Reconstructed ancient ocean reveals secrets about the origin of life
Heidelberg, Germany (SPX) Apr 28, 2014 -
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have published details about how the first organisms on Earth could have become metabolically active. The results, which are reported in the journal Molecular Systems Biology, permit scientists to speculate how primitive cells learned to synthesize their organic components - the molecules that form RNA, lipids and amino acids. The findings also sugges ...
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NASA Puzzles Out Ozone's Ups and Downs
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 29, 2014 -
New NASA research on natural ozone cycles suggests ozone levels in the lowest part of Earth's atmosphere probably won't be affected much by projected future strengthening of the circulating winds that transport ozone between Earth's two lowest atmospheric layers.
The finding is good news, since human and plant health are harmed by exposure to ozone near the ground. Significant increases in ...
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X-class Flare Erupts from Sun on April 24
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 29, 2014 -
The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 8:27 p.m. EDT on April 24, 2014.
Images of the flare were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however - when intense enough - they can disturb the atmosphere i ...
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Cosmic illusion revealed: Gravitational lens magnifies supernova
Kashiwa, Japan (SPX) Apr 29, 2014 -
A team of researchers led by Robert Quimby at the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU) has announced the discovery of a galaxy that magnified a background, Type Ia supernova thirtyfold through gravitational lensing. This is the first example of strong gravitational lensing of a supernova confirms the team's previous explanation for the unusual properties o ...
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Seven Samples from the Solar System's Birth
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Apr 29, 2014 -
by Aaron L. Gronstal for a href="http://www.astrobio.net/">Astrobiology Magazine /a>
At this year's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC), scientists reported that, after eight painstaking years of work, they have retrieved seven particles of interstellar dust from NASA's Stardust spacecraft.
Stardust was launched in 1999 to chase the comet Wild 2. The spacecraft captured particl ...
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Asteroids as Seen From Mars; A Curiosity Rover First
Pasadena CA (JPL) Apr 29, 2014 -
A new image from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is the first ever from the surface of Mars to show an asteroid, and it shows two: Ceres and Vesta.
These two - the largest and third-largest bodies in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter - are the destinations of NASA's Dawn mission. Dawn orbited Vesta in 2011 and 2012, and is on its way to begin orbiting Ceres next year. Ceres is a dwa ...
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Drill Here? NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Inspects Site
Pasadena CA (JPL) Apr 29, 2014 -
The team operating NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is telling the rover to use several tools this weekend to inspect a sandstone slab being evaluated as a possible drilling target.
If this target meets criteria set by engineers and scientists, it could become the mission's third drilled rock, and the first that is not mudstone. The team calls it "Windjana," after a gorge in Western Australia. ...
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