science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Παρασκευή 3 Αυγούστου 2012

Science News SciGuru.com

Concussions and head impacts may accelerate brain aging
Scripps Florida Scientists Identify a Critical Tumor Suppressor for Cancer
Fingering the Culprit that Polluted the Solar System
The Science of Running: Follow the Bouncing Ball
Mars Rover Curiosity Preps for Entry, Descent and Landing

Concussions and head impacts may accelerate brain aging

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 12:15 PM PDT

Concussions and even lesser head impacts may speed up the brain's natural aging process by causing signaling pathways in the brain to break down more quickly than they would in someone who has never suffered a brain injury or concussion.

Scripps Florida Scientists Identify a Critical Tumor Suppressor for Cancer

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 11:59 AM PDT

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a protein that impairs the development and maintenance of lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes), but is repressed during the initial stages of the disease, allowing for rapid tumor growth.

Fingering the Culprit that Polluted the Solar System

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 11:28 AM PDT

For decades it has been thought that a shock wave from a supernova explosion triggered the formation of our Solar System. According to this theory, the shock wave also injected material from the exploding star into a cloud of dust and gas, and the newly polluted cloud collapsed to form the Sun and its surrounding planets. New work from Carnegie’s Alan Boss and Sandra Keiser provides the first fully three-dimensional (3-D) models for how this process could have happened. Their work will be published by The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The Science of Running: Follow the Bouncing Ball

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 11:20 AM PDT

Muscle size, genetics and training are among the countless factors that separate Olympic sprinters from the average person. On a fundamental level, however, the mechanics of running are the same for all humans. In fact, they’re basically identical for animals too.

Mars Rover Curiosity Preps for Entry, Descent and Landing

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 10:49 AM PDT

With Curiosity now flying under the control of the autonomous entry, descent and landing timeline, the Mars Science Laboratory team continues to monitor the spacecraft's health and trajectory. There are no real-time activities planned today. In the event that a fifth trajectory correction maneuver is needed to further fine-tune the spacecraft's course to reach its target landing ellipse, the flight team is making preparations for it. If needed, that maneuver would be executed on Friday, Aug. 3. Curiosity remains in good health, with no significant issues currently in work.