This Jan. 12, 2013 photo provided by NASA shows the Dragon spacecraft inside a processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. where teams had just installed the spacecraft's solar array fairings. The California company known as SpaceX is scheduled to launch its unmanned Falcon rocket on Friday morning, March 1, 2013, carrying a Dragon capsule containing more than a ton of food, tools, computer hardware and science experiments. (AP Photo/NASA, Kim Shiflett)
This Jan. 12, 2013 photo provided by NASA shows the Dragon spacecraft inside a processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. where teams had just installed the spacecraft's solar array fairings. The California company known as SpaceX is scheduled to launch its unmanned Falcon rocket on Friday morning, March 1, 2013, carrying a Dragon capsule containing more than a ton of food, tools, computer hardware and science experiments. (AP Photo/NASA, Kim Shiflett)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) ? A private rocket is poised to blast off Friday on a supply run to the International Space Station.
The unmanned Falcon rocket is owned by the SpaceX company. The Dragon capsule on board is filled with more than a ton of space station supplies and experiments.
Good weather is forecast for the 10:10 a.m. liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Fla. It's a one-second launch window.
NASA is paying SpaceX to deliver cargo to the space station, and bring back science samples and other goods. This will be the company's third delivery mission.
There's no ice cream this time for the six space station astronauts. The freezers are full. But SpaceX included fruit straight from the orchard.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk hopes to fly people aboard a modified Dragon capsule by 2015.
ScienceDaily: Top Science Newshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/news/top_news/top_science/ Top science news, featured on ScienceDaily's home page.en-usThu, 28 Feb 2013 05:46:06 ESTThu, 28 Feb 2013 05:46:06 EST60ScienceDaily: Top Science Newshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gifhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/news/top_news/top_science/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily.Nut-cracking monkeys use shapes to strategize their use of toolshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227183502.htm Bearded capuchin monkeys deliberately place palm nuts in a stable position on a surface before trying to crack them open, revealing their capacity to use tactile information to improve tool use.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:35:35 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227183502.htmEctopic eyes function without natural connection to brainhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227183311.htm For the first time, scientists have shown that transplanted eyes located far outside the head in a vertebrate animal model can confer vision without a direct neural connection to the brain. Biologists used a frog model to shed new light ? literally ? on one of the major questions in regenerative medicine and sensory augmentation research.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:33:33 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227183311.htmReading the human genome: First step-by-step look at transcription initiationhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227151306.htm Researchers have achieved a major advance in understanding how genetic information is transcribed from DNA to RNA by providing the first step-by-step look at the biomolecular machinery that reads the human genome.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:13:13 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227151306.htmFeeding limbs and nervous system of one of Earth's earliest animals discoveredhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134425.htm Unique fossils literally 'lift the lid' on ancient creature's head to expose one of the earliest examples of food manipulating limbs in evolutionary history, dating from around 530 million years ago.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:44:44 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134425.htmMan walks again after surgery to reverse muscle paralysishttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134340.htm After four years of confinement to a wheelchair, Rick Constantine, 58, is now walking again after undergoing an unconventional surgery to restore the use of his leg.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:43:43 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134340.htmSongbirds? brains coordinate singing with intricate timinghttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134336.htm As a bird sings, some neurons in its brain prepare to make the next sounds while others are synchronized with the current notes?a coordination of physical actions and brain activity that is needed to produce complex movements. The finding that may lead to new ways of understanding human speech production.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:43:43 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134336.htmViruses can have immune systems: A pirate phage commandeers the immune system of bacteriahttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134334.htm A new study reports that a viral predator of the cholera bacteria has stolen the functional immune system of bacteria and is using it against its bacterial host. This provides the first evidence that this type of virus, the bacteriophage, can acquire an adaptive immune system. The study has implications for phage therapy, the use of phages to treat bacterial diseases.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:43:43 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134334.htmNASA's NuSTAR helps solve riddle of black hole spinhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227132544.htm Two X-ray space observatories, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton, have teamed up to measure definitively, for the first time, the spin rate of a black hole with a mass 2 million times that of our sun.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:25:25 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227132544.htmContaminated diet contributes to exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals: Phthalates and BPAhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227121903.htm While water bottles may tout BPA-free labels and personal care products declare phthalates not among their ingredients, these assurances may not be enough. According to a new study, we may be exposed to these chemicals in our diet, even if our diet is organic and we prepare, cook, and store foods in non-plastic containers. Children may be most vulnerable.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 12:19:19 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227121903.htm'Network' analysis of brain may explain features of autismhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227102022.htm A look at how the brain processes information finds distinct pattern in autistic children. Using EEGs to track the brain's electrical cross-talk, researchers found structural difference in brain connections. Compared with neurotypical children, those with autism have multiple redundant connections between neighboring brain areas at expense of long-distance links. The study, using "network analysis" like with airlines or electrical grids, may help in understanding some classic autistic behaviors.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:20:20 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227102022.htmCryopreservation: A chance for highly endangered mammalshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227101951.htm Oocytes of lions, tigers and other cat species survive the preservation in liquid nitrogen. Scientists have now succeeded in carrying out cryopreservation of felid ovary cortex.