January 30, 2007

• The launch attempt for a Sea Launch
  Sea Launch
  Sea Launch is a spacecraft launch service that uses a mobile sea platform for equatorial launches of commercial payloads on specialized Zenit 3SL rockets...
  
   Zenit 3SL
  Zenit rocket
  Zenit is a family of space launch vehicles designed by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau of Ukraine. Zenit was built in the 1980s for two purposes: as a liquid rocket booster for the Energia rocket and, equipped with a second stage, as a stand-alone rocket...
  
   rocket
  Rocket
  A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
  
   fails due to an explosion
  Explosion
  An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
  
   while sitting on the launch pad
  Launch pad
  A launch pad is the area and facilities where rockets or spacecraft lift off. A spaceport can contain one or many launch pads. A typical launch pad consists of the service and umbilical structures. The service structure provides an access platform to inspect the launch vehicle prior to launch....
  
  , shortly after the ignition of its main booster. (SpaceFlightNow)
• The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) device on board the Hubble Space Telescope
  Hubble Space Telescope
  The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
  
   has an electrical failure
  Electronics
  Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
  
   and shuts down. Mission members do not expect that the camera
  Camera
  A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
  
   can be brought back to full working order. (BBCNews) (full story on wikinews)

January 24, 2007

• Scientists are celebrating the virgin birth of a komodo dragon
  Komodo dragon
  The Komodo dragon , also known as the Komodo monitor, is a large species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Gili Dasami. A member of the monitor lizard family , it is the largest living species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of in rare cases...
  
   at the Toronto Zoo
  Toronto Zoo
  The Toronto Zoo is a zoo located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened August 15, 1974 as the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo and is owned by the City of Toronto; the word "Metropolitan" was dropped from its name when the cities of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto were amalgamated to form the...
  
  . There are fewer than 4000 komodos left on earth.(CBC News)

January 23, 2007

• A rare eel-like creature identified as a frilled shark is discovered and caught in Awashima Marine Park, Japan
  Japan
  Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
  
  . (Reuters) (CNN)

January 22, 2007

• The Indian Space Research Organisation
  Indian Space Research Organisation
  The Indian Space Research Organisation is an independent Indian governmental agency established in 1969 for the research and development of vehicles and activities for the exploration of space within and outside of Earth’s atmosphere. Headquartered in Bangalore...
  
   announces the successful recovery of a space capsule
  Space capsule
  A space capsule is an often manned spacecraft which has a simple shape for the main section, without any wings or other features to create lift during atmospheric reentry....
  
  , launched on January 10, 2007. This represents a first test of a human rated
  Human spaceflight
  Human spaceflight is spaceflight with humans on the spacecraft. When a spacecraft is manned, it can be piloted directly, as opposed to machine or robotic space probes and remotely-controlled satellites....
  
   payload by this space agency. (SpaceRef.com)

• An American team of researchers at the University of Rochester
  University of Rochester
  The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
  
   have successfully stored, and recovered an image using a single photon
  Photon
  In physics, a photon is an elementary particle, the quantum of the electromagnetic interaction and the basic unit of light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation. It is also the force carrier for the electromagnetic force...
  
  . (CBC News)

• Scottish scientists have genetically engineered hens that produce useful drugs in their eggs. Furthermore, the hens are capable of passing on this trait to their offspring. (Science News Online)

January 18, 2007

• An analysis of a rocket
  Rocket
  A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
  
   launch at January 11, 2007 concludes that China
  People's Republic of China
  China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
  
   tested the military use of its payload by destroying an orbiting satellite
  Satellite
  In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
  
  . If correct, this would be the first publicly known test of that technology in at least 20 years. (BBCNews) (Reuters)

January 16, 2007

• A fossil
  Fossil
  Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
  
  ized human skull
  Human skull
  The human skull is a bony structure, skeleton, that is in the human head and which supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 22 bones...
  
   found at Pestera cu Oase
  Pestera cu Oase
  Peștera cu Oase is a system of 12 karstic galleries and chambers located N. 45° 01’; E. 21° 50’ in southwestern Romania, where the oldest early modern human remains in Europe have been discovered.-Paleoanthropological on-site findings:...
  
  , Romania
  Romania
  Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
  
  , is dated to be about 35,000 years old and described to have features of mixed origin, both from modern Homo sapiens and older branches of the Homo
  Homo (genus)
  Homo is the genus that includes modern humans and species closely related to them. The genus is estimated to be about 2.3 to 2.4 million years old, evolving from australopithecine ancestors with the appearance of Homo habilis....
  
  genus
  Genus
  In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
  
  . (BBCNews)

January 12, 2007

• The genome
  Genome
  In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
  
   of Trichomonas vaginalis
  Trichomonas vaginalis
  Trichomonas vaginalis is an anaerobic, flagellated protozoan, a form of microorganism. The parasitic microorganism is the causative agent of trichomoniasis, and is the most common pathogenic protozoan infection of humans in industrialized countries. Infection rates between men and women are the...
  
  , the organism causing trichomoniasis
  Trichomoniasis
  Trichomoniasis, sometimes referred to as "trich", is a common cause of vaginitis. It is a sexually transmitted disease, and is caused by the single-celled protozoan parasite Trichomonas vaginalis producing mechanical stress on host cells and then ingesting cell fragments after cell death...
  
  , is sequenced and first results published in Science
  Science (journal)
  Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
  
  . (BBCNews)

January 11, 2007

• Scientists discover a new type of algae
  Algae
  Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
  
  , Picobiliphyte
  Picobiliphyte
  Picobiliphytes or Picobiliphyta are a group of eukaryotic algae, discovered in 2007, which are found among the smallest members of photosynthetic picoplankton.They are sometimes called "biliphytes".-Discovery:...
  
  s are a marine picoplankton
  Picoplankton
  Picoplankton is the fraction of plankton composed by cells between 0.2 and 2 μm that can be either :* photosynthetic * heterotrophic Some species can also be mixotrophic....
  
  ic algal group with unknown affinities to other eukaryote
  Eukaryote
  A eukaryote is an organism whose cells contain complex structures enclosed within membranes. Eukaryotes may more formally be referred to as the taxon Eukarya or Eukaryota. The defining membrane-bound structure that sets eukaryotic cells apart from prokaryotic cells is the nucleus, or nuclear...
  
  s. (EurekAlert!)

January 8, 2007

• Researchers announce the successful use of stem cell
  Stem cell
  This article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...
  
  s recovered from the amniotic fluid
  Amniotic fluid
  Amniotic fluid or liquor amnii is the nourishing and protecting liquid contained by the amniotic sac of a pregnant woman.- Development of amniotic fluid :...
  
  , growing them into a large variety of cell type
  Cell type
  A cell type is a distinct morphological or functional form of cell. When a cell switches state from one cell type to another, it undergoes cellular differentiation. A list of distinct cell types in the adult human body may include several hundred distinct types.-References:...
  
  s in the lab. (BBCNews)

January 4, 2007

• NASA publishes in Nature
  Nature (journal)
  Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
  
  that Cassini–Huygens found methane lakes on Titan
  Titan (moon)
  Titan , or Saturn VI, is the largest moon of Saturn, the only natural satellite known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only object other than Earth for which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found....
  
  , a moon of Saturn
  Saturn
  Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
  
  . (BBCNews) (NASA) (Saturn Daily)