Science
Spencer Abraham of Energy Department Discusses Security Changes at U.S. Nuclear Facilities
By admin - Posted on January 20th, 2005
Spencer Abraham of Energy Department Discusses Security Changes at U.S. Nuclear Facilities
Outgoing energy secretary says department has made major improvements
19 January 2005
The outgoing U.S. energy secretary says he takes personal pride in the enhancement of security programs and improvements in the overall performance of the security personnel and programs protecting nuclear assets vital to U.S. national defense. Spencer Abraham, speaking to DOE security personnel in Washington January 18, discussed the state of security at Department of Energy (DOE) facilities as of September 11, 2001, and the changes made since that time. Abraham said security failures at DOE nuclear weapons laboratories and production facilities have plagued the department for years. Previous corrective actions, he said, led to the establishment of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in 2000. The creation of NNSA was necessary, he said, but not sufficient, explaining that a change in the culture was needed. “We had to bring a new attitude and mindset to how we think about security.†» read more »
United States Converting Military Ship to Science Vessel
By admin - Posted on January 19th, 2005
United States Converting Military Ship to Science Vessel
Former Navy vessel will be dedicated to science, research, exploration
18 January 2005
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is turning a former Navy ship into the only U.S. government ship dedicated to exploring Earth's oceans. According to a January 18 NOAA press release, after a 12-to-18-month conversion, the 68.3-meter former Navy ship, USNS Capable, will be the only NOAA ship with a dedicated science-class deep-ocean robot, or remotely operated vehicle (ROV). » read more »
American Scientists Use Magnets To Build "Laboratory on a Chip
By admin - Posted on January 19th, 2005
American Scientists Use Magnets To Build "Laboratory on a Chip"
Technology reduces chemistry laboratory to postage-stamp size
18 January 2005
Scientists have managed to levitate micron-sized fluids using magnets, which could lead to new advances in medicine, chemistry, chemical engineering and other related fields. According to a January 14 press release from Texas A&M University, an entire chemistry laboratory could one day be reduced to the size of a postage stamp. » read more »
American Scientists Create Plastics from Orange Peel and Carbon Dioxide
By admin - Posted on January 18th, 2005
American Scientists Create Plastics from Orange Peel and Carbon Dioxide
Study finds that CO2 could be used to produce plastics
18 January 2005
Scientists from Cornell University in New York have found a way to make plastics from citrus fruits such as oranges and carbon dioxide. The polymers are made using limonene oxide -- a carbon-based compound produced in more than 300 plant species -- and carbon dioxide, with the help of a novel "helper molecule" -- a catalyst developed in the researchers' laboratory. » read more »
NASA Salutes Successful Landing on Titan of Huygens Probe
By admin - Posted on January 18th, 2005
NASA Salutes Successful Landing on Titan of Huygens Probe
Probe sent data for more than 90 minutes after reaching surface
18 January 2005
NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe congratulated the European Space Agency (ESA) January 14 on the successful touchdown of its Huygens probe on Saturn's moon Titan. "We congratulate ESA for their spectacular success,†O'Keefe said. “We're very proud of the Cassini-Huygens teams that helped to make this both an engineering and scientific victory, and we appreciate the dedication and support from our international partners." » read more »
U.N. Says Fears about Post-Tsunami Disease Abating
By admin - Posted on January 15th, 2005
U.N. Says Fears about Post-Tsunami Disease Abating
Water-borne disease risk reduced, malaria still a threat
14 January 2005
By Charlene Porter
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington – The worst fears about disease raging through already victimized and weakened populations of Indian Ocean nations are dissipating with the delivery of fresh water supplies to the battered region. “I do not think it’s a right prediction any more that as many people can die from the second wave of destroyed infrastructure as we then feared in the beginning,†said U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland January 13. » read more »
New Device Shows What Eyes See, Improves Robotic Sensing
By admin - Posted on January 15th, 2005
New Device Shows What Eyes See, Improves Robotic Sensing
Technology works more like retina than a standard image sensor
14 January 2005
U.S. researchers are developing new technologies that may give robots the visual-sensing edge they need to monitor dimly lit airports, pilot vehicles in extreme weather and direct unmanned combat vehicles. According to a January 12 National Science Foundation press release, the researchers intend to create an imaging chip that allows robotic vision to leave the controlled lighting of a laboratory and enter the erratic lighting of the natural world. » read more »
U.S., European Space Mission to Study Supermassive Black Holes
By admin - Posted on January 15th, 2005
U.S., European Space Mission to Study Supermassive Black Holes
Laser antennae to measure gravitational waves when holes merge
14 January 2005
