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First Geologic Map of Jupiter’s Moon Io Details an Otherworldly Volcanic Surface

By Guest PostMarch 21, 2012Scienceapollo moon, arizona state university, david a williams, david williams, europa, galileo, galileo orbiter, ganymede, geologic map, image mosaic, io, jovian satellite, jupiter, ken herkenhoff, ken tanaka, marcia mcnutt, mars, moon, NASA, solar system, spacecraft, usgs, volcanic activity, voyager 1

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – More than 400 years after its discovery by Galileo, the innermost large moon of Jupiter – Io – can finally rest on its geologic laurels. A group of scientists led by Dr. David A. Williams of Arizona State University has produced the first global geologic map of the Jovian satellite. The map, which was published by the U. S. Geological Survey, technically illustrates the geologic character of some of the most unique and active volcanoes ever documented in the solar system.

Since its discovery in January 1610, Io has been the focus of repeated observation, first by Earth-based telescopes, and later by fly-by and orbiting spacecraft. These studies depict an otherworldly celestial body whose gravitational relationships with Jupiter and sister moons Europa and Ganymede cause massive, rapid flexing of its surface and interior. This flexing generates tremendous heat in Io’s interior, which is relieved through surface volcanism, resulting in 25 times more volcanic activity than occurs here on Earth. (more…)

Exposed To Phthalates as Fetuses, Female Mice Have Altered Reproductive Lives

By Guest PostMarch 20, 2012Scienceexposure to mehp, female mouse fetuse, health effects, industrial chemical, industrial phthalate

Many environmental and public health officials are concerned about the potential health effects of phthalates, which are common chemicals used to make plastics softer and more pliable. In the first study to examine what effect in utero doses of phthalates have on the reproductive system of mice, Brown University toxicologists found that extremely high doses were associated with significant changes, such as a shortened reproductive lifespan and abnormal cell growth in mammary glands.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Female mouse fetuses exposed to very high doses of a common industrial chemical that makes plastics more pliable develop significant reproductive alterations and precancerous lesions as they grow up, according to a new toxicology study conducted at Brown University. (more…)

Ultracold Experiments Heat Up Quantum Research

By Guest PostMarch 20, 2012Scienceabsolute zero, atomic realm, atoms, birth of universe, black hole, ccd camera, chen lung hung, cheng chin, cosmology, crystals, diverse phenomena, early universe, electron, gravitational dynamics, magnetic materials, nano kelvin, physicist, quantum criticality, quantum phase transition, subatomic particle, subir sachdev, superconductors, thomas rosenbaum, ultracold atom, ultracold state, ultracold temperature, university of chicago, xibo zhang

University of Chicago physicists have experimentally demonstrated, for the first time, that atoms chilled to temperatures near absolute zero may behave like seemingly unrelated natural systems of vastly different scales, offering potential insights into links between the atomic realm and deep questions of cosmology.

This ultracold state, called “quantum criticality,” hints at similarities between such diverse phenomena as the gravitational dynamics of black holes or the exotic conditions that prevailed at the birth of the universe, said Cheng Chin, associate professor in physics at UChicago. The results could even point to ways of simulating cosmological phenomena of the early universe by studying systems of atoms in states of quantum criticality. (more…)

Yale Research Offers New Way To See Inside Solids

By Guest PostMarch 20, 2012Science3d mris, animal bone, array, artifact, assess, biological sample, bone quality, cow bone, gas bearing rock, hydrogen atom, joseph a madri, joshua n vanhouten, karl l insogna, magnetic resonance imaging, material, merideth a frey, michael michaud, mouse liver, mri, oil, phosphorus content, quadratic echo mri, quantum computing, radio wave, sean barrett, solid object, technique, tissue, yale university

Researchers at Yale University have developed a new way of seeing inside solid objects, including animal bones and tissues, potentially opening a vast array of dense materials to a new type of detailed internal inspection.

The technique, a novel kind of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), creates three-dimensional images of hard and soft solids based on signals emitted by their phosphorus content. (more…)

Some Mammals Used Highly Complex Teeth to Compete With Dinosaurs

By Guest PostMarch 19, 2012Nature, Science3 d images, alistair evans, angiosperms, australia, back teeth, bumps, computed tomography, ct, cusps, dinosaur extinction, dinosaurs, event, extinction, finland, food, fossil, gregory p wilson, ian corfe, insect pollinators, jukka jernvall, mammal, mesozoic era, mikael fortelius, monash university, mountain range, multituberculates, Nature, paleontologist, peter smits, rodent, scanning, tooth surface, topography, tubercles, university of helsinki, university of washington, vince stricherz

Conventional wisdom holds that during the Mesozoic Era, mammals were small creatures that held on at life’s edges. But at least one mammal group, rodent-like creatures called multituberculates, actually flourished during the last 20 million years of the dinosaurs’ reign and survived their extinction 66 million years ago.

New research led by a University of Washington paleontologist suggests that the multituberculates did so well in part because they developed numerous tubercles (bumps, or cusps) on their back teeth that allowed them to feed largely on angiosperms, flowering plants that were just becoming commonplace. (more…)

Discovery of Pine Beetles Breeding Twice in a Year Helps Explain Increasing Damage, CU Researchers Say

By Guest PostMarch 18, 2012Nature, Sciencealaska, american naturalist, attacking beetles, beetle epidemic, beetles, boulder, bugs, generation of beetles, higher elevation, jeffry mitton, lodgepole, mountain pine beetles, new mexico, pine trees, ponderosa, sangre de cristo, scott ferrenberg, tree killing beetles, university of colorado, warmer temperature, yukon territory

Long thought to produce only one generation of tree-killing offspring annually, some populations of mountain pine beetles now produce two generations per year, dramatically increasing the potential for the bugs to kill lodgepole and ponderosa pine trees, University of Colorado Boulder researchers have found.

Because of the extra annual generation of beetles, there could be up to 60 times as many beetles attacking trees in any given year, their study found. And in response to warmer temperatures at high elevations, pine beetles also are better able to survive and attack trees that haven’t previously developed defenses. (more…)

UA Engineer Launches Robotic Planetary Lake Lander

By Guest PostMarch 18, 2012Sciencelake lander, planetary research, robotic lake lander, tucson explorer

Wolfgang Fink of the University of Arizona department of electrical and computer engineering has developed an autonomous robotic lake lander that could be used to explore this planet and others. (more…)

Cancer Genes Differ in Different Parts of a Tumour

By Guest PostMarch 17, 2012Health, Sciencebiomarkers, biopsies, biopsy, cancer cell, cancer treatment, charles swanton, gene faults, genetic fault, genetic landscape, genetic variation, genome, genome sequencing technology, james larkin, kidney cancer, kidney tumours, lesley walker, molecular change, mutation, primary tumour, subtype, theory, tree of life, tumour, ubiquitous mutations

Taking a sample from just one part of a tumour may not give a full picture of its‘genetic landscape’, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The findings could help explain why attempts at using single biopsies to identify biomarkers to which personalised cancer treatments can be targeted have not been more successful. (more…)

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