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:19:19 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227101951.htmPessimism about the future may lead to longer, healthier lifehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227101929.htm Older people who have low expectations for a satisfying future may be more likely to live longer, healthier lives than those who see brighter days ahead, according to new research.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:19:19 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227101929.htmDiscovery on animal memory opens doors to research on memory impairment diseaseshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085944.htm A new study offers the first evidence of source memory in a nonhuman animal. The findings have fascinating implications, both in evolutionary terms and for future research into the biological underpinnings of memory, as well as the treatment of diseases marked by memory failure such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's, or disorders such as schizophrenia, PTSD and depression.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:59:59 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085944.htmNew fabrication technique could provide breakthrough for solar energy systemshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085942.htm Scientists are using a novel fabrication process to create ultra-efficient solar energy rectennas capable of harvesting more than 70 percent of the sun's electromagnetic radiation and simultaneously converting it into usable electric power.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:59:59 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085942.htmNew Greek observatory sheds light on old starhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085842.htm Continuing a tradition stretching back more than 25 centuries, astronomers have used the new 2.3-meter 'Aristarchos' telescope, sited at Helmos Observatory (2340m high) in the Pelοponnese Mountains in Greece, to determine the distance to and history of an enigmatic stellar system, discovering it to likely be a binary star cocooned within an exotic nebula.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:58:58 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085842.htmToo much vitamin D during pregnancy can cause food allergies, research suggestshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085838.htm Pregnant women should avoid taking vitamin D supplements, new research suggests. Substitution appears to raise the risk of children developing a food allergy after birth.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:58:58 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085838.htmIncreased risk of sleep disorder narcolepsy in children who received swine flu vaccinehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226194006.htm A study finds an increased risk of narcolepsy in children and adolescents who received the A/H1N1 2009 influenza vaccine (Pandemrix) during the pandemic in England.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:40:40 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226194006.htmLeatherback sea turtle could be extinct within 20 years at last stronghold in the Pacific Oceanhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226141233.htm An international team led by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has documented a 78 percent decline in the number of nests of the critically endangered leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) at the turtle's last stronghold in the Pacific Ocean.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:12:12 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226141233.htmResearchers test holographic technique for restoring visionhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226134259.htm Researchers are testing the power of holography to artificially stimulate cells in the eye, with hopes of developing a new strategy for bionic vision restoration. Computer-generated holography, they say, could be used in conjunction with a technique called optogenetics, which uses gene therapy to deliver light-sensitive proteins to damaged retinal nerve cells. In conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP), these light-sensing cells degenerate and lead to blindness.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:42:42 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226134259.htmEating well could help spread disease, water flea study suggestshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226120551.htm Plentiful food can accelerate the spread of infections, scientists have shown in a study of water fleas. Scientists studying bacterial infections in tiny water fleas have discovered that increasing their supply of food can speed up the spread of infection.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:05:05 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226120551.htmNon-brittle glass possible: In probing mysteries of glass, researchers find a key to toughnesshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226114023.htm Glass doesn't have to be brittle. Scientists propose a way of predicting whether a given glass will be brittle or ductile -- a property typically associated with metals like steel or aluminum -- and assert that any glass could have either quality.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:40:40 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226114023.htmConnecting the (quantum) dots: First viable high-speed quantum computer moves closerhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226114021.htm Scientists have developed a new method that better preserves the units necessary to power lightning-fast electronics, known as qubits. Hole spins, rather than electron spins, can keep quantum bits in the same physical state up to 10 times longer than before, the report finds.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:40:40 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226114021.htmCell discovery could hold key to causes of inherited diseaseshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226113830.htm Fresh insights into the protective seal that surrounds the DNA of our cells could help develop treatments for inherited muscle, brain, bone and skin disorders. Researchers have discovered that the proteins within this coating -- known as the nuclear envelope -- vary greatly between cells in different organs of the body.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:38:38 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226113830.htmClever battery completes stretchable electronics package: Can stretch, twist and bend -- and return to normal shapehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226113828.htm Researchers have demonstrated a stretchable lithium-ion battery -- a flexible device capable of powering their innovative stretchable electronics. The battery can stretch up to 300 percent of its original size and still function -- even when stretched, folded, twisted and mounted on a human elbow. The battery enables true integration of electronics and power into a small, stretchable package that is wirelessly rechargeable.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:38:38 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226113828.htmInfrared digital holography allows firefighters to see through flames, image moving peoplehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226101454.htm Firefighters now have a new tool that could help save lives. A team of researchers have developed a new technique using digital holography that can "see" people through intense flames -- the first time a holographic recording of a live person has been achieved while the body is moving. The new technique allows imaging through both.