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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"
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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