant’

WASHINGTON – The practice of clamping the umbilical cord just after birth should be delayed just a few minutes longer, urge researchers at the University of South Florida’s Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair.

Delaying clamping the umbilical cord for a slightly longer …. Source  : Early umbilical cord clamping may interrupt ‘nature’s first stem cell transplant’.

Darwin-inspired spacecraft engine with double life expectancy
created

LONDON – Inspired by Charles Darwin, scientists have doubled the life expectancy of a popular type of ion engineMovie Camera using software that mimics the way natural selection evolves ever-fitter designs.

Electrostatic ion engines are becoming popular in space missions.

Instead …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Darwin-inspired spacecraft engine with double life expectancy
created.

Scientists capture collision of a comet and Sun

Washington, May 25 (ANI): For the first time, solar physicists at the University of California, Berkeley, have captured the collision of a comet with the Sun.

Using instruments aboard NASA’s twin STEREO spacecraft, four post-doctoral fellows at UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory tracked the comet as it approached the … Original source on Gaea Times at : Scientists capture collision of a comet and Sun.

Pollution dispersion study key to understanding 2002 Antarctic ozone hole break-up

WASHINGTON – The eruption of the volcano in Iceland wreaked havoc as particles from the natural disaster travelled over Europe, forcing closures of major airports. But now, the seemingly random flow of particles can be analyzed to understand and control global phenomena such as this.

According to … Read more : Pollution dispersion study key to understanding 2002 Antarctic ozone hole break-up.

Rajasthan to dig ponds in water-starved sanctuaries

JAIPUR – Rajasthan will construct small dams and ponds in its water-starved wildlife sanctuaries – a move that could also stop animals from straying into nearby villages in search of the precious resource.

“In the first phase we would spend Rs.410 million (Rs.41 crore) on the construction of 85 such waterbodies inside Sariska, Ranthambore and Sawai … Read more >>.