Heavens

Satellite data also showed a persistent ring of deep convection around the small eye. Haiyan's eye appeared to be about 8 nautical miles in diameter. The TRMM satellite's microwave data showed an intense convective core (thunderstorms building around the eye) and improved convective banding of thunderstorms in all quadrants of the super-typhoon.

At 1500 UTC/10 a.m. EDT, Super Typhoon Haiyan had maximum sustained winds near 140 knots/161 mph/259 kph. That makes Haiyan equivalent to a Category 5 Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Even in couples most likely to believe in sharing parenting responsibilities, mothers still bear significantly more of the child care load, a new study reveals.

The study of 182 dual-earner couples found that the mothers' additional parenting burden started early, when their first child was less than a year old.

The meteor that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia in February 2013 was "a wake-up call," according to a University of California, Davis scientist who participated in analyzing the event. The work is published Nov. 7 in the journal Science by an international team of researchers.

"If humanity does not want to go the way of the dinosaurs, we need to study an event like this in detail," said Qing-Zhu Yin, professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Davis.

Eye contact during early infancy may be a key to early identification of autism, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health. Published this week in the journal Nature, the study reveals the earliest sign of developing autism ever observed—a steady decline in attention to others' eyes within the first two to six months of life.

For millions of homes, plants, wood and other types of "biomass" serve as an essential source of fuel, especially in developing countries, but their mercury content has raised flags among environmentalists and researchers. Scientists are now reporting that among dozens of sources of biomass, processed pellets burned under realistic conditions in China emit relatively low levels of the potentially harmful substance. The report was published in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels.

Reusing the major greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial plants — rather than releasing its warming potential into the environment — is on the verge of becoming a commercial reality. Several large chemical companies in Germany and small start-ups in the U.S. are leading the way, according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society.

The researchers, from the University of Sheffield's Faculty of Engineering, have shown that mixing plutonium-contaminated waste with blast furnace slag and turning it into glass reduces its volume by 85-95 per cent. It also effectively locks in the radioactive plutonium, creating a stable end product.

The approach could also be applicable to treating large volume mixed wastes generated during the eventual clean-up of the damaged Fukushima plant.

Last year when a team of astronomers led by a Michigan State University professor discovered two black holes in a collection of stars known as a globular cluster, they weren't sure if their presence was a common occurrence or a unique stroke of luck.

Researchers are now thinking it was the former, as evidence of yet another black hole has been found in a globular cluster by an MSU-led team of researchers.

As published in the recent issue of Astrophysical Journal, a new black hole candidate has been found in a globular cluster known as M62.

WOODS HOLE, MA—The vast sagebrush landscapes of the western United States are one of the largest ecosystems in North America. Long, cold winters and hot, dry summers characterize these cold desert ecosystems and create bone-dry soils during seasonal droughts. New research published this week from MBL (Marine Biological Laboratory) senior scientist Zoe Cardon, John Stark (Utah State University), and their two former students, sheds light on how desert plants gain nutrients they desperately need—even in the driest circumstances.

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the South China Sea and revealed that warm sea surface temperatures and low wind shear enabled Tropical Depression 30W to strengthen into a tropical storm.

As Typhoon Haiyan has been strengthening, NASA's TRMM satellite investigated how much rain was falling throughout the storm. Typhoon Haiyan is now closing in on Yap and Palau with a forecast to move through the central Philippines, so all of those areas are under warnings and watches.

NASA's Aqua satellite detected many bushfires in Wollemi National Park, located in the Australian state of New South Wales, outside of Sydney. Sydney is the state capital and the most populated city in Australia.

BOSTON -- Researchers at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis say one way to gauge the extent of prescription opioid pain reliever abuse in any Indiana county is to count the number of health care providers, particularly dentists and pharmacists.

In a study of opioid use and abuse, the researchers said they found that access to health care increases the availability of prescription opioids, which, in turn, is associated with higher rates of opioid abuse and associated consequences.

Boston−November 4, 2013 - Parents and doctors assume eating disorders very rarely affect males. However, a study of 5,527 teenage males from across the U.S., published Nov.4 in JAMA Pediatrics, challenges this belief. Boston Children's Hospital researchers found 17.9 percent of adolescent boys were extremely concerned about their weight and physique. These boys were more likely to start engaging in risky behaviors, including drug use and frequent binge drinking.

Tropical Depression 30W formed and moved through Visayas, Philippines. NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of the depression that showed it had some potential for heavy rain while moving through the central Philippines.