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Tag: Scientists

  • Scientists crush our childhood dreams of becoming Spider-Man

    Scientists crush our childhood dreams of becoming Spider-Man

    A group of buzz-killing researchers from the University of Cambridge have dashed our childhood dreams by proving that Spider-Man-style wallcrawling is physically impossible.

    Even if a radioactive spider bite did bestow arachnid abilities upon you, scaling walls would still be out of your reach.

    The work depicts Jobs in his trademark black turtleneck jumper carrying an early model of his Apple computer and with a black bin bag slung over his shoulder.

    With today’s announcement, SpaceIL is the first of the 16 Lunar X Prize teams to book a ride off the planet. If the mission succeeds, it will be the first Israeli mission — as well as the first private spaceflight mission — to soft-land a vehicle on the lunar surface. Eran Privman, CEO of SpaceIL, claimed the group isn’t focused on the competition, but they are confident they can win. “I promise you once we land on the Moon, we’ll look around and see we are the first,” he said.

    Only three nations have ever landed a spacecraft intact on the Moon: the United States, Russia, and China. Many countries have slammed lunar orbiters or probes into the Moon to study its environment, but gently landing a spacecraft is trickier. The Moon is big enough to have a gravitational pull, but it doesn’t have an atmosphere to slow incoming objects. Spacecraft in lunar orbit must fire retro-rockets, very precisely, in the opposite direction of the Moon. That way they can slowly descend without slamming into the rock. It’s a delicate procedure that usually requires a lot of time and money, which is why only government agencies have been able to do it up until now.

    A trait carried over from their debut, luckily for us listeners

    Egyptian chest, and was moreover intensified by his delirium, that his mates were forced to lace him fast, even there, as he sailed, raving in his hammock. In a strait-jacket, he swung to the mad rockings of the gales. And, when running into more sufferable latitudes, the ship, with mild stun’sails spread, floated across the tranquil tropics, and, to all appearances.

    SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket during launch. (SpaceX)
    SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket during launch. (SpaceX)

    That it was only then, on the homeward voyage, after the encounter, that the final monomania seized him, seems all but certain from the fact that, at intervals during the passage, he was a raving lunatic; and, though unlimbed of a leg, yet such vital strength yet lurked in his Egyptian chest, and was moreover intensified by his delirium, that his mates were forced to lace him fast, even there, as he sailed, raving in his hammock. In a strait-jacket, he swung to the mad rockings of the gales. And, when running into more sufferable latitudes, the ship, with mild stun’sails spread, floated across the tranquil tropics, and, to all appearances, the old man’s delirium seemed left behind him with the Cape Horn swells.

    Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some still subtler form. Ahab’s full lunacy subsided not, but deepeningly contracted; like the unabated Hudson, when that noble Northman flows narrowly, but unfathomably through the Highland gorge.

    Lauren Mayberry’s lyrics touches on elements of heartbreak

    God the direful madness was now gone; even then, Ahab, in his hidden self, raved on. Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some still subtler form. Ahab’s full lunacy subsided not, but deepeningly contracted; like the unabated Hudson, when that noble Northman flows narrowly, but unfathomably through the Highland gorge.

    jh123But, as in his narrow-flowing monomania, not one jot of Ahab’s broad madness had been left behind; so in that broad madness, not one jot of his great natural intellect had perished. That before living agent, now became the living instrument. If such a furious trope may stand, his special lunacy stormed his general sanity, and carried it, and turned all its concentred cannon upon its own mad mark. I knew the Indians would soon discover that they were on the wrong trail and that the search for me would be renewed in the right direction as soon as they located my tracks. I had gone but a short distance further when what seemed to be an excellent trail opened up around the face of a high cliff. The trail was level and quite broad and led upward and in the general direction I wished to go. The cliff arose for several hundred feet on my right, and on my left was an equal and nearly perpendicular drop to the bottom of a rocky ravine.

  • Icebound Russian Ship Set to be Rescued by Saturday

    A Russian ship carrying 74 passengers has been stranded in the icy water mass of Antarctica since Tuesday.

    Strong winds through the ice-covered water caused The MV Akademik Shokalskiy to become trapped near Stillwell Island, far south of Hobart, Tasmania.