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:14:14 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226101454.htmBlueprint for an artificial brain: Scientists experiment with memristors that imitate natural nerveshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226101400.htm Scientists have long been dreaming about building a computer that would work like a brain. This is because a brain is far more energy-saving than a computer, it can learn by itself, and it doesn't need any programming. Scientists are experimenting with memristors -- electronic microcomponents that imitate natural nerves.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:14:14 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226101400.htmUnlimited source of human kidney cells createdhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226092142.htm Researchers have successfully generated human kidney cells from human embryonic stem cells in vitro1. Specifically, they produced the renal cells under artificial conditions in the lab without using animals or organs. This has not been possible until now.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:21:21 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226092142.htmNewly observed properties of vacuums: Light particles illuminate the vacuumhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226092128.htm Researchers have succeeded in showing experimentally that vacuums have properties not previously observed. According to the laws of quantum mechanics, it is a state with abundant potentials. Vacuums contain momentarily appearing and disappearing virtual pairs, which can be converted into detectable light particles.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:21:21 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226092128.htmSleep reinforces learning: Children?s brains transform subconsciously learned material into active knowledgehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226081155.htm During sleep, our brains store what we have learned during the day a process even more effective in children than in adults, new research shows.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 08:11:11 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226081155.htmMediterranean diet helps cut risk of heart attack, stroke: Results of PREDIMED study presentedhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225181536.htm Results of a major study aimed at assessing the efficacy of the Mediterranean diet in the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases show that such a diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or tree nuts reduces by 30 percent the risk of suffering a cardiovascular death, a myocardial infarction or a stroke.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:15:15 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225181536.htmHigher levels of several toxic metals found in children with autismhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225162231.htm Researchers have found significantly higher levels of toxic metals in children with autism, compared to typical children. They hypothesize that reducing early exposure to toxic metals may help lessen symptoms of autism, though they say this hypotheses needs further examination.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:22:22 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225162231.htmLiver stem cells grown in culture, transplanted with demonstrated therapeutic benefithttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153130.htm For decades scientists around the world have attempted to regenerate primary liver cells known as hepatocytes because of their numerous biomedical applications, including hepatitis research, drug metabolism and toxicity studies, as well as transplantation for cirrhosis and other chronic liver conditions. But no lab in the world has been successful in identifying and growing liver stem cells in culture -- using any available technique -- until now.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153130.htmWeather extremes provoked by trapping of giant waves in the atmospherehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153128.htm The world has suffered from severe regional weather extremes in recent years, such as the heat wave in the United States in 2011. Behind these devastating individual events there is a common physical cause, propose scientists in a new study. It suggests that human-made climate change repeatedly disturbs the patterns of atmospheric flow around the globe's Northern hemisphere through a subtle resonance mechanism.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153128.htmClues to climate cycles dug from South Pole snow pithttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153126.htm Particles from the upper atmosphere trapped in a deep pile of Antarctic snow hold clear chemical traces of global meteorological events, climate scientists from France have found. Anomalies in oxygen found in sulfate particles coincide with several episodes of the world-wide disruption of weather known as El Nino and can be distinguished from similar signals left by the eruption of huge volcanoes, the team reports.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153126.htmMaize in diets of people in coastal Peru dates to 5,000 years agohttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153124.htm Scientists have concluded that during the Late Archaic, maize (corn) was a primary component in the diet of people living in the Norte Chico region of Peru, an area of remarkable cultural florescence in 3rd millennium B.C. Up until now, the prevailing theory was that marine resources, not agriculture and corn, provided the economic engine behind the development of civilization in the Andean region of Peru.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153124.htmBPA may affect the developing brain by disrupting gene regulationhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153122.htm Environmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a widespread chemical found in plastics and resins, may suppress a gene vital to nerve cell function and to the development of the central nervous system, according to a new study.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153122.htmFuture evidence for extraterrestrial life might come from dying starshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225131618.htm Even dying stars could host planets with life -- and if such life exists, we might be able to detect it within the next decade. This encouraging result comes from a new theoretical study of Earth-like planets orbiting white dwarf stars. Researchers found that we could detect oxygen in the atmosphere of a white dwarf's planet much more easily than for an Earth-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:16:16 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225131618.htmMoments of spirituality can induce liberal attitudes, researchers findhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225131532.htm People become more politically liberal immediately after practising a spiritual exercise such as meditation, researchers have found.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:15:15 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225131532.htmNew maps depict potential worldwide coral bleaching by 2056http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225122045.htm New maps by scientists show how rising sea temperatures are likely to affect all coral reefs in the form of annual coral bleaching events under different emission scenarios. If carbon emissions stay on the current path most of the world's coral reefs (74 percent) are projected to experience coral bleaching conditions annually by 2045, results of the study show.