Science & TechnologyS


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Lonely planet without a star discovered wandering our galaxy


UPI
Wed, 09 Oct 2013 16:34 UTC
PSO J318.5-22
© MPIA/V. Ch. Quetz Artist's impression of free-floating planet PSO J318.5-22.
Honolulu -- An exotic young planet free-floating through the Milky Way galaxy rather than orbiting any star is practically a newborn in cosmic terms, astronomers say.

Dubbed PSO J318.5-22, the planet without a host star is 80 light-years away from Earth and has a mass only six times that of Jupiter. It formed a mere 12 million years ago, researchers said -- a newborn in planet lifetimes.

It was identified from its faint, unique heat signature by telescopes in Hawaii, and found to have properties similar to those of gas-giant planets found orbiting around young stars.
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Info

Researchers find that 'peanut butter' test can help diagnose Alzheimer's disease

Marilee Griffin
University of Florida
Wed, 09 Oct 2013 16:51 UTC

Gainsville, Florida - A dollop of peanut butter and a ruler can be used to confirm a diagnosis of early stage Alzheimer's disease, University of Florida Health researchers have found.

Jennifer Stamps, a graduate student in the UF McKnight Brain Institute Center for Smell and Taste, and her colleagues reported the findings of a small pilot study in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences.

Stamps came up with the idea of using peanut butter to test for smell sensitivity while she was working with Dr. Kenneth Heilman, the James E. Rooks distinguished professor of neurology and health psychology in the UF College of Medicine's department of neurology.
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Comet 2

New Data: Will Comet ISON survive its close perihelion passage?

David Dickinson
Universe Today
Wed, 09 Oct 2013 16:21 UTC
Comet ISON_1
© NASA/ESA J.-Y. Li of the Planetary Science Institute and the Hubble ISON Imaging Science TeamAn enhanced analysis of the dust coma of Comet ISON, showing the evaporation of ice particles (in red).
It's the question on every astronomer's mind this season, both backyard and professional: will Comet C/2012 S1 ISON survive perihelion?

Now, new studies released today at the American Astronomical Society's 45th Annual Division for Planetary Sciences meeting being held this week in Denver suggests that ISON may have the "right stuff" to make it through its close perihelion passage near the Sun. This is good news, as Comet ISON is expected to be the most active and put on its best showing post-perihelion... if it survives.

Researchers Matthew Knight of the Lowell Observatory and Research Scientist Jian-Yang Li of the Planetary Science Institute both presented a compelling portrait of the characteristics and unique opportunities presented by the approach of comet ISON to the inner solar system.
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Comet

Could a comet have caused the Great Chicago Fire of 1871?

Weather Girl
ChicagoNow
Wed, 09 Oct 2013 15:04 UTC
Great Chicago Fire 1871
© Chicago Now
Could a comet have caused the Great Chicago Fire of 1871? For three days, October 8-10, 1871, Chicago was burning. It was a rain of fire and terror as the wood buildings burned to the ground.

Ironically, the O'Leary house (Mrs. O'Leary of the famous cow and lantern theory) was left standing on DeKoven Street. The Water Tower also remained. Most of what was then Chicago was in ruins.

At the same time, there were fires burning in other parts of llinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. The Great Peshtigo Fire (in Peshtigo, Wisconsin) is still considered one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history.

There were also fires in Urbana, Illinois and Holland, Michigan.

Comment: See also:

The Comet and the Chicago Fire

Comet Biela and Mrs. O'Leary's Cow

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Bizarro Earth

Weird shift of Earth's magnetic field explained

Nola Taylor Redd
SPACE.com
Wed, 09 Oct 2013 13:01 UTC
Earth's magnetic field_1
© ESA/AOES MedialabEarth's magnetic field is generated by interactions in its molten outer core. As the flowing iron generates electric currents, the electromagnetic field is constantly changing.
Earth's magnetic field shields the planet from charged particles streaming from the sun, keeping it from becoming a barren, Mars-like rock. For more than 300 years, scientists have recorded a westward-drifting feature in the field that models have been unable to explain.

By relying on insights gleaned from previous work, as well as data collected over nearly four centuries, an international team of scientists has been able to provide a model that accounts for the western drift of the magnetic field on one side of the planet.