    What started on November 28 as a commemorated voyage dedicated to the 100th anniversary of an Antarctic voyage led by Australian explorer Douglas Mawson has become a five-day wait for the travelers.

    The Akademik Shokalskiy initially departed from New Zealand with both Russian and Australian passengers aboard. Many passengers are tourists helping scientists with an experiment.

    The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement today that a Chinese icebreaker is expected to reach the explorers by tomorrow.

    The Snow Dragon icebreaker was sent out by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and is said to be traveling at a very cautious speed, 15 nautical miles from the ship.

    On Twitter, Australian professor Chris Turney, announced the rescue.

    “Great news: Icebreaker Snow Dragon on Horizon with penguins! Everyone very happy!” he said.

    Turney, who also helped to arrange the voyage, posted a YouTube video excitedly sharing its slow arrival upon the horizon.

    According to the captain who has stayed in contact with the Russian Embassy, the crew members are safe and unharmed.

    Despite the interruption to the expedition, the scientists will continue with their research even after they’re freed.

    Image via Youtube, Mass Tea Party

  • Moon Mission Launch: NASA’s LADEE, A Success

    Moon Mission Launch: NASA’s LADEE, A Success

    Yesterday, NASA launched a new moon probe, which has the technical name of Lunar Atmospheric Environment Explorer (LADEE). It was launched late on Friday night, September 6, and lived up to all of the hype and then more. The probe was launched from the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. It is always quite a sight to see something being launched into space, but objects like this one continue to be more impressive and advanced, each time they are built.

    This new probe is scheduled to observe the atmosphere of Earth’s natural satellite for around 160 days, according to International Business Times. While the launch was viewed as a success, the space agency did note a technical issue after the spacecraft had separated from the launch vehicle.

    Just hours after the launch, officials announced that the spacecraft’s reaction wheels had unexpectedly shut down, says NBC News. The reaction wheels are used to position and stabilize LADEE, and were turned on as it was spinnig too fast after separating from the Minotaur V Rocket. The team behind LADEE’s production will analyze the spacecraft as part of a routine checkout and NASA could spend more time in order to figure out what caused the incident to happen.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtB0tl5vYrY

    LADEE, which is only the size of a small car, is expected to reach the moon on October 6. A couple of the main goal’s of LADEE’s are to finally learn the composition of the Moon’s delicate atmosphere, and how it might change over time. Another unsolved puzzle is whether dust actually levitates from the Moon’s surface. A thorough understanding of these characteristics will address long-standing unknowns, allowing scientists to understand other planetary bodies as well, according to NASA. The mission is divided into missions phases, which include Launch, Ascent, Activation and Checkout, Phasing Orbits, Lunar Orbit Insertion, Commissioning, Science, and Decommissioning.

    The spacecraft is supposed to take 30 days to reach the Moon and will perform its lunar atmosphere and dust mission for approximately 100 days. It will also test a new laser communications system that NASA has described as being like a new type of interplanetary internet.

    Image via Facebook

  • Turducken Of The Sea Baffles Scientists

    There is always a bigger fish. Isn’t that the old adage? A three feet long dogfish recently found this out. Scientists from the University of Delaware were researching sand tiger sharks through a tagging process where sensors are initially released to entice the sharks for later retrieval. Menhaden, containing the sensors, were used as bait, which caught the attention of the dogfish. As it turns out, the dogfish served as the ultimate bait. During the retrieval process, these scientists pulled a large adult female sand tiger shark from the ocean with the smaller dogfish still inside.

    According to the (Ocean Exploration, Remote Sensing, Biogeography Lab) ORB LAB Facebook page, which is regulated by the scientists responsible for this project, “We caught one large female on our first line Friday, but we were not expecting to catch her like this!”

    Motivation behind this project serves, in part, to further investigate the decreasing number of sand tiger sharks noted in recent decades. Researchers have noticed a 75 percent decrease in these sharks over the last thirty years. These scientists aim to determine whether this population of ocean dwellers is rebounding or continuing to decline. Interest in maintaining the equipment that led to the finding of the “shark within a shark” is so strong that the researchers from the University of Delaware and Delaware State University are offering financial rewards to anyone who stumbles upon a sensor either on the beach or in the ocean waters off Delaware.