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:20:20 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225122045.htmUltrasound reveals autism risk at birth, study findshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225112510.htm Low-birth-weight babies with a particular brain abnormality are at greater risk for autism, according to a new study that could provide doctors a signpost for early detection of the still poorly understood disorder.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:25:25 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225112510.htmMarch of the pathogens: Parasite metabolism can foretell disease ranges under climate changehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225112508.htm Researchers developed a model that can help determine the future range of nearly any disease-causing parasite under climate change, even if little is known about the organism. Their method calculates how the projected temperature change for an area would alter the creature's metabolism and life cycle.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:25:25 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225112508.htmMouse mothers induce parenting behaviors in fathers with ultra-sonic noiseshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225102141.htm Researchers have demonstrated the existence of communicative signalling from female mice that induces male parental behavior.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 10:21:21 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225102141.htm'NanoVelcro' device to grab single cancer cells from blood: Improvement enables 'liquid biopsies' for metastatic melanomahttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225092252.htm Researchers have refined a method they previously developed for capturing and analyzing cancer cells that break away from patients' tumors and circulate in the blood. With the improvements to their device, which uses a Velcro-like nanoscale technology, they can now detect and isolate single cancer cells from patient blood samples for analysis.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:22:22 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225092252.htmScientists develop a whole new way of harvesting energy from the sunhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224142917.htm A new method of harvesting the sun's energy is emerging. Though still in its infancy, the research promises to convert sunlight into energy using a process based on metals that are more robust than many of the semiconductors used in conventional methods.Sun, 24 Feb 2013 14:29:29 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224142917.htmQuantum algorithm breakthrough: Performs a true calculation for the first timehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224142829.htm Scientists have demonstrated a quantum algorithm that performs a true calculation for the first time. Quantum algorithms could one day enable the design of new materials, pharmaceuticals or clean energy devices.Sun, 24 Feb 2013 14:28:28 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224142829.htmFragments of continents hidden under lava in Indian Ocean: New micro-continent detected under Reunion and Mauritiushttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224142725.htm The islands Reunion and Mauritius, both well-known tourist destinations, are hiding a micro-continent, which has now been discovered. The continent fragment known as Mauritia detached about 60 million years ago while Madagascar and India drifted apart, and had been hidden under huge masses of lava.Sun, 24 Feb 2013 14:27:27 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224142725.htmThe ultimate chimp challenge: Chimps do challenging puzzles for the fun of ithttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224124635.htm Scientists are putting their bananas away, because chimpanzees don't need any persuading when it comes to getting stuck into brain games.Sun, 24 Feb 2013 12:46:46 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224124635.htmReprogramming cells to fight diabeteshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130223111356.htm For years researchers have been searching for a way to treat diabetics by reactivating their insulin-producing beta cells, with limited success. The "reprogramming" of related alpha cells into beta cells may one day offer a novel and complementary approach for treating type 2 diabetes. Treating human and mouse cells with compounds that modify cell nuclear material called chromatin induced the expression of beta cell genes in alpha cells, according to a new study.Sat, 23 Feb 2013 11:13:13 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130223111356.htmLessons from cockroaches could inform roboticshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222143233.htm Running cockroaches start to recover from being shoved sideways before their dawdling nervous system kicks in to tell their legs what to do, researchers have found. These new insights on how biological systems stabilize could one day help engineers design steadier robots and improve doctors' understanding of human gait abnormalities.Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:32:32 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222143233.htmStash of stem cells found in a human parasitehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222143142.htm Researchers have now found stem cells inside the parasite that cause schistosomiasis, one of the most common parasitic infections in the world. These stem cells can regenerate worn-down organs, which may help explain how they can live for years or even decades inside their host.Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222143142.htmHas evolution given humans unique brain structures?http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222120753.htm Humans have at least two functional networks in their cerebral cortex not found in rhesus monkeys. This means that new brain networks were likely added in the course of evolution from primate ancestor to human.Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:07:07 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222120753.htmFruit flies force their young to drink alcohol for their own goodhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222102958.htm When fruit flies sense parasitic wasps in their environment, they lay their eggs in an alcohol-soaked environment, essentially forcing their larvae to consume booze as a drug to combat the deadly wasps. The finding adds to the evidence that using toxins in the environment to medicate offspring may be common across the animal kingdom.Fri, 22 Feb 2013 10:29:29 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222102958.htmWorld premiere of muscle and nerve controlled arm prosthesishttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222075730.htm Electrodes have been permanently implanted in nerves and muscles of an amputee to directly control an arm prosthesis, for the first time. The result allows natural control of an advanced robotic prosthesis, similarly to the motions of a natural limb.Fri, 22 Feb 2013 07:57:57 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222075730.htmInfluenza study: Meet virus' new enemyhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221194241.htm Virologists have discovered a new class of molecular compounds capable of killing the influenza virus. Working on the premise that too much of a good thing can be a killer, the scientists have advanced previous researchers' methods of manipulating an enzyme that is key to how influenza replicates and spreads. The new compounds will lead to a new generation of