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February 20, 2013

Your World of Science News

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NASA restores contact with ISS after communications glitch
NASA controllers in Houston have regained communication with the International Space Station after a glitch in a software update caused three hours of radio silence. Officials say no problems occurred during the outage, but add that the experience was good training for a future mission to Mars, where communication may be more difficult to establish. The Washington Post/The Associated Press (2/19)

Science in the News

Scientists predict end of universe -- billions of years from now
After discovering the Higgs boson particle last year, scientists analyzing the results say the initial conclusions indicate a catastrophic end for our universe tens of billions of years from now. "If you use all the physics that we know now and you do what you think is a straightforward calculation, it's bad news," said theoretical physicist Joseph Lykken, who presented his findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Experts predict the Earth will likely be consumed once the sun burns out in about 4.5 billion years and be long gone before the universe's end. Reuters (2/18)

Could large telescopes scope out oxygen on exoplanets?
Massive telescopes such as the Extremely Large Telescope under construction in Chile are expected to be sensitive enough to detect the presence of oxygen on alien planets, as their atmospheres are lit up by the stars they pass. The process won't be easy; the exoplanet would have to pass its star several times to collect data, and that could take anywhere from 4 to 400 years. New Scientist (2/19)

Gravity influences volcanic eruptions and landslides, study says
Volcanic eruptions may be linked to how gravity causes the structures to deform, according to research published in the journal Geology. Researchers used small models made of silicone, sand and gypsum to simulate the different ways gravity causes volcanoes to sink or spread out. Based on their experiment, scientists concluded that "a volcano that's more likely to spread than sag is at greater risk of suffering landslides or a full-blown flank collapse, and vice versa for a sagging volcano," said researcher Paul Byrne. Our Amazing Planet (2/19)

Study: Cardiac-arrest risk may increase with elevated ozone levels
Elevated ozone levels could increase the risk of cardiac arrest, according to a study published in the journal Circulation that analyzed more than 11,600 people in Houston who had a cardiac arrest between 2004 and 2011. Researchers found that an increase in ozone levels at 20 parts per billion over three hours was linked to an increase of 3% to 4% in the risk of cardiac arrest and was greatest for African-Americans, men and the elderly. MyHealthNewsDaily.com (2/19)

Do your chromosomes determine your likelihood of getting a cold?
People with shorter telomeres, or caps at the end of chromosomes that protect the DNA structure, may be more likely to catch the common cold than those with longer ones, according to preliminary findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers studied the chromosomes of 152 healthy people who were infected with nose drops containing the rhinovirus. They found that 13% of those with the longest caps developed the cold, compared with 26% of those with shortest ones. MyHealthNewsDaily.com (2/19)

Study: Milk and yogurt may strengthen the hip bone
Milk and yogurt could be the best types of dairy to increase bone density in a person's hip, according to a study sponsored by a yogurt-maker and published in the journal Archives of Osteoporosis. The research suggests that dairy products vary in their usefulness in strengthening different bone types. For example, while milk and yogurt work best for hip-bone density, they are not linked to increasing spinal bone density. MyHealthNewsDaily.com (2/19)

Plant cell-wall discovery may unlock future of biofuels
Discovery of a possible connection between two types of cell-wall glycans and the arabinogalactan wall protein may offer biofuels a significant step forward. Researchers Li Tan and Debra Mohnen hope their discovery will lead to further research of plant cell walls and open up access to the sugars inside that can be used to economically create biofuels. DomesticFuel.com (2/19)

Research Policy Regulations

Families push researchers to share rare disease data
Families of children with a rare genetic disorder called Sanfilippo syndrome are joining the chorus of voices asking researchers to open access to data on rare diseases. Three family foundations have offered to raise $550,000 to pay for a national natural-history study on the condition that researchers would make data available to other qualified researchers. The families hope that sharing data would cut down on the number of studies on the disease and spare families the fatigue and difficulty involved in participating in multiple studies. The Wall Street Journal (2/18)

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