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NASA’S Mars Curiosity Debuts Autonomous Navigation

By Guest PostAugust 27, 2013Science376th martian day, ancient mars, autonomous navigation, environmental changes, gale crater, glenelg area, hirise camera, john grotzinger, john wright, mark maimone, mars, mars rover curiosity, mount sharp, NASA

PASADENA, Calif. – NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has used autonomous navigation for the first time, a capability that lets the rover decide for itself how to drive safely on Mars.

This latest addition to Curiosity’s array of capabilities will help the rover cover the remaining ground en route to Mount Sharp, where geological layers hold information about environmental changes on ancient Mars. The capability uses software that engineers adapted to this larger and more complex vehicle from a similar capability used by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, which is also currently active on Mars. (more…)

Newly unearthed ruins challenge views of early Romans

By Guest PostAugust 24, 2013Culture, Scienceancient stereotype, andrew johnston, archaeologists, architectural style, bce, classical art, coliseum, colosseum, digging in italy, early romans, east of rome, gabii, geometrically patterned floors, historians, lego construction, lego like fashion, marcello mogetta, museum of archaeology, nicola terrenato, roman empire, roman republican history, ruins, site known, university of michigan, yale university

ANN ARBOR — In a long-buried Italian city, archaeologists have found a massive monument that dates back 300 years before the Colosseum and 100 years before the invention of mortar, revealing that the Romans had grand architectural ambitions much earlier than previously thought.

The structure, unearthed at the site known as Gabii, just east of Rome, is built with giant stone blocks in a Lego-like fashion. It’s about half the size of a football field and dates back 350-250 years BCE. It’s possibly the earliest public building ever found, said Nicola Terrenato, a University of Michigan classics professor who leads the project—the largest American dig in Italy in the past 50 years. (more…)

Raising the IQ of Smart Windows

By Guest PostAugust 24, 2013Sciencecoating of nanocrystals, electrochromic effect, electrochromic material, energy savings, smart window technology, smart windows, window coating

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have designed a new material to make smart windows even smarter. The material is a thin coating of nanocrystals embedded in glass that can dynamically modify sunlight as it passes through a window. Unlike existing technologies, the coating provides selective control over visible light and heat-producing near-infrared (NIR) light, so windows can maximize both energy savings and occupant comfort in a wide range of climates. (more…)

New book explores evolution of human reproduction

By Guest PostAugust 24, 2013Scienceevolution, frozen embryos, human beings, human reproduction, mammal sperms, pilosals, primate evolution

Human beings would probably be known as pilosals rather than mammals if Carl Linnaeus had not been a proponent of breast-feeding. For social and political reasons, the famed taxonomist labeled the class of animals to which humans belong with a reference to their practice of suckling their young rather than to their evolutionarily older characteristic of having hair. (more…)

More intestinal cells can absorb larger particles

By Guest PostAugust 22, 2013Sciencea peter morello, absorb, brown university, cells, daniel cho, edith mathiowitz, endocytosis in cells, enterocytes, finding in rats, insulin, intestinal cells, joshua reineke, larger particles, m, microfold, microspheres, phagocytosis, protein drugs, wayne state university, yu ting dingle

A new study reports that the small intestine uses more cells than scientists had realized to absorb microspheres large enough to contain therapeutic protein drugs, such as insulin. The finding in rats, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is potentially good news for developing a means for oral delivery of such drugs.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The small intestine employs more cells and mechanisms than scientists previously thought to absorb relatively large particles, such as those that could encapsulate protein-based therapeutics like insulin, according to a new study. The findings, published the week of Aug. 5, 2013, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, open another window for drug makers to increase absorption of medicines taken by mouth. (more…)

Engineers Improve Recycling System in Hydraulic Fracturing to Save Water and Energy

By Guest PostAugust 21, 2013Environment, Sciencecosts of fracking, energy savings, fracking, gas drilling process, hydraulic fracturing, membrane based filtration, water recycling system

AUSTIN, Texas — Chemical engineers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed high-efficiency, durable filters to improve mobile water recycling systems used in hydraulic fracturing, the oil and gas drilling process known as fracking. The filters may significantly reduce the amount of water and energy that fracking requires. (more…)

Do academic rankings create inequality?

By Guest PostAugust 20, 2013Scienceacademic rankings, americans, China, college degree, education, Germany, Global rankings, inequality, Jiao Tong University Brendan Cantwell, michigan state university, Netherlands, President Obama, research journal Minerva, scholar questions, Science, shanghai, Shanghai rankings, stem, Technology, united states, wisdom of investments, world class status

A study led by a Michigan State University scholar questions whether higher education ranking systems are creating competition simply for the sake of competition at a time when universities are struggling financially.

Global rankings that emphasize science and technology research – such as the Academic Rankings of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University – have become increasingly popular and influential during the past decade, said Brendan Cantwell, lead author and assistant professor of educational administration. (more…)

MU Researchers Develop App that Could Save Cattle Lives, Farmers’ Wallets

By Guest PostAugust 19, 2013Science, Technologyandroid market, app, apple app store, database, don spiers, gps location, heat stress, humidity data, life threatening condition, save cattle lives, stress impact, temperature, temperature humidity index, thermalaid, thermalnet, thi, type, university of missouri

App also allows users to communicate with MU animal science experts

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Each year, overheated cattle cost farmers more than $1.2 billion. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have created a smartphone application that can detect when a cow is at risk for heat stress. The app also can offer the best methods for intervention.

“Cows are like the rest of us,” said Don Spiers, professor of animal sciences at MU’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, who led the team that developed the app. “They slow down in hot and humid weather. When stressed by too much heat, they stop eating, and thus, fail to grain weight or produce milk.” (more…)

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