"People have tried various configurations regarding the state of the core-mantle alignment," lead author Julien Aubert, of the Université Paris Diderot in France, told SPACE.com in an email."The ingredients were here, but they were never put in the right configuration, in particular for reproducing the geomagnetic westward drift."
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Satellite

Experts stumped by spacecraft's speed variations during Earth flyby

Elizabeth Howell
Universe Today
Wed, 09 Oct 2013 13:10 UTC
Juno
© NASAArtist’s conception of Juno coming near Earth on a planned flyby Oct. 9, 2013.
Every so often, engineers send a spacecraft in Earth's general direction to pick up a speed boost before heading elsewhere. But sometimes, something strange happens - the spacecraft's speed varies in an unexpected way. Even stranger, this variation happens only during some Earth flybys.

"We detected the flyby anomaly during Rosetta's first Earth visit in March 2005," stated Trevor Morley, a flight dynamics specialist at the European Space Agency's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany.

"Frustratingly, no anomaly was seen during Rosetta's subsequent Earth flybys in 2007 and 2011. This is a real cosmic mystery that no one has yet figured out."
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Cell Phone

CMU researchers claim to have created messaging app even NSA can't crack

Jon Delano
CBS Pittsburgh
Tue, 08 Oct 2013 19:28 UTC
Image
© Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
Carnegie Mellon University researchers claim they have created a smartphone messaging app with security that not even the National Security Agency can break.

The app is called SafeSlinger, and is free on the iTunes store, and Google play store for Android phones.

Researchers say the app uses a passphrase which only the user, and the other party can know.They claim messages cannot be read by a cellular carrier, internet-provider, employer, or anyone else.

The setup takes a few minutes, with the user answering security questions generated by the app that help it generate encryption and authorization credentials.

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Robot

Soon, Drones may be able to make lethal decisions on their own

Joshua Foust
National Journal
Tue, 08 Oct 2013 16:49 UTC
NASA Global Hawk
© SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty ImagesA NASA Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone aircraft, takes off during a Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel, or HS3, mission at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, on September 10, 2013
Scientists, engineers and policymakers are all figuring out ways drones can be used better and more smartly, more precise and less damaging to civilians, with longer range and better staying power. One method under development is by increasing autonomy on the drone itself.

Eventually, drones may have the technical ability to make even lethal decisions autonomously: to respond to a programmed set of inputs, select a target and fire their weapons without a human reviewing or checking the result. Yet the idea of the U.S. military deploying a lethal autonomous robot, or LAR, is sparking controversy. Though autonomy might address some of the current downsides of how drones are used, they introduce new downsides policymakers are only just learning to grapple with.
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Comet 2

Scientists discover ancient Earth comet impact

Lee Rannals
RedOrbit
Tue, 08 Oct 2013 15:21 UTC
Exploding Comet
© Terry Bakker An artist’s rendition of the comet exploding in Earth’s atmosphere above Egypt.
Comet ISON is getting closer to making its close pass by the sun, but what would happen if it had a brush with our planet instead? New evidence shows it would be devastating.

International scientists have discovered the first ever evidence of a comet entering Earth's atmosphere and exploding. This celestial object rained down fire across the Earth, obliterating every life form in its path.

The team's discovery provides the first definitive proof of a comet striking Earth millions of years ago. It also helps to give scientists a peak into how comets help shape the solar system.

"Comets always visit our skies - they're these dirty snowballs of ice mixed with dust - but never before in history has material from a comet ever been found on Earth," Professor David Block, of Wits University, said in a statement.
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Info

Go with your gut: How bacteria may affect mental health

Tanya Lewis
LiveScience
Tue, 08 Oct 2013 11:29 UTC
Gut Bacteria
© DreamstimeStudies in mice suggest that gut bacteria can influence anxiety and other mental states.
New York - The oodles of microbes living in the gut may affect brain function, recent studies suggest.

The human body is home to about 100 trillion bacteria - that means there are about 10 times as many bacterial cells as human cells in your body. Increasing evidence shows these microbes - collectively known as the microbiome - play a role in health, including mental health.

Studies in mice suggest that microbes living in the digestive tract are linked to depression and anxiety.

"There's a strong relationship between gastroenterology and psychiatric conditions," said gastroenterologist Dr. Stephen Collins of McMaster University in Canada, at a symposium here at the New York Academy of Sciences.

Many people with inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS) have depression or anxiety, Collins said. His research team has found several lines of evidence that intestinal microbes influence the brain.
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