Science & TechnologyS


Info

Industrial hemp sure to become NC's newest legal crop

Colin Campbell
The News and Observer
Thu, 29 Oct 2015 18:36 UTC
Image
© www.hempyreum.org
North Carolina Farmers Hold Their Breath: Industrial Hemp Cultivation Could Be Legal By Saturday Morning
Workers do final assembly of a decortification line at the Industrial Hemp Manufacturing Company in Spring Hope, NC, on Wednesday. The facility hopes to begin full-scale operations when a bill becomes law at midnight Friday, without Gov. Pat McCrory's signature. The law legalizes industrial hemp in North Carolina. Farmers are eager to grow the crop, which can be used in textiles, oil drilling fluid and other products. It has virtually no THC, the active ingredient in marijuana that is smoked. This group of machines separates the outer fibers from the inner core. The outer fibers are used in the textile industry, the core fibers are used by the oil and gas industry. The plant currently processes kanaf, a plant similar to hemp. It is used to make door panels in cars and trucks.

Comment: Hemp is a win-win for the economy and the environment.

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Info

New DNA repair enzyme discovered

Shayne Jacopian
RedOrbit
Sun, 01 Nov 2015 18:59 UTC
DNA Structure
© Thinkstock
Vanderbilt University researchers have discovered a new class of DNA repair enzyme, according to findings published in the journal Nature.

After originally discovering the structure of DNA, scientists thought that it was a chemically stable blueprint of traits that was difficult to alter. However, in the decades since, scientists have found that the double helix molecule is extremely reactive and subject to damage. Cells must constantly work to repair damaged DNA, and that's where DNA repair enzymes come in.

"It's a double-edged sword," said Brandt Eichman, an associate professor of biological sciences and biochemistry at Vanderbilt and the leader of the research team behind this discovery. "If DNA were too reactive then it wouldn't be capable of storing genetic information. But, if it were too stable, then it wouldn't allow organisms to evolve."
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Sun

G3-class geomagnetic storm likely today; sunspot quadruples in size


Space Weather
Mon, 02 Nov 2015 18:02 UTC
Image
© NOAA
Geomagnetic Storms Likely Today:

NOAA forecasters estimate a 90% chance of geomagnetic storms on Nov. 2nd-3rd when a fast-moving stream of solar wind is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. Solar wind speeds could exceed 800 km/s and spark a strong G3-class geomagnetic storm. Sky watchers in the USA should be alert for Northern Lights as far south as, e.g., Oregon and Illinois.

Monster Sunspot:

So you thought Halloween was over? Think again. There is a monster spot on the sun. AR2443 has more than quadrupled in size since it first appeared on Oct. 29th, and it now stretches more than 175,000 km from end to end. Philippe Tosi took this picture of the active region on Nov. 1st from his backyard observatory in Nîmes, France:
Image
© Philippe Tosi
The sunspot has more than a dozen dark cores, many of which are as large as terrestrial continents--and a couple as large as Earth itself. These dimensions make it an easy target for backyard solar telecopes.

Of greater interest is the sunspot's potential for explosive activity. The spotty complex has a 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong M-classsolar flares. Any such explosions will be geoeffective as the sunspot turns squarely toward Earth in the days ahead.
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Moon

NASA explores Enceladus, Saturn's inhabitable ice volcano moon


Sputnik
Sat, 31 Oct 2015 09:08 UTC
Enceladus
© www.npr.orgNew research suggest warm oceans beneath Enceladus' icy crust.
Saturn's ice-covered ocean moon, Enceladus, may be able to support alien lifeforms under its ice volcanoes, according to new data released by NASA.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft transmitted photographs of Saturn's icy, volcano-covered moon, Enceladus.

The photographs show that the moon is still geologically active, meaning that NASA will consider the moon for further exploration as a habitable environment beyond Earth. The Cassini spacecraft will also send probes of the moon's gas and ice plume to analyze it for signs that the moon harbors signs of alien life.

Comment: See also:

Enceladus' electrical connection to Saturn
Freeze-thaw cycle may explain Saturn moon's odd activity

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Evil Rays

Orcas Island residents come together to invent own internet service


RT
Mon, 02 Nov 2015 13:24 UTC
Image
© WikipediaWest coast US view from Orcas Island
In a true show of community spirit, an American island too far from the mainland came together as one to build their own internet service powered by radios in trees. Orcas Island off Washington State has been transformed by its people's inventiveness.

