Science & TechnologyS


Pharoah

DNA test for Tutenkhamun's lineage


Ninemsn News
Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:38 UTC
Egyptian researchers are using DNA tests to discover the lineage of pharaoh king Tutenkhamun, whose ancestry remains a mystery to Egyptologists, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said on Monday.

The young king, whose mummy was found in a gold and turquoise sarcophagus by English archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922, ruled Egypt between 1333 and 1324 BC.
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Rocket

Recession In Space?

Christopher Helman
Forbes.com
Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:12 UTC
Image
© ForbesThe Next Generation Of U.S. Spacecraft
Houston - The space shuttle is set to be retired at the end of 2010. Until its replacement, the Constellation system, is operational, NASA astronauts will have little choice but to hitch a ride on a Russian rocket to get to the International Space Station.

With sufficient funding and political support, Constellation could get American astronauts back into space as early as 2014 and to the moon by 2019.
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Sun

Flashback Scientists Study Sun's Radiation To Track Pollution Sources


Science Daily
Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:58 UTC
Colorado State University scientists are studying the reduction of solar ultraviolet radiation by atmospheric particles to learn how the various sources of pollution - biomass burning, auto exhaust and oil refining - affect the atmospheric chemistry and air quality of Mexico City. This particular technique will be used along with data retrieval from satellites around the world to study the influence of pollution on global warming and climate change.
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Info

Americans Choose Media Messages That Agree With Their Views


Science Daily
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:52 UTC
A new study provides some of the strongest evidence to date that Americans prefer to read political articles that agree with the opinions they already hold.

Researchers found that people spent 36 percent more time reading articles that agreed with their point of view than they did reading text that challenged their opinions.

Even when they did read articles that countered their views, participants almost always balanced that with reading others that confirmed their opinions.

The study is important because it is one of the first to record what people actually read and link these findings to their views on the same topics.
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Info

UK: Remains of 200m year-old Loch Ness-style creature found


The Telegraph
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:44 UTC
Loch Ness-like monster
© BNPSArtist's impression of the creature
The remains of a Loch Ness-style creature that lived in the English Channel 200 million years ago have been found on a beach.

Archaeologists have spent months piecing together dozens of old bones found encased in limestone on Britain's Jurassic Coast by a fossil hunter.

After nearly completing the jigsaw-like puzzle they have disclosed that the skeleton, which is 70 per cent complete, is that of a 12ft long plesiosaur.

The marine reptile resembled the Loch Ness monster with its long thin neck and tail, four large flippers and razor-sharp teeth.
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Satellite

China To Launch First Mars Probe In Second Half Of 2009


Space Daily
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:29 UTC
Image
© UnknownYinghuo-1 would go into Mars orbit in 2010 after a 10-month, 380-million-kilometer journey.
China's first Mars probe, Yinghuo-1, is expected to be launched in the second half of this year, an official of the Shanghai Academy of Space flight Technology (SAST) has said.

The probe had passed test of the research phase, Zhang Weiqiang, deputy secretary of SAST Committee of the Communist Party of China, told the third Shanghai International Aerospace Technology and Equipment Exhibition.

The event runs from Thursday to Saturday and includes a full-scale model of Yinghuo-1.
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Telescope

World's Largest Solar Telescope Open For Business


Space Daily
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:23 UTC
Image
© UnknownThe new instrument has three times the aperture of the old telescope. It represents a significant advance in high-resolution observations of the Sun, since it has the largest aperture of any solar telescope in existence, said Goode. Since it is an off-axis telescope, there is no part of the sunlight blocked by the telescope.
NJIT's new 1.6-meter clear aperture solar telescope - the largest of its kind in the world - is now operational. The unveiling of this remarkable instrument - said to be the pathfinder for all future, large ground-based telescopes - could not have come at a more auspicious moment for science.

This year marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo's telescope
that he used to demonstrate that sunspots are indeed on the Sun.

"With our new big, beautiful white machine, Galileo's work can leap ahead with a capability never before available," said NJIT Distinguished Professor of Physics Philip R. Goode.
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Better Earth

Evidence For Liquid Water On Early Frozen Mars

Ruth Dasso Marlaire
Mars Daily
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:20 UTC
Image
© NASAEvidence suggests flowing water formed the rivers and gullies on the Mars surface, even though surface temperatures were below freezing. Dissolved minerals in liquid water may be the reason.
NASA scientists modeled freezing conditions on Mars to test whether liquid water could have been present to form the surface features of the Martian landscape.

Researchers report that fluids loaded with dissolved minerals containing elements such as silicon, iron, magnesium, potassium
and aluminum, can remain in a liquid state at temperatures well below freezing. The results of this research appear in the May 21 issue of Nature magazine entitled "Stability Against Freezing of Aqueous Solutions on Early Mars."

"We found that the salts in water solutions can reduce the melting point of water, which may help explain how liquid water existed in a frozen Martian environment," said Alberto Fairen, a space scientist at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. and the lead author of the study.
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Light Saber

US lab debuts super laser


Breitbart/Agence France Presse
Sun, 31 May 2009 03:37 UTC
super lasar
© AFPA US weapons lab pulled back the curtain on a super laser with the power to burn as hot as a star.
A US weapons lab on Friday pulled back the curtain on a super laser with the power to burn as hot as a star.

The National Ignition Facility's main purpose is to serve as a tool for gauging the reliability and safety of the US nuclear weapons arsenal but scientists say it could deliver breakthroughs in safe fusion power.

"We have invented the world's largest laser system," actor-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said during a dedication ceremony attended by thousands including state and national officials.
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Better Earth

The First Noctilucent Clouds of 2009


Space Weather
Sat, 30 May 2009 23:23 UTC
Image
© Martin McKenna
New data from NASA's AIM spacecraft show that noctilucent clouds (NLCs) are like a great "geophysical light bulb." They turn on every year in late spring, reaching almost full intensity over a period of no more than 5 to 10 days.

News flash: The bulb is beginning to glow. The first NLCs of 2009 were sighted over Russia on May 27th, and an even brighter display appeared last night, May 29th, over Denmark and the British Isles. Martin Mc Kenna sends these snapshots from Maghera, Northern Ireland.

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