Unsolved Mystery of Science: Mars' Medusae Fossae
Formations

post from The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel on 07 October 2009 03:52:00 AM. © The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel

During its flybys, the radar system on the European Space Agency's Express orbiter uncovered new details about some of the most enigmatic deposits on Mars-the Medusae Fossae Formation.

The Medusae Fossae Formation consists of enigmatic deposits found near the Martian equator along a divide between highlands and lowlands called the ?highland-lowland dichotomy boundary? between the Tharsis and Elysium centres of volcanic activity. This dichotomy boundary is a narrow region separating the cratered highlands, located mostly in the southern hemisphere of Mars, from the northern hemisphere's lowland plains. It is believed to be some of the youngest deposits on the surface of the planet due to a lack of impact craters dotting these deposits, unlike on older terrain. Studying this region could yield information about Mars' more recent geological history, including whether or not liquid water played any role in the creation of Medusae Fossae.

The processes that created and modified the dichotomy boundary remain among the major unanswered issues in science.

The radar observations found the formation to be massive deposits more than 2.5 kilometers (1.4 miles) thick in places. The instrument reveals the depth based on the time it takes for the radar beam to pass through the layers and bounce off the plains material underneath.

The deposits intrigue scientists because they are associated with regions that absorb certain wavelengths of Earth-based radar. This had led to them being called "stealth" regions, because they give no radar echo. However, the radar instrument on Express uses longer wavelengths than Earth-based radar experiments. At these wavelengths, the radar waves mostly pass through the deposits, creating subsurface echoes when the radar signal reflects off the plains material beneath.

ESA scientists believe that the formations could be volcanic ash deposits from now-buried vents or nearby volcanoes, or they could be deposits of wind-blown materials eroded from Martian rocks, or ice-rich deposits, somewhat similar to the layered ice deposits at the poles of the planet, but formed when the spin axis of tilts over, making the equatorial region colder.

The Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding was funded by NASA and the Italian Space Agency and developed by the University of Rome in partnership with JPL.

Posted by Casey Kazan. Adapted from an NASA release.

2009 Podcast Awards

post from The Mr Science Show on 07 October 2009 03:21:07 AM. © The Mr Science Show

The 2009 Podcast Awards are now open for nominations. If you would like to nominate The Mr Science Show in the science and technology section, then that would be lovely! Check out the rules - essentially, don't be dodgy or game the system. And make sure you vote in the other sections too. Get over to the Podcast Awards website to nominate - cheers!

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Super Microbes Ideal for Life on Exo Planets
Discovered in Greenland -A Galaxy Insight

post from The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel on 07 October 2009 03:14:00 AM. © The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel

A team of scientists have revived a bacteria after a hundred thousand years under three kilometers of glacier. The microorganism is one of a new type only recently revealed to science, is small enough to pass through standard sterile filters, and is final proof that scientists just don't watch sci-fi movies.

Thenew ultramicrobacterium (and that's not hyperbolistic neology, that'sthe actual scientific name) Herminiimonas Glaciei was recovered fromunderneath Greenland glaciers and took almost a year to slowly heatback to life. With stages like "Seven months at 2 degrees C",reanimating frozen microlife isn't like microwaving popcorn. PennState University scientists coaxed the cells into action and createdcolonies of organisms twenty thousand times smaller than the averagehuman cell.

This is only the fourth ultramicrobacterium ever found, and you know you're doing real science when the words are too big to fit on a scrabble board. These itty-bitty organisms are small enough to pass through sterile filters usually used to purify water and, by the way, they all live in water. None are even remotely pathogenic (so there's no risk of sickness) but expect a scare-story pandemic when mainstream media eventually notices they exist.

As well as being a great display of the range of life on Earth, ultramicrobacteria (and yes, we are using that word as much as possible) could hold clues for further-flung organisms as well. These super-small cells are extremely suitable for life on otherwise untenable planets, with their minuscule food requirements, extreme resilience, and adaptability to micro-niches which couldn't support even regular sized bacteria. As well as existing where others couldn't, these sublilliputian lifeforms could persist on planets where catastrophes wiped out everything else.

Posted by Luke McKinney.

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/06/14/a.tiny.frozen.microbe.may.hold.clues.extraterrestrial.life

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Super Extremophiles Ideal for Life on Exo Planets
Discovered in Greenland -A Galaxy Insight

post from The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel on 07 October 2009 03:14:00 AM. © The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel

A team of scientists have revived a bacteria after a hundred thousand years under three kilometers of glacier. The microorganism is one of a new type only recently revealed to science, is small enough to pass through standard sterile filters, and is final proof that scientists just don't watch sci-fi movies.