anti-influenza drugs that the virus' strains can't adapt to, and resist, as easily as they do Tamiflu.Thu, 21 Feb 2013 19:42:42 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221194241.htmParticle physics research sheds new light on possible 'fifth force of nature'http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221192736.htm In a breakthrough for the field of particle physics, researchers have established new limits on what scientists call "long-range spin-spin interactions" between atomic particles. These interactions have been proposed by theoretical physicists but have not yet been seen. Their observation would constitute the discovery of a "fifth force of nature" (in addition to the four known fundamental forces: gravity, weak, strong and electromagnetic) and would suggest the existence of new particles, beyond those presently described by the Standard Model of particle physics.Thu, 21 Feb 2013 19:27:27 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221192736.htmScientists make older adults less forgetful in memory testshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143946.htm Scientists have found compelling evidence that older adults can eliminate forgetfulness and perform as well as younger adults on memory tests. The cognitive boost comes from a surprising source -- a distraction learning strategy.Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:39:39 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143946.htmRobotic bat wing engineered: Researchers uncover flight secrets of real batshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143942.htm Researchers have developed a robotic bat wing that is providing valuable new information about dynamics of flapping flight in real bats. From an engineering perspective, the researchers hope the data may make for better aircraft, especially micro air vehicles. From a biological and evolutionary perspective, building the robot offered the researchers a new perspective on how bat anatomy is adapted to deal with the forces generated by flapping wings.Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:39:39 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143942.htmCaves point to thawing of Siberia: Thaw in Siberia's permafrost may accelerate global warminghttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143910.htm Evidence from Siberian caves suggests that a global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius could see permanently frozen ground thaw over a large area of Siberia, threatening release of carbon from soils, and damage to natural and human environments.Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:39:39 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143910.htmFloral signs go electric: Bumblebees find and distinguish electric signals from flowershttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143900.htm Flowers' methods of communicating are at least as sophisticated as any devised by an advertising agency, according to a new study. The research shows for the first time that pollinators such as bumblebees are able to find and distinguish electric signals given out by flowers. However, for any advertisement to be successful, it has to reach, and be perceived by, its target audience.Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:39:39 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143900.htmProtein 'passport' helps nanoparticles get past immune systemhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143858.htm The immune system exists to destroy foreign objects, whether they are bacteria, viruses, flecks of dirt or splinters. Unfortunately, drug-delivering nanoparticles and implanted devices like pacemakers are just as foreign and subject to the same response. Now, researchers have figured out a way to provide a "passport" for such therapeutic devices, enabling them to bypass the body's security system.Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:38:38 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143858.htm
NASA's Van Allen Probes discover a surprise circling EarthPublic release date: 28-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Susan Hendrix Susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov 301-286-7745 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
After most NASA science spacecraft launches, researchers wait patiently for months as instruments on board are turned on one at a time, slowly ramped up to full power, and tested to make sure they work at full capacity. It's a rite of passage for any new satellite in space, and such a schedule was in place for the Van Allen Probes when they launched on Aug. 30, 2012, to study two giant belts of radiation that surround Earth.
But a group of scientists on the mission made a case for changing the plan. They asked that the Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope (REPT) be turned on early just three days after launch -- in order that its observations would overlap with another mission called SAMPEX (Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer), that was soon going to de-orbit and re-enter Earth's atmosphere.
It was a lucky decision. Shortly before REPT turned on, solar activity on the sun had sent energy toward Earth that caused the radiation belts to swell. The REPT instrument worked well from the moment it was turned on Sep. 1. It made observations of these new particles trapped in the belts, recording their high energies, and the belts' increased size.
Then something happened no one had ever seen before: the particles settled into a new configuration, showing an extra, third belt extending out into space. Within mere days of launch, the Van Allen Probes showed scientists something that would require rewriting textbooks.
"By the fifth day REPT was on, we could plot out our observations and watch the formation of a third radiation belt," says Shri Kanekal, the deputy mission scientist for the Van Allen Probes at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. and a coauthor of a paper on these results. "We started wondering if there was something wrong with our instruments. We checked everything, but there was nothing wrong with them. The third belt persisted beautifully, day after day, week after week, for four weeks."
The scientists published their results in a paper in the journal Science on Feb. 28, 2013. Incorporating this new configuration into their models of the radiation belts offers scientists new clues to what causes the changing shapes of the belts a region that can sometimes swell dramatically in response to incoming energy from the sun, impacting satellites and spacecraft or pose potential threats to manned space flight.
The radiation belts, or Van Allen belts, were discovered with the very first launches of satellites in 1958 by James Van Allen. Subsequent missions have observed parts of the belts including SAMPEX, which observed the belts from below but what causes such dynamic variation in the belts has remained something of a mystery. Indeed, seemingly similar storms from the sun have at times caused completely different effects in the belts, or have sometimes led to no change at all.
The Van Allen Probes consist of two identical spacecraft with a mission to map out this region with exquisite detail, cataloguing a wide range of energies and particles, and tracking the zoo of magnetic waves that pulse through the area, sometimes kicking particles up to such frenzied speeds that they escape the belts altogether.
"We've had a long run of data from missions like SAMPEX," says Daniel Baker, who is the principal investigator for REPT at the University of Colorado in Boulder and first author on the Science paper. "But we've never been in the very throat of the accelerator operating a few hundred miles above our head, speeding these particles up to incredible velocities."
