Heavens

In early drug discovery, you need a starting point, says North­eastern Uni­ver­sity asso­ciate pro­fessor of chem­istry and chemical biology Michael Pollastri.

In a new research paper published Thursday in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Pollastri and his colleagues present hun­dreds of such starting points for poten­tially treating African sleeping sick­ness, a deadly disease that claims thousands of lives annually.

NASA's TRMM satellite saw that Tropical Storm Ana was still generating moderate rainfall is it pulled away from Hawaii. The next day, NASA's Aqua satellite saw that wind shear was having an effect on the storm as it moved over open ocean.

On Oct. 24, Ana had moved far enough away from land areas that there were no watches or warnings in effect.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- When partnering with larger companies, startups with a small number of carefully chosen alliances will reap the most benefits, according to new research from the University at Buffalo School of Management.

Forthcoming in Organization Science, the study found that by aligning with established companies, a young firm gains valuable access to additional resources and markets. However, as a startup adds more outside partners, eventually the firm's internal capability will weaken and the cost of maintaining its alliances will exceed any remaining benefits.

NASA's Hurricane Severe Storms Sentinel or HS3 mission flew the unmanned Global Hawk aircraft on two missions between Sept. 11 and 15 into Hurricane Edouard and scored a bullseye by gathering information in the eye of the strengthening storm. Scientists saw how upper-level wind shear was affecting Edouard on the HS3's Global Hawk flight of the 2014 campaign over Sept. 11 and 12, and saw the hurricane strengthen during the sixth flight on Sept. 15 and 16.

Two new studies suggest that while individuals enrolling in the armed forces do not share the exact psychological profile as socio-demographically comparable civilians, they are more similar than previously thought.

Exposure to moderate amounts of sunshine may slow the development of obesity and diabetes, a study suggests.

Scientists who looked at the effect of sunlight on mice say further research will be needed to confirm whether it has the same effect on people.

The researchers showed that shining UV light at overfed mice slowed their weight gain. The mice displayed fewer of the warning signs linked to diabetes, such as abnormal glucose levels and resistance to insulin.

LA JOLLA, CA – October 23, 2014 - Breaking carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds to alter existing molecules to create new ones is an increasingly important avenue for drug development. Of particular interest is mirror-image or "one-handed" compounds, but C-H breaking methods for making pure batches of these molecules have worked with only a limited range of starting materials.

The strong southwesterly wind shear that has been battering Tropical Storm Ana has abated and has given the storm a chance to re-organize. Ana appeared more rounded on imagery from NASA's Terra satellite as thunderstorms again circled the low-level center.

COLUMBUS, Ohio: Astronomers have gotten the closest look yet at what happens when a black hole takes a bite out of a star—and the star lives to tell the tale.

Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from Cape Verde start their life with a swimming sprint and a ride on favourable ocean currents. In this way, they escape quickly from predator-rich coastal areas and make their way to the safer open ocean where they spend several years feeding and growing. In this study, tiny acoustic transmitters provided direct insight into these pathways for the first time. "Thanks to the new technology we can start to fill in key information gaps about the so-called 'lost years' Dr. Rebecca Scott states.

Successful techniques for cryopreserving bulk biomaterials and organ systems would transform current approaches to transplantation and regenerative medicine. However, while vitrified cryopreservation holds great promise, practical application has been limited to smaller systems (cells and thin tissues) due to diffusive heat and mass transfer limitations, which are typically manifested as devitrification and cracking failures during thaw.

Narrowband or hyperspectral imaging is a valuable technique used in planetary science for characterizing surfaces and surrounding environments. For example, it can be used to spatially map molecular species of interest on the surface of a solid or icy body, or to sound to different depths in a giant planet atmosphere. However, conducting narrowband or hyperspectral imaging of solar system targets from a balloon-borne platform presents several technical challenges, including mechanical failures and power requirements.

The analysis showed that Gonzalo generated several areas over the Atlantic Ocean where rainfall totals topped 12 inches (300 mm). Fay's maximum rainfall was between 4 and 8 inches (100-200 mm).

This rainfall analysis showed that Gonzalo generated several areas over the Atlantic Ocean where rainfall totals topped 12 inches (red). Fay's maximum rainfall appeared between 4 and 8 inches (green).

(Photo Credit: NASA/SSAI, Hal Pierce)

Tropical Storm Ana was being battered by wind shear when NASA's Terra satellite passed overhead and saw the bulk of showers and thunderstorms pushed north and east of the center.

While studying the atmosphere on Saturn's moon Titan, scientists discovered intriguing zones of organic molecules unexpectedly shifted away from its north and south poles. These misaligned features seem to defy conventional thinking about Titan's windy atmosphere, which should quickly smear out such off-axis concentrations.