Researchers trying to detect life in the ultra-dry Atacama Desert
Apr 21, 2017, at 11:42 pm
Washington, Apr 21 (IBNS): Few places are as hostile to life as Chile's Atacama Desert. It's the driest non-polar desert on Earth, and only the hardiest microbes survive there. Its rocky landscape has lain undisturbed for eons, exposed to extreme temperatures and radiation from the sun.
NASA radar spots relatively large Asteroid prior to flyby
Apr 20, 2017, at 01:17 am
Washington, Apr 19 (IBNS): Radar images of asteroid 2014 JO25 were obtained in the early morning hours on Tuesday, with NASA's 70-meter (230-foot) antenna at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California.
Asteroid to fly safely past Earth today, says NASA
Apr 19, 2017, at 03:43 pm
Washington, Apr 19 (IBNS): A relatively large near-Earth asteroid discovered nearly three years ago will fly safely past Earth on Apr 19 at a distance of about 1.1 million miles (1.8 million kilometers), or about 4.6 times the distance from Earth to the moon, said astronomers.
NASA Space Station cargo launches aboard orbital ATK resupply mission
Apr 19, 2017, at 03:09 pm
Washington, Apr 19 (IBNS): The International Space Station will be capable of dozens of new scientific investigations from NASA and around the world when Orbital ATK's Cygnus spacecraft delivers more than 7,600 pounds of cargo Saturday, April 22.
Glacier shape influences susceptibility to melting
Apr 18, 2017, at 02:16 pm
Washington, Apr 18 (IBNS): A new NASA-funded study has identified which glaciers in West Greenland are most susceptible to thinning in the coming decades by analyzing how they’re shaped.
NASA approves instruments for ESA’s ‘JUICE’ Mission to Jupiter System
Apr 16, 2017, at 11:19 pm
Washington, Apr 16 (IBNS): NASA’s partnership in a future European Space Agency (ESA) mission to Jupiter and its moons has cleared a key milestone, moving from preliminary instrument design to implementation phase.
NASA Missions provide new insights into 'Ocean Worlds' in our solar system
Apr 15, 2017, at 12:00 am
Washington, Apr 14 (IBNS): Two veteran NASA missions are providing new details about icy, ocean-bearing moons of Jupiter and Saturn, further heightening the scientific interest of these and other "ocean worlds" in our solar system and beyond.
NASA Missions provide new insights into 'Ocean Worlds' in our solar system
Apr 14, 2017, at 11:52 pm
Washington, Apr 14 (IBNS): Two veteran NASA missions are providing new details about icy, ocean-bearing moons of Jupiter and Saturn, further heightening the scientific interest of these and other "ocean worlds" in our solar system and beyond.
Discovery of early, 'croc-like' reptile sheds new light on evolution of dinosaurs
Apr 13, 2017, at 04:21 am
Birmingham, Apr 12 (IBNS): A new species of ancient reptile has been described by scientists at the University of Birmingham, filling a critical gap in the fossil record of dinosaur cousins and suggesting that some features thought to characterise dinosaurs evolved much earlier than previously thought.
NASA TV to air orbital ATK resupply mission launch, briefings
Apr 12, 2017, at 09:55 pm
Washington, Apr 12 (IBNS): NASA commercial cargo provider Orbital ATK is targeting its seventh commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station for 11:11 a.m. EDT Tuesday, April 18. Coverage of the launch begins at 10 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
Hubble spots Auroras on Uranus
Apr 11, 2017, at 03:07 am
Washington, Apr 10 (IBNS): This is a composite image of Uranus by Voyager 2 and two different observations made by Hubble — one for the ring and one for the auroras.
First-of-its-kind interactive map brings together 40 years of water-quality data
Apr 06, 2017, at 12:26 am
Washington, Apr 5 (IBNS): A new U.S. Geological Survey interactive map provides a comprehensive, long-term look at changes in the quality of our nation’s rivers and streams over the last four decades.
Scientists make progress on unravelling the puzzle of merging black holes
Apr 05, 2017, at 10:09 pm
London, Apr 5 (IBNS): Astrophysicists at the University of Birmingham have made progress in understanding a key mystery of gravitational-wave astrophysics: how two black holes can come together and merge.
NASA’s Cassini mission prepares for 'Grand Finale' at Saturn
Apr 05, 2017, at 03:14 pm
Washington, Apr 5 (IBNS): NASA's Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn since 2004, is about to begin the final chapter of its remarkable story.
New horizons halfway from Pluto to next flyby target
Apr 05, 2017, at 01:43 am
Washington, Apr 4 (IBNS): Continuing on its path through the outer regions of the solar system, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has now traveled half the distance from Pluto – its storied first target – to 2014 MU69, the Kuiper Belt object (KBO) it will fly past on Jan. 1, 2019.