The new ultramicrobacterium (and that's not hyperbolistic neology, that's the actual scientific name) Herminiimonas Glaciei was recovered from underneath Greenland glaciers and took almost a year to slowly heat back to life. With stages like "Seven months at 2 degrees C", reanimating frozen microlife isn't like microwaving popcorn. Penn State University scientists coaxed the cells into action and created colonies of organisms twenty thousand times smaller than the average human cell.

This is only the fourth ultramicrobacterium ever found, and you know you're doing real science when the words are too big to fit on a scrabble board. These itty-bitty organisms are small enough to pass through sterile filters usually used to purify water and, by the way, they all live in water. None are even remotely pathogenic (so there's no risk of sickness) but expect a scare-story pandemic when mainstream media eventually notices they exist.

As well as being a great display of the range of life on Earth, ultramicrobacteria (and yes, we are using that word as much as possible) could hold clues for further-flung organisms as well. These super-small cells are extremely suitable for life on otherwise untenable planets, with their minuscule food requirements, extreme resilience, and adaptability to micro-niches which couldn't support even regular sized bacteria. As well as existing where others couldn't, these sublilliputian lifeforms could persist on planets where catastrophes wiped out everything else.

Posted by Luke McKinney.

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/06/14/a.tiny.frozen.microbe.may.hold.clues.extraterrestrial.life

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Google & Microsoft Earthscapes Go Real-Time with
People, Cars, Clouds (VIDEO)

post from The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel on 07 October 2009 03:08:00 AM. © The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel

Researchers from Georgia Tech have devised methods to take real-time, real-world information and integrating it onto Google Earth, adding deep dynamic data to the previously sterile Googlescape, using live video feeds from many angles to find the position and motion of various objects, which they then combine with behavioral simulations to produce real-time animations for Google Earth or Microsoft Virtual Earth. Weather, birds, and following rivers will follow soon.

The Georgia Tech team uses motion capture data to help their animated humans move realistically, and were able to extrapolate cars' motion throughout an entire stretch of road from just a few scamera angles.

From their video of an augmented virtual Earth below, you can see if the pickup touch football game in park is short a player, how traffic is on the highway, and how fast the wind is blowing the clouds across the sky.

video details and more

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MNxw/google-earth-microsoft-virtual-earth-go-realtime-with-people-cars-clouds.html

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You Create the Caption

post from The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel on 07 October 2009 03:06:00 AM. © The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel

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Image of the Day: "Volcanic" Aurora Over Iceland

post from The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel on 07 October 2009 03:06:00 AM. © The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel

Hekla, one of the most famous volcanoes in the world, erupted in 1991 at the same time that auroras were visible overhead. Hekla has erupted at least 20 times over the past millennium, several times causing great destruction. The last eruption occurred only six years ago with only minor damage. The green auroral band occurred about 100 kilometers above the erupting lava.

Image Credit: Sigurdur H. Stefnisson

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The Daily Flash -Eco, Space, Tech (10/07)

post from The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel on 07 October 2009 03:04:00 AM. © The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel

?DNA Transistor? Could Revolutionize Genetic Testing

Researchers at IBM have found a way to meld biology and computing to create a new chip that could become the basis for a fast, inexpensive, personal genetic analyzer. The DNA sequencer involves drilling tiny nanometer-size holes through computer-like silicon chips, then passing DNA strands through them to read the information contained in their genetic code.

Monstrous Mechanical Marvels: 9 Enormous Gadgets

True to their size, gigantic contraptions accomplish tasks enormously useful to our everyday lives. Take for example the Bagger 293 (above), a 31.3-million-pound bucket-wheel excavator capable of mining 220,000 tons of brown coal in a day. And if the only cost-effective way to get the Bagger 293 to the mine is to drive it across the Rhineland countryside, so much the better. Because people love to gawk at gigantic machines

How the Real-Time Web Is Leaving Google Behind

When Michael Jackson died on June 25, millions of people flooded onto Google News to find the latest information about what had happened. The spike in traffic was so massive that Google suspected a malware attack and began blocking anyone searching for "Michael Jackson."

It's a funny story, but it illustrates how the Web is changing. People increasingly turn to the Internet for up-to-the-minute information about, well, everything.

Google-Verizon Taking on Apple-AT&T

Google and Verizon have just announced a "groundbreaking" agreement to maximize the chances for success of the Android OS in the U.S. smartphone market. Their intended target? Beating Apple and AT&T at their own game. The "strategic partnership" is designed to "deliver leading-edge mobile applications, services and devices" which combine the best of Verizon's 3G network with the best of the Android experience--including several co-developed devices.

Read The Full Article:
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P7i4/the-daily-flash-eco-space-tech-1007-1.html

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Excellent!!: Nobel Prize for structure and
function of the ribosome

[...]

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TEDTalks : Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a
single story - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2009)

Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

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