Science Special News

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Artificial retina implant holds promise

Submitted by Pandora: A tiny electrical implant that attaches to the retina may someday restore partial sight to millions of patients blinded by age-related macular degeneration, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. The device, in the early stages of human clinical testing, is part of a new class of so-called "smart" prostheses that link with the brain and nervous system to restore function lost to disease or injury, the researchers told reporters at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco.Similar electrical stimulation devices known as cochlear implants have been used to treat deafness, and scientists are developing others to restore bladder control and movement to patients with spinal cord injury.The artificial retina is designed to take the place of photoreceptor cells in the brain that are charged with capturing and processing light."We anticipate this technology will help blind patients who have lost their sight through macular degeneration," said Dr. Mark Humayun, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Southern California.

Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in older adults in the United States and the developed world, affecting approximately 25 million to 30 million people.Humayun and his colleagues have teamed up with privately held Second Sight Medical Products to develop the implant, which just won clearance from U.S. regulators to test a second-generation device in a U.S. clinical trial.

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More evidence found for water on Mars

An orbiting spacecraft has sent back new evidence for the presence of water on Mars. Scientists long have debated whether water flowed on the red planet, with evidence increasing in recent years. The presence of water would raise the possibility of at least primitive life forms existing there. Images from a camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show alternating layers of dark- and light-toned rock in a giant rift valley.Within those deposits are a series of linear fractures, called joints, that are surrounded by "halos" of light-toned bedrock, according to researchers from the University of Arizona.Their findings, published in Friday's edition of the journal Science, were being presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco.Lead author Chris H. Okubo said the "halos" indicate areas where fluids, probably water, passed through the bedrock. Minerals in the fluid strengthen and bleach the rock, he said, making it more resistant to erosion than other areas."On Earth, bleaching of rock surrounding a fracture is a clear indication of chemical interactions between fluids circulating within the fracture and the host rock," Okubo and co-author Alfred S. McEwen reported in the paper.

The researchers also said that layered outcrops can indicate cycles with materials deposited by regular episodes of water, wind or volcanic activity.Just last December scientists reported evidence that water may be flowing through Mars' frigid surface. Images from Mars Global Surveyor showed changes in craters that provide the strongest evidence yet that water moved through them as recently as several years ago, and is perhaps doing so even now.The Surveyor previously had spotted tens of thousands of gullies that scientists believed were geologically young and carved by fast-moving water coursing down cliffs and steep crater walls. Scientists decided to retake photos in a search for evidence of recent activity.

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Hole in the ice fuels speculation about UFOs

A hole in a frozen pond in northern Latvia achieved unexpected notoriety on Wednesday as rumours began circulating that it was created by an object falling from outer space. "We've been collecting information on the story all day, and we'll definitely report it in the morning," Inguna Plume, editor of local newspaper Ziemellatvija, told reporters.The "unusually large hole" appeared in the ice of a frozen pond near the northern Latvian village of Karki in early February, the Leta news agency wrote. Despite sub-zero temperatures, the holereportedly did not freeze over for two days.Locals initially reported seeing "strange things" in the area.One girl said that she had seen "a small bright object with a silver ring around it", while other witnesses reported seeing up to six symmetrical beams of light emerging from the pond.When the existence of the mysterious hole became known, the theory that it could have been created by an object falling from outer space began to gain credence, Karki spokesperson Sandra Pilskalne told Leta.

Scientific experts admit that the hole could have been created by a falling piece of interstellar debris, the news wire added.The mysterious hole has now frozen over, but water samples have been taken for testing, Pilskalne said. Representatives of Karki council were not available for comment when approached by reporters.

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TV show planned on hunt for Texas Bigfoot

It was probably only a matter of time before someone came up with a Bigfoot reality-TV show. And that time has apparently come.Next month in the woods outside Paris, a pilot will be filmed for the proposed series Capturing Bigfoot."You've got a hot spot out there in your back yard, a hot spot like no other," Bigfoot explorer Tom Biscardi, 58, said by telephone from Northern California.Biscardi, who retired from the insurance industry to pursue Bigfoot full time, has made the creature his life's work. On his Web site he sells Bigfoot DVDs, Bigfoot mugs, Bigfoot T-shirts and pewter Bigfoot belt buckles. He also hosts a weekly Internet radio show about all things Sasquatch.He believes a Bigfoot family is living in old World War II Army bunkers buried on an abandoned portion of Camp Maxey north of Paris, near the Oklahoma border."I think it's a family pod," Biscardi said. "What we found is baby footprints next to a mother. This is the first time that has ever happened."Not only is Biscardi participating in the TV pilot, but he is also inviting enthusiasts to go along.For $375, anyone interested in finding "America's King Kong" can join him on a 24-hour expedition as part of the team trying to capture the elusive beast.