In its first six months in orbit, the instruments on the Van Allen Probes have worked exceptionally well and scientists are excited about a flood of observations coming in with unprecedented clarity. This is the first time scientists have been able to gather such a complete set of data about the belts, with the added bonus of watching from two separate spacecraft that can better show how events sweep across the area.
Spotting something new in space such as the third radiation belt has more implications than the simple knowledge that a third belt is possible. In a region of space that remains so mysterious, any observations that link certain causes to certain effects adds another piece of information to the puzzle.
Baker likes to compare the radiation belts to the particle storage rings in a particle physics accelerator. In accelerators, magnetic fields are used to hold the particles orbiting in a circle, while energy waves are used to buffet the particles up to ever faster speeds. In such accelerators, everything must be carefully tuned to the size and shape of that ring, and the characteristics of those particles. The Van Allen Belts depend on similar fine-tuning. Given that scientists see the rings only in certain places and at certain times, they can narrow down just which particles and waves must be causing that geometry. Every new set of observations helps narrow the field even further.
"We can offer these new observations to the theorists who model what's going on in the belts," says Kanekal. "Nature presents us with this event it's there, it's a fact, you can't argue with it -- and now we have to explain why it's the case. Why did the third belt persist for four weeks? Why does it change? All of this information teaches us more about space."
Scientists already have theories about just what kind of waves sweep out particles in the "slot" region between the first two belts. Now they must devise models to find which waves have the right characteristics to sweep out particles in the new slot region as well. Another tantalizing observation to explore lies in tracking the causes of the slot region back even further: on Aug. 31, 2012, a long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the sun's atmosphere erupted out into space. Baker says that this might have caused the shock wave that led to the formation of the third ring a few days later. In addition, the new belt was virtually annihilated four weeks after it appeared by another powerful interplanetary shock wave from the sun. Being able to watch such an event in action provides even more material for theories about the Van Allen belts.
Despite the 55 years since the radiation belts were first discovered, there is much left to investigate and explain, and within just a few days of launch the Van Allen Probes showed that the belts are still capable of surprises.
"I consider ourselves very fortunate," says Baker. "By turning on our instruments when we did, taking great pride in our engineers and having confidence that the instruments would work immediately and having the cooperation of the sun to drive the system the way it did it was an extraordinary opportunity. It validates the importance of this mission and how important it is to revisit the Van Allen Belts with new eyes."
###
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) built and operates the twin Van Allen Probes. The Van Allen Probes comprise the second mission in NASA's Living With a Star (LWS) program to explore aspects of the connected sun-Earth system that directly affect life and society. The program is managed by NASA Goddard.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
NASA's Van Allen Probes discover a surprise circling EarthPublic release date: 28-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Susan Hendrix Susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov 301-286-7745 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
After most NASA science spacecraft launches, researchers wait patiently for months as instruments on board are turned on one at a time, slowly ramped up to full power, and tested to make sure they work at full capacity. It's a rite of passage for any new satellite in space, and such a schedule was in place for the Van Allen Probes when they launched on Aug. 30, 2012, to study two giant belts of radiation that surround Earth.
But a group of scientists on the mission made a case for changing the plan. They asked that the Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope (REPT) be turned on early just three days after launch -- in order that its observations would overlap with another mission called SAMPEX (Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer), that was soon going to de-orbit and re-enter Earth's atmosphere.
It was a lucky decision. Shortly before REPT turned on, solar activity on the sun had sent energy toward Earth that caused the radiation belts to swell. The REPT instrument worked well from the moment it was turned on Sep. 1. It made observations of these new particles trapped in the belts, recording their high energies, and the belts' increased size.
Then something happened no one had ever seen before: the particles settled into a new configuration, showing an extra, third belt extending out into space. Within mere days of launch, the Van Allen Probes showed scientists something that would require rewriting textbooks.
"By the fifth day REPT was on, we could plot out our observations and watch the formation of a third radiation belt," says Shri Kanekal, the deputy mission scientist for the Van Allen Probes at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. and a coauthor of a paper on these results. "We started wondering if there was something wrong with our instruments. We checked everything, but there was nothing wrong with them. The third belt persisted beautifully, day after day, week after week, for four weeks."
The scientists published their results in a paper in the journal Science on Feb. 28, 2013. Incorporating this new configuration into their models of the radiation belts offers scientists new clues to what causes the changing shapes of the belts a region that can sometimes swell dramatically in response to incoming energy from the sun, impacting satellites and spacecraft or pose potential threats to manned space flight.
The radiation belts, or Van Allen belts, were discovered with the very first launches of satellites in 1958 by James Van Allen. Subsequent missions have observed parts of the belts including SAMPEX, which observed the belts from below but what causes such dynamic variation in the belts has remained something of a mystery. Indeed, seemingly similar storms from the sun have at times caused completely different effects in the belts, or have sometimes led to no change at all.
