Science & TechnologyS


Bulb

Pain Receptor in Brain May Be Linked to Learning and Memory


Brown University
Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:21 UTC
Scientists have long known that the nervous system receptor known as TRPV1 can affect sensations of pain in the body. Now a group of Brown University scientists has found that these receptors - a darling of drug developers - also may play a role in learning and memory in the brain.

In surprising new research, published in the journal Neuron, Julie Kauer and her team show that activation of TPRV1 receptors can trigger long-term depression, a phenomenon that creates lasting changes in the connections between neurons. These changes in the brain - and the related process of neural reorganization known as long-term potentiation - are believed to be the cellular basis for memory making.
Read More...
Sherlock

Big Crater Carved By Mysterious Meteorite

Clara Moskowitz
Space.com
Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:35 UTC
In September 2007 a fireball flew in from space and hurtled though Earth's atmosphere, smashing into the ground in Peru while awestruck witnesses watched. It was the first time people have witnessed space debris forming an impact crater live.

Image
©Peter Schultz
Read More...
Star

Meteorites a rich source for primordial soup


Carnegie Institution
Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:05 UTC
The organic soup that spawned life on Earth may have gotten generous helpings from outer space, according to a new study. Scientists at the Carnegie Institution have discovered concentrations of amino acids in two meteorites that are more than ten times higher than levels previously measured in other similar meteorites. This result suggests that the early solar system was far richer in the organic building blocks of life than scientists had thought, and that fallout from space may have spiked Earth's primordial broth.

The study, by Marilyn Fogel of Carnegie's Geophysical Laboratory and Conel Alexander of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism with Zita Martins of Imperial College London and two colleagues, will be published in Meteoritics and Planetary Science.
Read More...
Star

The puzzling 'eye of a hurricane' on Venus


ESA
Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:43 UTC
Venus Express has constantly been observing the south pole of Venus and has found it to be surprisingly fickle. An enormous structure with a central part that looks like the eye of a hurricane, morphs and changes shape within a matter of days, leaving scientists puzzled.

The eye of the hurricane is at the centre of a 2000 km-wide vortex. It was discovered in 1974 by the Mariner 10 spacecraft. There is a similar structure on the planet's north pole, which was observed by the Pioneer Venus mission in 1979.

Image
©ESA/VIRTIS/INAF-IASF/Obs. de Paris-LESIA/Univ. of Oxford
This image, of the 'eye of the hurricane' on Venus was taken by the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) on board Venus Express.

This picture shows a region in the venusian atmosphere about 60 km from the surface, at a wavelength of about 5 micrometres. In this figure, the dipole assumes an eye-like shape and from here until the last image, it is possible to see how its shape evolves rapidly in a span of only 24 hours.

The yellow dot in the image indicates the location of the south pole.
Read More...
People

Some cheaters can keep it in their genes


University of Manchester
Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:32 UTC
A new study examining social behaviour suggests certain individuals are genetically programmed to cheat and often will do... providing they can get away with it.

The researchers looked at slime moulds - microscopic single-cell organisms or amoebae that are forced to cooperate with one another when food is in short supply. Studying slime moulds at the cellular level provides the scientists with a unique insight into the genes that may also influence human behaviour.

The international team, including biologists from The University of Manchester, found that some amoebae have the ability to use cheating tactics to give them a better chance of survival. The research - published in the journal Nature - not only demonstrates that cheating is a natural phenomenon governed by our genes but that it may be widespread among social creatures.
Read More...
Ark

No, it's not a joke! Plans for 'doomsday ark' on the moon

Roger Highfield
Telegraph
Mon, 10 Mar 2008 08:21 UTC
Plans are being made for the first experiments to pave the way for a "doomsday ark" on the moon.

The ark would contain DNA, embryos and all the essentials of life and civilisation, to be activated should Earth be devastated by a giant asteroid, a climate flip or nuclear holocaust.

Comment: A dose of hubris and lack of reasoning produces such ideas unfortunately. Instead the money and energy could be used to fund research into NEOs and the collection of historical data on cometary/asteroid impacts on earth, in order to inform the public and prepare them accordingly. This project is a distraction from the real issues at hand.

Read More...
Info

Mission to the Forgotten Planets

Fred Guterl
Discover Magazine
Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:16 UTC
Sometime in August 2011, a boxy space probe called Dawn will settle into orbit around one of the most underrated and overlooked objects in the solar system, a giant oblong asteroid named Vesta. After lingering for almost 10 months of study, Dawn will depart for Ceres, the biggest asteroid of all. Ceres is so large that it was recently promoted to the rank of dwarf planet, putting it on a par with Pluto and highlighting its status as a key planetary missing link.

Dawn Probe
©NASA
Dawn Probe
Read More...
Bulb

Utah Crater Mystery Cracked

Larry O'Hanlon
Discovery News
Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:44 UTC
One of the longest-running mysteries in the U.S. National Parks has been solved: The crater-like Upheaval Dome in Utah's Canyonlands National Park was caused by a meteor impact, say German researchers.

Utah crater
©USNP
For decades geologists have debated whether Upheaval Dome in Utah's Canyonlands National Park, pictured here, was created by a volcanic outburst, an eruption of salt or a meteor impact. The crucial clue was the discovery there of "shocked quartz," which can be created only by the intense pressures of a violent meteor impact, say researchers.
Read More...
Syringe

Bipolar Disorder: Manic Mouse Made With One Gene Missing


sciencedaily.com
Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:13 UTC
Bipolar Disorder (BPD or manic-depressive illness) is one of the most serious of all mental disorders, affecting millions of individuals worldwide. Affected individuals alternate between states of deep depression and mania. While depression is characterized by persistent and long-term sadness or despair, mania is a mental state characterized by great excitement, flight of ideas, a decreased need for sleep, and, sometimes, uncontrollable behavior, hallucinations, or delusions. BPD likely arises from the complex interaction of multiple genes and environmental factors. Unlike some brain diseases, no single gene has been implicated in BPD.

mouse
©iStockphoto
Mice that were missing the GluR6 gene underwent a series of tests designed to approximate the symptoms of mania. These mice showed many of the symptoms of mania, including hyperactivity, aggressiveness, driven or increased goal-directed pursuits, risk-taking, and super-sensitivity to amphetamine.
Read More...
Info

Stunt Doubles: Ultracold Atoms Could Replicate The Electron 'Jitterbug


sciencedaily.com
Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:09 UTC
Ultracold atoms moving through a carefully designed arrangement of laser beams will jiggle slightly as they go, two NIST scientists have predicted.* If observed, this never-before-seen "jitterbug" motion would shed light on a little-known oddity of quantum mechanics arising from Paul Dirac's 80-year-old theory of the electron.

atomic cloud
©NIST
A) Optical lattice of five laser beams trapping an atomic cloud. Color scale indicates cloud density: black is low, white high. B) Jittering motion of the atomic cloud in the optical lattice. The horizontal axis represents the spatial distribution of the cloud along one direction, while the vertical axis shows the variation of cloud density with time.
Read More...