Science & TechnologyS


Mars

Scientists discover traces of methane in Mars meteorites


Sputnik
Wed, 17 Jun 2015 18:47 UTC
Image
© Flickr/ NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
An international team of researchers discovered a possible clue in the search for life on Mars: traces of methane in Martian meteorites, which could be a possible food source for lifeforms on the Red Planet.

Scottish and Canadian scientists found various levels of methane in each of the eight samples of Martian volcanic rock they examined, phys.org reported. Basic forms of life beneath Mars' surface could use the gas as a food source, much like microbes do on Earth.

Other researchers will be eager to replicate the findings using different measurement tools and techniques, according to co-author Sean McMahon, a Yale University postdoctoral associate.

"Our findings will likely be used by astrobiologists in models and experiments aimed at understanding whether life could survive below the surface of Mars today," McMahon was quoted as saying by phys.org
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V

New encrypted social network that intends to rival Facebook backed by Anonymous


RT
Wed, 17 Jun 2015 16:14 UTC
Image
© Reuters/Dado Ruvic
A new social network has been launched, vowing more transparency, security, and privacy than Facebook and other social media giants. Backed by the hacktivist group Anonymous, it will encrypt all messages, shielding data from governments and advertisers.

At first glance, Minds.com appears similar to any other social network. It provides a person's followers with the latest updates, allowing their friends to comment and promote posts.

But the major difference exists behind the scenes. Minds.com doesn't aim to profit from gathering data. In fact, its goal is the opposite - to encrypt all messages so they can't be read by governments or advertisers.

The social network will also reward users for interacting with posts. This can be done by voting, commenting or uploading.

The rewards will come in the form of points, which can be exchanged for "views" of your posts. Simply put, the more active you are, the more your posts will be promoted by the social network.
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Network

'Equation Group' hackers may be NSA in disguise


The Hill
Wed, 17 Jun 2015 15:34 UTC
Image
New evidence uncovered by security researchers suggests that a dangerous hacking collective is actually the National Security Agency.

The so-called Equation Group, a set of hackers responsible for at least 500 malware infections in 42 countries, is considered one of history's most effective cyber espionage rings.

Now, the Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab is pointing to new signs that the group is actually made up of NSA personnel.

In a report published Wednesday, Kaspersky researchers revealed that the term "BACKSNARF" was found inside the code of the Equation Group's online platform. The same term was used by the NSA as the name of a project by its cyber warfare unit.
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Info

Starfish are capable of ejecting foreign objects from their bodies to quickly heal themselves


Phys.org
Tue, 16 Jun 2015 00:00 UTC
starfish
© University of Southern Denmark A starfish squeezes a foreign body through its arm tip.
Starfish have strange talents. Two biology students from University of Southern Denmark have revealed that starfish are able to squeeze foreign bodies along the length of their body cavities and out through their arm tips. This newly discovered talent gives insight into how certain animals are able to quickly heal themselves.

The two biology students, Frederik Ekholm Gaardsted Christensen and Trine Bottos Olsen have discovered a starfish behaviour that has never previously been described in the scientific literature. As part of their studies they were asked to tag some starfish (Asterias rubens), so that researchers could reidentify and study the starfish. The tags were injected into the starfish, as a veterinarian tags a dog or cat.

"But every time we put a tag into a starfish, they rid themselves of the tag within a few days. It came out directly through the skin; the starfish simply pushed it out through the skin at the end of one arm and then went on as if nothing had happened", the two students explain.
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Fireball 4

Asteroid Icarus to make closest approach to Earth on Tuesday

Katy Galimberti
AccuWeather.com
Mon, 15 Jun 2015 16:20 UTC
1566 Icarus
© NASA JPL Small-Body Database Browser/Osamu Ajiki/Ron Baalke/Ade AshfordEarth-crossing asteroid 1566 Icarus (1949 MA) will miss our planet by a safe five million miles, or 21 lunar distances, at 4:39 pm BST on 16th June 2015 — the closest it will approach Earth until 2090.
Asteroid Icarus, which stretches more than half a mile long, will pass within "close-range" to the earth on Tuesday.

The asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth on Tuesday, passing within five million miles.

Though the asteroid will be in close proximity, it will be too dim to be seen through everyday backyard telescopes.