Canada: A news study promotes action on climate change
Apr 05, 2017, at 01:18 am
Toronto, Apr 4 (IBNS): A new study “Biodiversity redistribution under climate change: Impacts on ecosystems and human well-being†by Tero Mustonen and Kaisu Mustonen has been published on Friday in science, indicating some species moving to cooler areas of the planet to survive the climate change, media reports said.
Tree trunks in upland forests emit methane, finds study
Apr 03, 2017, at 09:29 pm
New York, Apr 3 (IBNS): A new study from the University of Delaware is one of the first in the world to show that tree trunks in upland forests actually emit methane rather than store it, representing a new, previously unaccounted source of this powerful greenhouse gas.
Comet that took a century to confirm passes by Earth
Apr 01, 2017, at 02:03 pm
Washington, Apr 1 (IBNS): On Apr 1, 2017, comet 41P will pass closer than it normally does to Earth, giving observers with binoculars or a telescope a special viewing opportunity.
NASA observations reshape basic plasma wave physics
Apr 01, 2017, at 03:11 am
Washington, Mar 31 (IBNS): When NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale — or MMS — mission was launched, the scientists knew it would answer questions fundamental to the nature of our universe — and MMS hasn’t disappointed.
Canada: NASA-style Stopwatch measures pulse of laser light
Mar 31, 2017, at 11:49 pm
Toronto, Mar 31 (IBNS): Engineers from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) had built a timer to measure pulse of laser light.
NuSTAR probes puzzling galaxy merger
Mar 28, 2017, at 02:54 pm
Washington, Mar 28 (IBNS): A supermassive black hole inside a tiny galaxy is challenging scientists' ideas about what happens when two galaxies become one.
The social costs of smell loss in older women, says study
Mar 23, 2017, at 10:54 pm
Washington, Mar 23 (IBNS): A new study of older U.S. adults conducted by researchers from the Monell Center and collaborating institutions reports that a woman’s social life is associated with how well her olfactory system functions.
Mixing alcohol with energy drinks increases risk, says study
Mar 23, 2017, at 10:53 pm
Toronto, Mar 23 (IBNS): People who mix highly caffeinated energy drinks with their alcoholic beverages may be at increased risk for injury—both intentional (fights, violence and attempted suicide) and unintentional (falling, tripping and motor vehicle accidents)—according to a new study by the University of Victoria’s Centre for Addictions Research of BC (CARBC) published in the March issue of Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
Mixing alcohol with energy drinks increases risk, says study
Mar 23, 2017, at 10:31 pm
Toronto, Mar 23 (IBNS): People who mix highly caffeinated energy drinks with their alcoholic beverages may be at increased risk for injury—both intentional (fights, violence and attempted suicide) and unintentional (falling, tripping and motor vehicle accidents)—according to a new study by the University of Victoria’s Centre for Addictions Research of BC (CARBC) published in the March issue of Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
Arctic sea ice maximum at record low for third straight year
Mar 23, 2017, at 03:49 pm
Washington, Mar 23 (IBNS): Arctic sea ice was at a record low maximum extent for the third straight year, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and NASA.
Ice in Ceres' shadowed craters linked to tilt history
Mar 23, 2017, at 03:38 pm
Washington, Mar 23 (IBNS): Dwarf planet Ceres may be hundreds of millions of miles from Jupiter, and even farther from Saturn, but the tremendous influence of gravity from these gas giants has an appreciable effect on Ceres' orientation.
New class of androgens play key role in polycystic ovary syndrome: Study
Mar 14, 2017, at 04:57 am
Birmingham, Mar 13 (IBNS): Scientists led by the University of Birmingham have discovered that a new class of male sex hormones known as androgens plays a key role in the development of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
NASA's Kepler provides another peek at ultra-cool neighbor
Mar 09, 2017, at 03:07 am
Washington, Mar 8 (IBNS): On Feb. 22, astronomers announced that the ultra-cool dwarf star, TRAPPIST-1, hosts a total of seven Earth-size planets that are likely rocky, a discovery made by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope in combination with ground-based telescopes.
Deadly raccoon roundworm can infect humans without symptoms, new UGA study finds
Mar 09, 2017, at 02:58 am
Athens, May 8 (IBNS): A deadly raccoon parasite that can cause severe neurological problems in infected hosts has been popping up in the South, and seven new cases of human infection in the U.S. have been documented in the last two years alone.
NASA wants to create coolest spot in Universe
Mar 07, 2017, at 11:07 pm
Washington, Mar 7 (IBNS): This summer, an ice chest-sized box will fly to the International Space Station, where it will create the coolest spot in the universe.