The news that a Bigfoot family is roaming the woods north of town was a surprise to Lamar County Judge Chuck Superville.Nonetheless, the judge predicted that most residents in the predominantly rural county of 49,644 would welcome the attention, noting that Paris was abuzz recently over an episode of the CW Network's One Tree Hill being filmed in the area."It puts us on the map, which is good," Superville said. "I think Northeast Texas is a good place to live. It's a garden paradise."Biscardi describes the 16,000-acre area around Camp Maxey -- part of which is still used as a Texas National Guard training center -- in more dramatic terms."You've got to look at this place," Biscardi said. "It's prehistoric. It looks like something straight out of Jurassic Park."The producers will try to sell the show to cable television outlets. If it isn't picked up, the expedition could be turned into a DVD, said Robert Barrows, a spokesman for the project.

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Batman sighting puts schools on lockdown

To an Arizona middle school, Batman! Three schools in the north Phoenix suburb of Cave Creek were on lockdown for about 45 minutes Wednesday morning after a student at Desert Arroyo Middle School reported seeing a person dressed as Batman run across campus, jump a fence and disappear into the desert, Scottsdale police Sgt. Mark Clark said.The student described the person as 6 feet 3 inches tall and possibly male."We're assuming it was male, although they did have a mask on," Clark said.Officers combed the desert around the middle school. A nearby elementary school and high school also were on lockdown as officers sought the caped crusader. The result - no Batman."It's just one of those interesting little stories that we looked into but we couldn't find anyone," Clark said.Nedda Shafir, a spokeswoman for the Cave Creek Unified School District, said putting all the schools on lockdown was a precautionary measure. "We didn't want to take any chances," Shafir said. "We just don't want to put anyone at risk."

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UN's action plan for killer asteroids

Submitted by Waspie Dwarf: A draft UN treaty to determine what would have to be done if a giant asteroid was on a collision course with Earth is to be drawn up this year. The document would set out global policies including who should be in charge of plans to deflect any object. It is the brainchild of the Association of Space Explorers, a professional body for astronauts and cosmonauts. At the moment, Nasa is monitoring 127 near-Earth objects (NEO) that have a possibility of hitting the Earth. The association has asked a group of scientists, lawyers, diplomats and insurance experts to draw up the recommendations. The group will have its first meeting in Strasbourg in May this year. It is hoped the final document will be presented to the UN in 2009. "We believe there needs to be a decision process spelled out and adopted by the United Nations," said Dr Russell Schweickart, one of the Apollo 9 astronauts and founder of the Association of Space Explorers. The threat of an asteroid hitting the Earth is being taken more and more seriously as more and more NEOs are found. In the US, Congress has charged Nasa with the task of starting a more detailed search for life-threatening space rocks. "Congress has said that Nasa's efforts to date are not sufficient to the threat," said the US space agency's Dr Steven Chesley. "They have changed Nasa's targets so that the cataloguing and tracking of asteroids is part of its mandate."

Congress has asked the agency to mount a much more aggressive survey. At the moment, Nasa tracks all objects greater than 700m (2,300ft) in diameter. The agency's new goal is to track all objects greater than 70m (230ft) in diameter. To do this, the agency needs to use a new suite of telescopes. Alternatives include building a new Nasa-owned system or investing in other proposed telescopes such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) or the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System (Pan-Starrs). Pan-Starrs is a wide-field telescope being developed at the University of Hawaii, whilst the LSST is a proposed ground-based instrument being developed by the not-for-profit LSST corporation based in the US. Nasa estimates that there are about 20,000 potentially threatening asteroids yet to be discovered.

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UFOs and space travel

Ellen Lloyd: One of the most interesting aspects of the UFO phenomenon focuses on the origin of extraterrestrial craft. Whether you are new to the UFO phenomena, or have studied the subject for years, you cannot help wondering: "If UFOs are real outer space craft, then where do they come from and how do they get here?" It is a simple question and yet it is very difficult to provide an intelligent and solid answer to this query. What is the place of origin of these intelligent alien beings? Can we find them in the cluster of the Pleiades, in the constellation of Orion, or do they perhaps exist much closer to home? Could it be that the aliens are in fact visitors from the future? Are the aliens perhaps living in a world next to our own, a place that is invisible to the naked eye, a parallel world or another dimension? Do UFOs use hidden inter-dimensional gateways to reach our world and enter our reality? In my previous article "The Stargate of the Alien Gods", I discussed the possibility that one such inter-dimensional portal, a stargate might be located in Peru. Before I continue writing, it is essential to point out that the purpose of this article is not to prove the existence of Unidentified Flying Objects. It is not my intention to convince skeptics that we are and have always been visited by extraterrestrials.

Although it is fair to say this is a complex subject, any curious investigator will discover that a comprehensive and objective analysis of the UFO phenomenon clearly shows that we are not alone in the universe. It is correct to say that a number of UFO sightings can be dismissed and easily explained away, but let us not forget the unexplained cases. Countless UFO reports, photographs, world-wide mass-sightings, testimonies from high-ranked officials, photographs taken by NASA and astronauts sightings obviously speak for themselves.

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Skiing on the Moon

Submitted by Waspie Dwarf: Astronauts heading to the Moon should learn the art of cross-country skiing, a scientist who flew on the last lunar Apollo mission claims. Harrison Schmitt, part of the 1972 Apollo 17 crew, said it would allow them to explore faster and more easily. Addressing scientists in San Francisco, he said his knowledge of Nordic skiing had allowed him to glide effortlessly across the dusty lunar surface. The US space agency (Nasa) will send manned missions to the moon by 2020. "When you're cross-country skiing, once you get a rhythm going, you propel yourself with a toe push as you slide along the snow," explained Dr Schmitt. "On the Moon, in the main you don't slide, you glide above the surface. But again, you use the same kind of rhythm, with a toe push." Talking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting, Dr Schmitt said that because gravity was just one-sixth that of Earth, astronauts would not need skis themselves. "Poles would be nice to have for stability," said Dr Schmitt, the first and only scientist to land on the Moon.

To stop, a lunar explorer would just have to dig into the powdery lunar dust, he said. "The debris layer is very soft - you can dig your heels in very easily," he added. Dr Schmitt's recommendation is based on personal experience. Video footage taken on the third and final excursion of his mission saw Dr Schmitt using his preferred technique to negotiate a boulder field near the Van Serg crater. "You'd be amazed how fast I'm going," he recalled The geologist estimates that he could travel between 10 and 12km/h (6-7mph), a speed he believes could make him the fastest man on the Moon.

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Afterlife sentence

Convicts serving afterlife sentences keep things lively in West Virginia's creaky, creepy old penitentiary. A forlorn monolith of stone near the Ohio River, the West Virginia Penitentiary was closed in 1995, a decade after courts ruled that doing time in its cramped steel cages, where sewage dripped from pipes and bugs wriggled in food, constituted "cruel and unusual" punishment. But some rogues still prowl the gothic fortress in spirit form, say visitors and former administrators. Paranormal investigators and amateur ghost-hunters are frequent visitors to the 19th-century big house, which allows tours by day and night. Whether tricks of shadow and gloom or something supernatural, visitors have felt, seen and photographed strange things in the steel labyrinth embraced by sandstone ramparts and gothic turrets. From a window in the abandoned confines of the third-floor administration building where female prisoners once worked, a woman's face has been repeatedly sighted, peering into the silent prison yard. A blurry, furtive apparition called "Shadow Man" has been glimpsed in the psychiatric ward, the cafeteria and the catacombs. But the granddaddy of them all seems to be inmate No. 44670, known in life as R.D. Wall.

He's been attracting attention for 76 years, long before the tourists came. Annually, about 20,000 people are drawn to the old pen and get a history lesson on its macabre executions and grisly violence, some of it imparted while visitors -- who dare -- stand locked in maximum security cells. (They qualify for "I Did Time" T-shirts on sale in the gift shop.) West Virginia, which split with Virginia in 1863 in the tumult of the Civil War, began work on the prison in 1866. Movie buffs may recognize the unusual gateway inside the entrance -- a round, rotating cage with one open side, installed in 1894. A guard in a booth controlled movements of "the wheel," spinning it with an old trolley motor to provide access to side passageways or the main prison area.

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Universe offers 'eternal feast'

There is no such thing as a free lunch, some say, but they would be wrong. In fact, the entirety of the universe defies them. According to Stanford physics Professor Andrei Linde, one of the architects of the inflationary theory, our universe (and all the matter in it) was born out of a vacuum. "Recent developments in cosmology have irreversibly changed our understanding of the structure and fate of our universe and of our own place in it," says Linde, who will discuss the inflationary view of the universe at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In the same session, titled "Multiverses, Dark Energy and Physics as an Environmental Science," physics Professor Leonard Susskind of Stanford will talk about string theory and its relation to inflationary theory and physics Professor Lawrence Krauss of Case Western Reserve University will represent the skeptic view.

The conventional theory of the Big Bang says that the newborn universe was huge, containing more than 10^80 [ten raised to the power of eighty] tons of matter. But physicists were stumped for an explanation of where all this matter came from. Inflationary theory solves this problem by showing how our universe could emerge from less than a milligram of matter, or perhaps even from literally nothing.

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