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NASA

Submission + - Simulation of Closest Asteroid Fly-By (wired.com) 1

Submitted by c0mpliant
c0mpliant writes: NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have released a simulation of the path of an asteroid, named Apophis, that will come closest to Earth, since humans have monitored for such heavenly bodies. The asteroid, which once held an above 2% chance of impacting Earth, had caused a bit of a scare when it was first announced that it would enter Earth's neighborhood some 30 years in the future.

However since that announcement in 2004, more recent calculations have put the number at 1 in 250'000. The simulation can viewed here.
Science

Submission + - Reducing one amino acid could increase lifespan (sciencenews.org)

Submitted by
John Bryson
John Bryson writes: "Eating less of one amino acid might lengthen your life. There have been lots of previous studies showing that many species live long on highly restricted calories, but a lot of this benefit may be possible by only restricting one amino acid. Amino acids that have shown this have been tryptophan and methionine. A recent study, published online December 2 in Nature, a highly respected journal, may help explain some of the health benefits of restricted-calorie diets. Grandison, R.C., Piper, M.D.W., and Partridge, L. 2009. Amino-acid imbalance explains extension of lifespan by dietary restriction in Drosophila. Nature, published online Dec. 2. doi:10.1038/nature08619"

Comment Re:Missed by Voyager? (Score 1) 255

by Peredur (#29672755) Attached to: NASA Discovers Giant Ring Around Saturn

In a vacuum you only lose heat via radiation, and you know that's pretty slow, since Vacuum flasks can keep things hot for a really long time.

So yeah, breathing would be your concern.

That's not really true. Vacuum flasks are also covered with reflective coatings inside so that the heat loss from radiation is also minimized. Also when considering heat loss from radiation, what's important is the difference of temperature between the surroundings and the object. If the surrounding's also warm, it would also give the object heat by radiation. If the surrounding is space, the heat you get by radiation is negligible, so yes, you would freeze very quickly.
But whether it would be quicker than explosion of your body due to lack of outside pressure, I don't really know. But my guess is you wouldn't have time to be concerned about anything.

Actually, you have exactly 30 seconds. Any longer than that and there is no chance a passing spaceship will pick you up.
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - Accoustic "Superlens" Could Make Subs Invi (technologyreview.com)

Submitted by
Al
Al writes: "Nicholas Fang and colleagues at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have created the first acoustic superlens, which could be used to create high-resolution ultrasound images, and perhaps ultimately make subs and ships invisible to sonar. Researchers have previously developed materials that bend light in ways that appear to violate the laws of physics, creating so-called optical superlenses. The first acoustic superlens consists of an aluminum array of narrow-necked resonant cavities filed with water--the dimensions of the cavities are tuned to interact with ultrasound waves. When ultrasound waves move through the array, the cavities resonate and the sound is refocused."
Biotech

Submission + - Human Language Gene Changes How Mice Squeak 2

Submitted by archatheist
archatheist writes: Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have engineered a mouse whose FOXP2 gene has been swapped out for (different) human version. This is interesting because the gene is implicated in human language, and this has changed how mice squeak. Forget planet of the apes... get your tiny paws off me, you darn dirty mouse!
Mars

Spirit Stuck In Soft Soil On Mars 160

Posted by timothy from the it's-covered-in-jam dept.
cheros writes "NASA reports that the Spirit Mars lander is presently stuck in soft soil. The lander's wheels are halfway sunk into the soil and they are planning simulation tests to see if they can get it out again. I hope they can get it out of there because it's picking up enough new energy to operate; however, it only has 5 wheels left to get around on — one of the wheels hasn't been working for years. Fingers crossed."

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