For several years the residents of one of the San Juan Islands had suffered very weak internet from provider CenturyLink, located on the mainland. Despite promises of higher speeds and renewed infrastructure, nothing materialized.

Many couldn't log on to work from a distance, as outages lasted anywhere from one to 10 days, according to Ars Technica.

Private ISPs were expensive, demanding around $388,500 for setting things up.

Comment: It is amazing what communities can do when they work together!

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Bug

Scientists figure out what makes us scratch an itch

Harriet Dempsey-Jones
The Conversation
Mon, 02 Nov 2015 15:43 UTC
itch scratching
Having an itch can be incredibly annoying but it actually serves an important function, protecting us from damage to our skin. However, scientists have long struggled to explain what actually causes the sensation - in particular why some types of touch cause an itch whereas others do not.

Now a new study in mice has shed light on what actually happens in the body when we want to scratch an itch. The research, published in Science, could lead to treatments for many thousands of people suffering from chronic itch, a disorder causing an intense desire to scratch.

A hairy problem

The itching sensation usually occurs following a light touch on the hairy skin of our bodies. This triggers us to move our hand to the source of the insult and scratch away at it. While seemingly mindless, this simple behaviour is our body's neat way of attempting to protect us from damage to our skin from objects in the environment or nasty insects and parasites.
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2 + 2 = 4

Blindsighted: How some blind people continue to see unconsciously

Charles Q Choi
Braincoder
Fri, 25 Sep 2015 00:00 UTC
Image
© Shutterstock
Blindsight might seem like an oxymoron, but scientists have proven this mysterious effect actually exists: sometimes people with brain damage that renders them blind can nevertheless correctly guess the shapes, colors, locations and motions of items, even though they do not consciously see them.

It seems like an otherworldly phenomenon, but researchers are increasingly uncovering the anatomical roots of blindsight in the brain. Such research might one day lead to ways for some people with blindness to make the most of this effect.
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Jupiter

Fifth giant planet in the solar system ejected after a close encounter with Jupiter


RT.com
Sun, 01 Nov 2015 19:51 UTC
Jupiter
© NASA
There was a fifth giant planet in the solar system, but it was ejected after a close encounter with Jupiter, a computer model made by Canadian astronomers suggests. They studied the orbits of a Jovian moon for proof.

The dominant scientific view of how our star system came to be as it is now is called the Nice model after the French city, where it was first developed. It is pretty good at explaining most, but not all things. For example, Jupiter is too far from the Sun to fit the model.

One possible explanation is a fifth giant planet in addition to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, which was ejected after a close encounter about 4 billion years ago. This would have been similar to how probes use planetary gravitational pull to slingshot themselves towards their next destination during interplanetary missions.
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Post-It Note

The brain forgets information in order to save energy


Science Beta
Sun, 01 Nov 2015 19:14 UTC
brain model
Our brains not only contain learning mechanisms but also forgetting mechanisms that erase "unnecessary" learning. A research group at Lund University in Sweden has now been able to describe one of these mechanisms at the cellular level.

The results explain a theoretical learning phenomenon which has so far been difficult to understand.

The premise is that human or animal subjects can learn to associate a certain tone or light signal with a puff of air to the eye. The air puff makes the subject blink, and eventually they blink as soon as they hear the tone or see the light signal.

Comment: See also:

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Blackbox

'Space junk', or something else? A space object called 'WTF' is headed straight for Earth

Jessica Orwig
Yahoo! News
Tue, 27 Oct 2015 00:00 UTC
WTF Junk1
© UnknownA mysterious chunk of space debris called 'WTF' is headed straight for Earth
Space junk is becoming a real problem.

Today, millions of pieces of it huddle within the region of space just beyond our planet.

Sometimes this debris is carefully guided into Earth's atmosphere, where friction between the object and particles in Earth's atmosphere generates extreme heat that completely incinerates the object before it can reach ground.

Other times, however, smaller chunks will randomly fall back to Earth, and scientists have never known when — or what — will be falling toward us on a given day — until now.

For the first time, experts have calculated the exact time and location a piece of space junk will collide with Earth.
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