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NASA’s Wise Mission Discovers Coolest Class of Stars

By Guest PostAugust 25, 2011Science40 light years, ammonia, astronomers, atmospheric temperature, brown dwarf family, california institute of technology, Chile, coldest brown dwarf, cool as the human body, davy kirkpatrick, failed stars, gas giant planets, hawaii, infrared processing and analysis center, infrared vision, jon morse, jupiter, magellan telescopes at las campanas observatory, methane, michael cushing, molecular signatures, NASA, nasa headquarters, nine light years away, palomar observatory, parent star, pasadena, proxima centauri, ross 154, solar system, spitzer space telescope, star like bodies, visible light telescope, w m keck observatory atop mauna kea, Washington, water, wide field infrared survey explorer, wise, wise 1541-2250, wise 1828+2650, y dwarfs

PASADENA, Calif. – Scientists using data from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have discovered the coldest class of star-like bodies, with temperatures as cool as the human body.

Astronomers hunted these dark orbs, termed Y dwarfs, for more than a decade without success. When viewed with a visible-light telescope, they are nearly impossible to see. WISE’s infrared vision allowed the telescope to finally spot the faint glow of six Y dwarfs relatively close to our sun, within a distance of about 40 light-years. (more…)

EPA Grants Continue to Protect Beachgoers

By Guest PostJanuary 16, 2011Environmentamerica, bacteria levels, beach, beach managers, beaches, beaches environmental assessment and coastal health act, beachgoers, grants, local beach conditions, monitor beach, ocean beaches, peter s silva, protect swimmers, states, territories, tribes, water, water quality

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing almost $10 million in grants to 37 states, territories and tribes to help protect swimmers and beachgoers at America’s beaches. The grants will help local authorities monitor beach water quality and notify the public of conditions that may be unsafe for swimming. The grants have enabled states and territories to more than double the number of beaches they monitor since 2003. This continues EPA’s efforts to help beach managers provide consistent public health protection and up-to-date information about local beach conditions. (more…)

Tiny Protozoa May Hold Key to World Water Safety

By Guest PostDecember 11, 2010Environment, Sciencebarometers, better world, biologist, bob curtis, camera, car, climate change, department of defense, digital camera, dod, gasoline, groundbreaking technique, microscopic plankton, one celled protozoa, pesticides, plastic containers, protozoa, sbs, scott gallager, software, swimming behavioral spectrophotometer, Technology, toxins, underwater environment, wade mcgillis, water

Right now, it looks a little like one of those plastic containers you might fill with gasoline when your car has run dry. But Scott Gallager is not headed to the nearest Mobil station. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) biologist has other, grander plans for his revolutionary Swimming Behavioral Spectrophotometer (SBS), which employs one-celled protozoa to detect toxins in water sources.

Not only is he working on streamlining the boxy-looking contraption—eventually even evolving it into a computer chip—but he sees it as a tool to potentially “monitor all the drinking water in the world.

“It has a unique utility.” (more…)

MU Researcher Studies How Infants Compare Quantities

By Guest PostDecember 5, 2010Scienceability to quantify, baby einstein, cheerios, child, infants, kristy vanmarle, liquid, non-cohesive substances, opaque, parents, psychologists, researcher, sand, tracking and quantifying objects, two substances, university of missouri, water

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Parents are often amazed at how fast their child grows and develops. New research at the University of Missouri has determined that the ability to quantify – even things that are hard to quantify, such as liquid – may develop much sooner than most parents realize.

University of Missouri researcher Kristy vanMarle, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences in the College of Arts and Science, has determined that contrary to what previous studies have shown, infants are able to quantify non-cohesive substances – like sand, water, or even Cheerios – as early as 10 months. As long as the difference between the two substances is large enough, vanMarle has found that infants will choose the larger amount, especially when it comes to food. (more…)

NSF Signs $34.5-million Operating Agreement With University Of Wisconsin as Antarctic Neutrino Detector Nears Completion

By Guest PostNovember 22, 2010Scienceantarctic ice sheet, atmosphere, atomic nuclei, big science, digital optical modules, distant galaxies, earth, Germany, ice, icecube, icecube neutrino observatory, jim yeck, karl a erb, Milky Way, national science foundation, neutrino detector, neutrinos, south pole station, stars, sub-atomic particles, telescope, university of wisconsin-madison, water

The National Science Foundation has signed a five-year, $34.5-million agreement with the University of Wisconsin-Madison to operate a unique telescope–a cubic kilometer in volume–buried in the Antarctic ice sheet between 1,400 meters and 2,400 meters deep.

The collaborative agreement covers the cost of operating the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, located in the ice under the U.S. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The observatory records the rare collisions of neutrinos, elusive sub-atomic particles, with the atomic nuclei of the water frozen into ice. Neutrinos come from the sun, cosmic rays interacting with the Earth’s atmosphere, and dramatic astronomical sources such as exploding stars in the Milky Way and other distant galaxies. Trillions of neutrinos stream through the human body at any given moment, but they rarely interact with regular matter, and researchers want to know more about them and where they come from. (more…)

Most River Flows across the U.S. are Altered by Land and Water Management, Leading to Ecological Degradation

By Guest PostNovember 4, 2010Environment, Natureaquatic organisms, bill werkheiser, daren carlisle, degraded river ecosystems, ecological effects, flow alterations, jeff ostermiller, lake, loss of native species, pond habitats, rivers, specific flow conditions, sport fish populations, stream flow alteration, streams, water

The amount of water flowing in streams and rivers has been significantly altered in nearly 90 percent of waters that were assessed in a new nationwide USGS study. Flow alterations are a primary contributor to degraded river ecosystems and loss of native species.

“This USGS assessment provides the most geographically extensive analysis to date of stream flow alteration,” said Bill Werkheiser, USGS Associate Director for Water. “Findings show the pervasiveness of stream flow alteration resulting from land and water management, the significant impact of altered stream flow on aquatic organisms, and the importance of considering this factor for sustaining and restoring the health of the Nation’s streams and ecosystems.” (more…)

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