The Van Allen Probes consist of two identical spacecraft with a mission to map out this region with exquisite detail, cataloguing a wide range of energies and particles, and tracking the zoo of magnetic waves that pulse through the area, sometimes kicking particles up to such frenzied speeds that they escape the belts altogether.
"We've had a long run of data from missions like SAMPEX," says Daniel Baker, who is the principal investigator for REPT at the University of Colorado in Boulder and first author on the Science paper. "But we've never been in the very throat of the accelerator operating a few hundred miles above our head, speeding these particles up to incredible velocities."
In its first six months in orbit, the instruments on the Van Allen Probes have worked exceptionally well and scientists are excited about a flood of observations coming in with unprecedented clarity. This is the first time scientists have been able to gather such a complete set of data about the belts, with the added bonus of watching from two separate spacecraft that can better show how events sweep across the area.
Spotting something new in space such as the third radiation belt has more implications than the simple knowledge that a third belt is possible. In a region of space that remains so mysterious, any observations that link certain causes to certain effects adds another piece of information to the puzzle.
Baker likes to compare the radiation belts to the particle storage rings in a particle physics accelerator. In accelerators, magnetic fields are used to hold the particles orbiting in a circle, while energy waves are used to buffet the particles up to ever faster speeds. In such accelerators, everything must be carefully tuned to the size and shape of that ring, and the characteristics of those particles. The Van Allen Belts depend on similar fine-tuning. Given that scientists see the rings only in certain places and at certain times, they can narrow down just which particles and waves must be causing that geometry. Every new set of observations helps narrow the field even further.
"We can offer these new observations to the theorists who model what's going on in the belts," says Kanekal. "Nature presents us with this event it's there, it's a fact, you can't argue with it -- and now we have to explain why it's the case. Why did the third belt persist for four weeks? Why does it change? All of this information teaches us more about space."
Scientists already have theories about just what kind of waves sweep out particles in the "slot" region between the first two belts. Now they must devise models to find which waves have the right characteristics to sweep out particles in the new slot region as well. Another tantalizing observation to explore lies in tracking the causes of the slot region back even further: on Aug. 31, 2012, a long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the sun's atmosphere erupted out into space. Baker says that this might have caused the shock wave that led to the formation of the third ring a few days later. In addition, the new belt was virtually annihilated four weeks after it appeared by another powerful interplanetary shock wave from the sun. Being able to watch such an event in action provides even more material for theories about the Van Allen belts.
Despite the 55 years since the radiation belts were first discovered, there is much left to investigate and explain, and within just a few days of launch the Van Allen Probes showed that the belts are still capable of surprises.
"I consider ourselves very fortunate," says Baker. "By turning on our instruments when we did, taking great pride in our engineers and having confidence that the instruments would work immediately and having the cooperation of the sun to drive the system the way it did it was an extraordinary opportunity. It validates the importance of this mission and how important it is to revisit the Van Allen Belts with new eyes."
###
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) built and operates the twin Van Allen Probes. The Van Allen Probes comprise the second mission in NASA's Living With a Star (LWS) program to explore aspects of the connected sun-Earth system that directly affect life and society. The program is managed by NASA Goddard.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
AMD global business manager John Taylor has said the accelerated processing unit in the PlayStation 4 is the best the company has ever produced.
?We have not built an APU quite like that for anyone else in the market,? Taylor told the Inquirer.
?It is by far the most powerful APU we have built to date.?
Taylor said the APU leverages new tech which will appear in AMD?s new generation A-series later this year, which will be sold directly to consumers.
?None that will quite be to that level of sheer number of cores, sheer number of teraflops,? he added.
The PlayStation 4 has an x86 APU, and that AMD will be selling similar tech directly to PC users shows just how PC-like the console?s architecture is ? but it?s worth remembering that the custom tech has been specially designed through a collaboration between the two companies, so you can?t just rebuild a PS4 in your basement.
Sony hasn?t released full tech specs, but the console has 8GB of RAM and can churn out over 1.8 teraflops of processing power.
A new service called Outbox promises to come to your house, collect your physical mail, and scan it so you can read it online via computer, iPad or smartphone. Clever, but worth paying for?
The start-up already has over 600 customers in Austin, Texas and is now testing the service in San Francisco, with hopes of a much larger geographic expansion in the future. The Outbox subscription fee is $5 a month.
Outbox?s ?unpostmen? will collect mail from a P.O. Box, but amazingly they?ll also come to your physical address and remove mail from your mail box, or if you have a door or garage slot, they provide a special box they can access.
That mail is delivered to a secure warehouse where the physical paper is digitized and then sent to your email inbox. Once scans of physical mail start arriving in your email inbox, you can flag items as junk mail and tell Outbox you don?t want to receive mail from that sender again. Outbox will also alert you to new items they think qualify as junk. The site?s marketing explanation says ?think of Outbox as a mail filter: we'll deliver only the mail items you want or need.?