For those hoping to catch a glimpse of the space rock, Slooh will run a live broadcast from the Canary Islands starting at 5 p.m. EDT.
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Info

Biodiversity limits outbreaks of disease among humans and wildlife


Science Daily
Mon, 15 Jun 2015 00:00 UTC
biodiversity
© University of South FloridaA team of University of South Florida biologists and colleagues found broad evidence that supports the controversial 'dilution effect hypothesis,' which suggests that biodiversity limits outbreaks of disease among humans and wildlife. The research may be critical to understanding how and why disease outbreaks occur.
With infectious diseases increasing worldwide, the need to understand how and why disease outbreaks occur is becoming increasingly important. Looking for answers, a team of University of South Florida (USF) biologists and colleagues found broad evidence that supports the controversial 'dilution effect hypothesis,' which suggests that biodiversity limits outbreaks of disease among humans and wildlife.

The paper describing their research appears in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

'The dilution effect hypothesis is important because it warns that human-mediated biodiversity losses can exacerbate disease outbreaks, yet it has been contentiously debated,' said study lead author Dr. David Civitello, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Integrative Biology at USF.
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Mars

Scientists emerge from 8 months of simulated life on Mars


RT
Sun, 14 Jun 2015 16:05 UTC
Image
© Image from hi-seas.org
Six scientists, who took part in the NASA-funded HI-SEAS Mars simulation project by living in secluded space modules on a Hawaii volcano for eight months, have finally emerged from their isolation.

Saturday was the first time since the project started that they stepped outside without space suits.

"When we first walked out the door, it was scary not to have a suit on," crew member Jocelyn Dunn, 27, told the media. "We've been pretending for so long."

Comment: An interesting look into how people can live in a close community.

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Satellite

Philae comet probe wakes up, reports after 7 months without contact - ESA


RT
Sun, 14 Jun 2015 15:51 UTC
Image
© AFP Photo / ESARosetta's lander Philae.
The lander Philae, dropped onto the surface of Comet 67P by the Rosetta spacecraft, has reawakened and reported back, the European Space Agency says. Philae has been out of contact for the past 7 months.

First contact with Philae lasted 85 seconds. It turns out the lander had woken up earlier, but this is the first time since November it has managed to "speak" to Earth.

"We have also received historical data - so far, however, the lander had not been able to contact us earlier," the ESA blog states.

"Philae is doing very well: it has an operating temperature of -35ºC and has 24 Watts available," Philae Project Manager Dr. Stephan Ulamec says in the blog. "The lander is ready for operations."
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Mars

Japan plans sending a moon probe to Mars by 2022


Sputnik
Sat, 13 Jun 2015 04:17 UTC
Mars moons
© Public Domain
Fresh off successfully retrieving samples from an asteroid in 2011, Japan's space agency, JAXA, has just unveiled an even loftier goal: to land a probe on one of Mars' two moons. It would be a major milestone in prolonged spaceflight, and may even help us understand what became of the ancient, Martian oceans.

Our sister planet with perhaps the greatest potential for extraterrestrial life in the solar system, the Martian surface is already littered with signs of our extra-planetary reach. In 2008, the Phoenix lander went dark after being overwhelmed by a dust storm, and is just one of several defunct robots abandoned on the Martian surface.

In addition to these expired machines, the red planet still hosts seven workable spacecraft. Five float in orbit, while the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers still roam the desert examining rocks and sand and soil.
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Family

Impact of testosterone on amygdala depends on motivation rather than on the emotion itself

Radboud University
Science Daily
Fri, 12 Jun 2015 06:19 UTC
Social fear
The activity of the emotion centres in the brain -- the amygdalae -- is influenced by motivation rather than by the emotions themselves. This can be concluded from research carried out at Radboud University into the hormone testosterone. Testosterone increases amygdala activity in a person who is approaching a socially threatening situation and decreases the activity when such a situation is avoided.

It was already known that the amygdala response to images of angry faces was stronger in a person who had received testosterone. This new study shows that this only happens when people approach angry faces and not when they avoid them.

Comment: The amygdala is a part of the reward circuit in the brain that records emotional memories. It acts as an "inner sentry" - and protects from repeating painful experiences by ascribing to outside stimuli a sense of "pleasure" or "pain". It is a very fast and subconsciously acting system that bypasses the much slower input from the rational brain. If humans enter a social situation and want to bond, they have to silence their amygdala to turn off the sentry. Also testosterone increases dopamine levels in the reward circuitry.

Given that the effect of testosterone can be modified by motivation, the above study seems to indicate that there are further factors involved in this feedback loop, which currently are not very clear.

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