    While the official Shark Week may be over, it appears that not all sharks are ready to retreat from the Hollywood attention. The general public still remain entranced with these creatures as noticeable from Twitter.

  • NASA Names Ellen Stofan New Chief Scientist

    NASA Names Ellen Stofan New Chief Scientist

    NASA today announced that Ellen Stofan will be NASA’s next chief scientist. Starting August 25, Stofan will be NASA Administrator Charles Bolden’s “principal advisor” on NASA science programs and “science-related strategic planning and investments.”

    Stofan is a geologist who has been researching Earth, Mars, Venus, and Saturn’s moon Titan for decades. She is currently the vice president of Proxemy Research, a consulting company in Laytonsville, Maryland. She holds a geological sciences doctorate degree from Brown University.

    Before entering private industry, Stofan was a researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulstion Laboratory (JPL). From 1991 to 2000 she served a number of roles for NASA, including experiment scientist for the SIR-C device on space shuttle flights in 1994, deputy project scientist for NASA’s Magellan probe, and chief scientist for NASA’s New Millennium Program. Stofan is also a member of the Cassini mission’s radar team and a co-investigator on the Mars Express’ MARSIS instrument.

    “Ellen brings an extraordinary range of scientific research knowledge and planetary exploration experience to the chief scientist position,” said Bolden. “Her breadth of experience and familiarity with the agency will allow her to hit the ground running. We’re fortunate to have her on our team.”

    Former NASA Chief Scientist Waleed Abdalati left his position at the end of 2012 to return to the University of Colorado. Gale Allen, the former associate chief scientist for life and microgravity sciences at NASA, has held the position of acting chief scientist since the beginning of 2013.

  • Julius Richard Petri Receives The Google Doodle Honor

    Google is running a homepage doodle honoring German bacteriologist Julius Richard Petri in parts of the world where the date has already changed to May 31st.

    The date marks the 160th birthday of the scientist, who is known as the inventor of the Petri dish, an accomplishment he achieved while working as an assistant to Robert Koch. Here’s a brief history from Wikipedia:

    Petri first studied medicine at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Academy for Military Physicians (1871–1875) and received his medical degree in 1876. He continued his studies at the Charité Hospital in Berlin and was on active duty as a military physician until 1882, continuing as a reservist.

    From 1877 to 1879 he was assigned to the Imperial Health Office (German: Kaiserliches Gesundheitsamt) in Berlin, where he became an assistant to Robert Koch. On the advice of Angelina Hesse, the New York-born wife of another assistant, Walther Hesse, the Koch laboratory began to culture bacteria on agar plates. Petri then invented the standard culture dish, or Petri plate, and further developed the technique of agar culture to purify or clone bacterial colonies derived from single cells. This advance made it possible to rigorously identify the bacteria responsible for diseases.

    The doodle is animated, and features the word “Google,” with each letter appearing in a separate Petri dish. Simon Rueger shares this video of the animation:

  • James Cameron Will Soon Answer Your Questions On Google+

    National Geographic announced today that James Cameron, Jane Goodall, and Robert Ballard will participate in a Google+ Hangout on Sunday to answer questions from people around the world abou their studies and endeavors.

    While many know Cameron for his classic films, he also set a record with a 35,756-foot solo dive to the ocean’s deepest point in the South Pacific’s Mariana Trench last year.

    Goodall, as you may know, led a 50-year field study of wild chimpanzees, and Ballard discovered the RMS Titanic in 1985, and has pioneered the use of robotics in underwater exploration.

    Additional scientists and explorers Kyler Abernathy, Kenny Broad, Albert Lin, Krithi Karanth, Paula Kahumbu, Sebastian Cruz, and Boyd Matson will also participate in the hangout.

    The hangout will take place on Sunday, January 13 from 1PM to 2PM Eastern. You can upload video questions to YouTube with #NatGeo125, post a question on Google+ or Twitter with the same hashtag, comment on the National Geographic New Watch blog, or leave a comment on this Facebook post.

    The hangout itself can be viewed on the National Geographic Google+ Page, as well as on the NatGeo YouTube channel.