As big fish eat little fish in the Earth's vast oceans, so too do super-massive black holes gorge on smaller black holes and neutron stars -- making themselves more massive in the process. According to a January 13 press release from Pennsylvania State University, scientists have used sophisticated computer modeling to calculate the rate of this black-hole consumption, called "extreme-mass-ratio inspirals." » read more »
U.S.-European Mission Lands Craft on Saturn Moon Titan
By admin - Posted on January 15th, 2005
U.S.-European Mission Lands Craft on Saturn Moon Titan
Touchdown comes after seven-year journey
14 January 2005
Humankind left its first mark on another world in the outer solar system January 14 when the Huygens probe landed on the surface of the Saturn moon Titan. A joint mission of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian space agency, ASI, Huygens landed safely according to the preliminary data. “This is a great achievement for Europe and its U.S. partners in this ambitious international endeavor to explore the Saturnian system,†said Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA’s Director General, in an ESA press release issued from the European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany. » read more »
Japanese Scientists to Study Sumatra Earthquake
By admin - Posted on January 14th, 2005
Japanese Scientists to Study Sumatra Earthquake
Urgent international study of epicenter will add to earthquake knowledge
13 January 2005
The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) announced that it will conduct an urgent study of the powerful earthquake that occurred off the coast of Sumatra. According to a January 12 press release from the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), the study will be the first to observe the actual epicenter of the earthquake that struck Indonesia and caused a tsunami that devastated coastal regions in countries along the Indian Ocean. » read more »
Major Caribbean Earthquakes, Tsunamis Are Real Risk
By admin - Posted on January 14th, 2005
Major Caribbean Earthquakes, Tsunamis Are Real Risk
Events rare, but scientists urge public awareness, early warning
13 January 2005
A dozen major earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater have occurred in the Caribbean near Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the island of Hispaniola (which is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic) in the past 500 years. Several of those quakes also generated tsunamis. According to a January 12 press release from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts, the most recent major earthquake, a magnitude 8.1 in 1946, resulted in a tsunami that killed a reported 1,600 people. » read more »
NASA's Deep Impact Spacecraft Launched, Flying Toward Comet
By admin - Posted on January 14th, 2005
NASA's Deep Impact Spacecraft Launched, Flying Toward Comet
Planned July 4 collision will help explain solar system formation
13 January 2005
NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft, launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, began its 431 million-kilometer journey to comet Tempel 1 January 12. According to a NASA press release, data received from the spacecraft indicate it has deployed and locked its solar panels, is receiving power and has achieved proper orientation in space. » read more »
United Nations Plans Tsunami Early Warning System in 2006
By admin - Posted on January 14th, 2005
United Nations Plans Tsunami Early Warning System in 2006
Experts to meet in March to decide details of Indian Ocean system
13 January 2005
The United Nations plans to have an Indian Ocean tsunami early warning system, which experts say could have saved tens of thousands of lives in the recent disaster, up and running by June 2006, with a global system operational by June 2007. Koïchiro Matsuura, director-general of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said assessment missions are being undertaken to concerned countries as a step toward creating the Indian Ocean component, the first regional segment of the global system. » read more »
U.S. Warning System Improves Forecasts for Excessive Heat
By admin - Posted on January 13th, 2005
U.S. Warning System Improves Forecasts for Excessive Heat
Excessive heat warning program is becoming worldwide model
12 January 2005
Because heat may be one of the greatest weather-related killers in many parts of the developed world, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is collaborating with cities around the world to expand heat warning systems. According to a January 11 press release, NOAA’s National Weather Service is expanding the number of Heat/Health Watch Warning Systems from 16 cities in the United States to every municipality with a population exceeding 500,000, and is helping other countries adapt the program for local conditions. » read more »
NASA Helps Students Learn About Climate Change
By admin - Posted on January 13th, 2005
NASA Helps Students Learn About Climate Change
Global climate computer model now available for personal computers
12 January 2005
College and secondary school students can now use a version of NASA's global climate computer model (GCM) to see how Earth's climate is changing. According to a January 10 NASA press release, a GCM calculates many things, such as how much sunlight is reflected and absorbed by Earth's atmosphere; the temperature of the air and oceans; the distribution of clouds, rainfall, and snow; and the future of the polar ice caps. » read more »
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