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NASA Probe Data Show Liquid Water Evidence on Europa

By Guest PostNovember 17, 2011Scienceatmosphere, body of liquid water, britney schmidt, chaos terrains, don blankenship, europa, galileo images, galileo spacecraft, global saltwater ocean, global subsurface, jovian system, jupiter, jupiter moon, mary voytek, nasa planetary mission, north american great lakes, potential habitat for life, solar system, space shuttle atlantis, university of texas

PASADENA, Calif. — Data from a NASA planetary mission have provided scientists evidence of what appears to be a body of liquid water, equal in volume to the North American Great Lakes, beneath the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon, Europa.

The data suggest there is significant exchange between Europa’s icy shell and the ocean beneath. This information could bolster arguments that Europa’s global subsurface ocean represents a potential habitat for life elsewhere in our solar system. The findings are published in the scientific journal Nature. (more…)

Gamburtsev Mountains Enigma Unraveled in Interior East Antarctica

By Guest PostNovember 17, 2011Nature, Scienceantarctic rift system, east antarctic, east antarctic rift, gamburtsev high elevation, gamburtsev subglacial mountains, gamburtsevs, ice penetrating radars, ice sheet

The birth of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains buried beneath the vast East Antarctic Ice Sheet – a puzzle mystifying scientists since their first discovery in 1958 – is finally solved. The remarkably long geological history explains the formation of the mountain range in the least explored frontier on Earth and where the Antarctic Ice Sheet first formed. The findings are published this week in the journal Nature. (more…)

Statistical Models Inspired from Facebook could help endangered Animals, UF Researchers say

By Guest PostNovember 17, 2011Scienceendangered animals, habitat movement, habitat restoration, invasive species, statistical models

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Some endangered animals may live in smaller habitats than scientists realize, leading to inflated estimates of their ability to survive, according to a new University of Florida study. (more…)

Scientists Uncover Mechanism That Regulates Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Metabolism

By Guest PostNovember 16, 2011Scienceadenosine triphosphate, atp, body cells, california institute for regenerative medicine, carbon dioxide, carla koehler, cell differentiation, cell functions, chicken or the egg question, cytoplasm, electron transport chain, energy, energy generation by mitochondria in pluripotent stem cells, glycolysis, glycolytic and biosynthesis pathways, human pluripotent stem cells, inactive mitochondria, jin zhang, kim irwin, mature cells in children and adults, metabolic activities, method of generating energy, michael teitell, mitochondria, oxidative phosphorylation, protein, respiration, stem cells, sugar fermentation, ucp2, uncoupling protein 2, visual appearance

Human pluripotent stem cells, which can develop into any cell type in the body, rely heavily on glycolysis, or sugar fermentation, to drive their metabolic activities.

In contrast, mature cells in children and adults depend more on cell mitochondria to convert sugar and oxygen into carbon dioxide and water during a high energy–producing process called oxidative phosphorylation. (more…)

Ancient Bronze Artifact from East Asia Unearthed at Alaska Archaeology Site

By Guest PostNovember 16, 2011Sciencealaska archaeology site, ancient eskimo dwelling, cape espenberg excavations, inupiat eskimos, modern eskimos, prehistoric bronze artifact

A team of researchers led by the University of Colorado Boulder has discovered the first prehistoric bronze artifact made from a cast ever found in Alaska, a small, buckle-like object found in an ancient Eskimo dwelling and which likely originated in East Asia. (more…)

Tiny Worms Change Direction Using Two Human-Like Neural Circuits

By Guest PostNovember 16, 2011Sciencecommand interneurons, gas pedal circuit, motion change, motor control, movement disorders, roundworm

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— A University of Michigan biologist and his colleagues have found that the strategies used by the tiny C. elegans roundworm to control its motions are remarkably similar to those used by the human brain to command movement of eyes, arms and legs. (more…)

Voyager 2 Completes Switch to Backup Thruster Set

By Guest PostNovember 15, 2011Sciencebackup thrusters, deep space network, earth, engineers, heliosheath, interstellar space, NASA, power requirements, pressure of interstellar gas, rate of energy, solar system, spacecraft, voyager 1 and voyager 2, voyager 2

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s Voyager 2 has successfully switched to the backup set of thrusters that controls the roll of the spacecraft. Deep Space Network personnel sent commands to the spacecraft to make the change on Nov. 4 and received confirmation today that the switch has been made.

The change allows engineers to reduce the amount of power that the 34-year-old spacecraft needs to operate by turning off the heater that keeps the fuel to the primary thrusters warm. Although the rate of energy generated by Voyager 2’s nuclear power source continues to decline, by reducing its power requirements, engineers expect the spacecraft can continue to operate for another decade. (more…)

Evidence Emerges of Ancient Lake in California’s Eel River

By Guest PostNovember 15, 2011Environment, Scienceairborne light detection and ranging, ancient landslide, benjamin mackey, california institute of technology, catastrophic landslide, dam burst, diverse phenomena, ecological changes, eel river, gene flow, genetic introgression, genetic trajectories, genetics of steelhead trout in the eel river, geological history, global positioning systems, gps, humboldt county, interbreeding, joshua roering, lakebed, late pleistocene, lidar, michael lamb, modern landslide hazard, mountainous region, national science foundation, northern california, pacific ocean, paul cutler, populations, remote sensing technology, steelhead trout, university of oregon

*Ecological changes from lakebed may have led to two different populations of once-related steelhead trout*

A catastrophic landslide 22,500 years ago dammed the upper reaches of northern California’s Eel River, forming a 30-mile-long lake which has since disappeared. It left a living legacy found today in the genes of the region’s steelhead trout.

Using remote-sensing technology known as airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and hand-held global-positioning-systems (GPS) units, scientists recently found evidence for a late Pleistocene, landslide-dammed lake along the river. (more…)

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