If Outbox picks up a physical item that you want, for example a package, a check, or a birthday card, they will send a notification of that item and you can flag it for return delivery to your residence.
But does paying someone $60 a year to pick up mail from your own mailbox make ANY sense? I mean, I like lying on the couch as much as the next person, but I go by the mail box every day!
Okay, there are a few compelling arguments for Outbox: the afore-mentioned junk mail filtering, the digitization of items that can be organized and accessed anywhere, and a special case where you travel a lot or have a second home. And remember, there was a time when we said who?d ever give up their landline telephones so maybe digital snail mail is the future, and I just can?t see it.
But I have to think hard about the supposed timesaving benefits: does tossing an ad circular take more time than deleting an email? Is asking to have your birthday cards returned to you worth the hassle? And if there?s more than one person in your household, do you forward items to other recipients?
There are other services that digitize your mail:
Earth Class Mail starts at $20 a month. You redirect your mail to their address: either with a change of address for merchants or a forwarding request with the Post Office. Then they scan and send you an email of the mail.
Zumbox only accepts mail from merchants who will go paperless. This service organizes all that on a secure personal site and they offer all this for free, with the catch that they will send you ads from ?verified marketers.?
Paytrust charges $10 a month to gather all your bills in a central remote location and alert you. This service is tied to your checking account, and they will make payments for you as well.
But it?s worth mentioning that most banks will give you electronic bill paying for free. And you can stop a lot of your junk mail by opting out of prescreened credit offers and blocking out much other junk by going to Catalog Choice.
Still, the founders of Outbox see the US Postal Service and its customers as a target ripe for disruption. Plus, the company has some serious investors, including Peter Thiel co-founder of Pay-Pal, who have given the company 2.2 million dollars to get the service up and running.
Would you sign up for Outbox? Let us know on our Facebook page.
Cybersecurity specialist James Lyne takes the TED2013 stage to show us some of the?newest and nastiest creations that?cybercriminals have designed to steal data, make off with billions of dollars, watch people through their webcams and target?power and utility companies.?Every day, he says, about 250,000 new pieces of malware are created and?30,000 websites infected.
?People think that, if you get a computer virus, you?ve been on a porn site,? says Lyne, of the security firm?Sophos. ?Actually, statistically speaking, if you only visit porn sites you?re safer.? Shockingly,?80% of infecting sites are actually small businesses or other legitimate enterprises that have themselves been infected.
The world of malware is becoming commercialized. Cybercriminals now?advertise online, offering their services for $10 to $50 per hour. Lyne shows this video as an example.
There are sites where you can test a virus to make sure it works before unleashing on the world, and sophisticated services for tracking your malware. Some of these services even offer customer support.
So what are some ways to infect a computer with malware? In addition to the old ?Hello, I?m a Nigerian banker,? you could, perhaps, walk into a corporate lobby with a copy of your resume soaked in coffee, and make a sad face and ask the receptionist to plug in a?USB key and print you a new copy. Or perhaps you can target a website that has an insecure comments section; anyone who visits the page will then be infected. And there?s a?new tactic that Lyne has noticed ? creating a virus that pops open a fake anti-virus protection software window on a person?s screen. By clicking the button, not only does a person give a hacker access to their computer, but might even pay for the .
So many stories about cybercrime are terrifying. But Lyne has a success story to share ? a time he was able to track the group of cybercriminals behind the Koobface malware. This group didn?t protect their malicious code, which was written to send each of them a text message daily to show them how much money they?d accumulated. In other words, Lyne?s team had their phone numbers. From there, he could tell they were located in Russia.
Because many smartphones?embed GPS data about where photo is taken, Lyne was able to find the hackers? exact location through photos they uploaded to Flickr. From there, Lyne?s team generated a 27-page report filled with information about this group ? including an ad one of them had posted for the sale of kittens, shots from a fishing trip, a photo of their office on the third floor of a building and images from the office Christmas party. He eventually even found their bank accounts.
Sadly, Lyne reveals that this report wasn?t enough to bring these hackers to justice. Most laws pertaining to cybercrime are national, and because there is no common definition between countries, this group is still at large.
Lyne stresses that, for the time being, the onus is on individuals to protect themselves by creating different passwords for different websites and using basic internet safety protocols. For example, don?t upload smartphone photos to an online dating site ??Lyne has found that 60% of photos there contain location data. But vulnerabilites can be even more subtle than that.?As you move through the world, using your phone to connect to wireless networks Lyne warns that you are ?beaming a list of the wireless networks you?ve previously connected to.?
Lyne collected data on the TED2013 audience by tracing these signals:
23% had been to Starbucks recently
46% could be linked to a specific business
761 could be traced to a specific hotel
And 234 could be traced to coordinates of their homes
?As we play with these shiny new toys, how much are we trading off convenience over privacy and security?? asks Lyne.??The internet is a fantastic resource for business,?art and?learning.?Help me and the security community make life much more difficult for cybercriminals.?
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Public release date: 28-Feb-2013
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Lyne collected data on the TED2013 audience by tracing these signals: