An artist’s conception of the MAVEN spacecraft orbiting Mars. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Washington, D.C.-(ENEWSPF)- The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission reached a major milestone last week when it successfully completed its Mission Critical Design Review (CDR). MAVEN, scheduled for launch in late 2013, will be the[Read More…]
Science
Astronomers Find Largest, Most Distant Reservoir of Water
This artist’s concept illustrates a quasar, or feeding black hole, similar to APM 08279+5255, where astronomers discovered huge amounts of water vapor. Gas and dust likely form a torus around the central black hole, with clouds of charged gas above and below. Image credit: NASA/ESA Washington, D.C.-(ENEWSPF)- Two teams of[Read More…]
White House Report Acknowledges Only 14 Researchers Approved to Study ‘Smoked Marijuana on Human Subjects’
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–July 22, 2011. Only fourteen researchers in the United States are legally permitted to conduct research assessing the effect of inhaled cannabis in human subjects, according to data included in the White House’s 2011 National Drug Control Strategy, released last week. In a section of the report entitled ‘Medical[Read More…]
Pot Compounds Offer ‘Promising’ Treatment Option For Neurodegenerative Disorders, Study Says
Madrid, Spain–(ENEWSPF)–July 22, 2011. Cannabis’ active components show promise in halting the progression of certain neurodegerative disorders and should be evaluated in clinical trials, according to a review published online in the British Journal of Pharmacology. An international team of researchers from Spain and Israel assessed the potential of cannabinoids[Read More…]
Fickle Pollinators ‘Lured Away’ By Farms
UNITED KINGDOM–(ENEWSPF)–22 July 2011. Pollinating insects are more likely to move between areas of native forest separated by pine plantations than those separated by small holder farms, scientists from Oxford University and Earthwatch have found. The study challenges the long-held assumption that areas that provide resources to pollinators will act[Read More…]
Bills to Regulate Endocrine Disruptors Introduced in Congress
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–July 22, 2011. Parallel bills have been introduced in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives designed to increase federal research on endocrine disrupting chemicals and ensure public safety by restricting or eliminating chemicals found to present unacceptable risks to public health. S 1361, introduced by Senator John[Read More…]
Exoplanet Aurora: An Out-of-this-World Sight
This artist’s conception shows a “hot Jupiter” and its two hypothetical moons with a sunlike star in the background. The planet is cloaked in brilliant aurorae triggered by the impact of a coronal mass ejection. Theoretical calculations suggest that those aurorae could be 100-1000 times brighter than Earth’s. Credit: David[Read More…]
Elliptical galaxies much younger than previously thought?
A sample of elliptical galaxies from the Atlas3D survey current collection, all showing clear signs of a recent collision. Image by P.-A. Duc 2011 (c) CEA/CFHT Washington, D.C.-(ENEWSPF)- The standard model for elliptical galaxies formation is challenged by a new result uncovered by an international team of astronomers from the[Read More…]
NOAA Study: Increase in Particles High in Earth’s Atmosphere Has Offset Some Recent Climate Warming
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–July 21, 2011. A recent increase in the abundance of particles high in the atmosphere has offset about a third of the current climate warming influence of carbon dioxide (CO2) change during the past decade, according to a new study led by NOAA and published today in the online[Read More…]
Lt. Gov. Simon: College Degrees Lead to Clean Energy Future
CHICAGO–(ENEWSPF)–July 21, 2011. Speaking at a wind energy conference in Chicago today, Lt. Governor Sheila Simon said that community colleges are playing a key role in preparing workers for green jobs of the future and keeping the state on track to meet its ambitious alternative energy goals. Simon said[Read More…]
