Heavens

Reinhold Dauskardt, PhD, of Stanford's Department of Materials Science and Engineering has been studying skin for years. But when he sent his students to look for data on the mechanical properties of skin, they came back empty-handed. A lot was known about skin structure and disease, but few papers actually talked about its mechanical function – its ability to stretch and resist tension without tearing. "That motivated us to get more interested in the skin itself," said Dauskardt.

Tropical Storm Maliksi is putting the final touches on Japan, that is, the edge of the storm was seen brushing the country's northern coast as it pulled away on NASA satellite imagery.

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Storm Maliksi on Oct. 4 at 0329 UTC (11:29 p.m. EDT, Oct. 3, EDT) and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument captured an infrared image of the storm brushing the Tohoku and Hokkaido prefectures of northern Japan.

NASA's Aqua satellite provided two different infrared views of the two tropical storms swirling in the Atlantic Ocean. Oscar is battling wind shear that appears destined to tear it apart, while Nadine is merging with a cold front.

Some of the most powerful thunderstorms in a tropical cyclone surround the center of circulation, and NASA's TRMM satellite noticed that rainfall is heaviest in that area of Tropical Storm Gaemi.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Sandia National Laboratories published the second annual 2012 Wind Plant Reliability Benchmark on Monday, and the results should help the nation's growing wind industry benchmark its performance, understand vulnerabilities and enhance productivity.

UCLA astronomers report the discovery of a remarkable star that orbits the enormous black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy in a blistering 11-and-a-half years — the shortest known orbit of any star near this black hole.

The star, known as S0-102, may help astronomers discover whether Albert Einstein was right in his fundamental prediction of how black holes warp space and time, said research co-author Andrea Ghez, leader of the discovery team and a UCLA professor of physics and astronomy who holds the Lauren B. Leichtman and Arthur E. Levine Chair in Astrophysics.

Researchers have discovered a star that whips around the giant black hole at the center of our galaxy in record time, completing an orbit every 11.5 years. The finding, appearing today in the journal Science, points ahead to groundbreaking experiments involving Einstein's general theory of relativity. Those tests will be fully enabled by the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), slated to begin observations next decade.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4—Scientists who study the ultra-small world of atoms know it is impossible to make certain simultaneous measurements, for example finding out both the location and momentum of an electron, with an arbitrarily high level of precision. Because measurements disturb the system, increased certainty in the first measurement leads to increased uncertainty in the second.

Academics at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow are set to investigate the removal of space debris and deflection of asteroids – leading the first research-based training network of its kind in the world.

The 'Stardust' project will train the next generation of scientists, engineers and policy-makers with Strathclyde leading 14 partners across Europe in a new €4 million programme.

On Oct. 3 at 11 a.m. EDT, Tropical Storm Nadine had maximum sustained winds near 50 mph (85 kmh). It was centered about 405 miles (650 km) west-southwest of the Azores near latitude 35.1 north and longitude 33.3 west. Nadine was moving to the east at 14 mph (22 kph), and had a minimum central pressure of 1000 millibars.

Some weakening is forecast during the next two days, but Nadine is expected to still be a tropical storm when the center moves near or over the Azores, according to the NHC.

Tropical Storm Gaemi is packing a lot of power around its middle and on one side of the storm, and that was apparent in NASA satellite imagery.

The fifteenth tropical depression of the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season was born on Oct. 3 an NASA's Terra satellite captured an image of it as it came to be.

NASA's Terra satellite passed over newborn Tropical Depression 15 on Oct. 3 at 8:52 a.m. EDT in the central Atlantic Ocean and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument captured an image of the storm. Shortly after the image was created, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center looking at the MODIS and other satellite data determined that the low pressure area had become a depression.

NASA's Aqua satellite took an infrared "picture" of Tropical Storm Maliksi in the western North Pacific Ocean and identified the strongest part of the storm being east of its center.

On Oct. 3 at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT), Tropical storm Maliksi had maximum sustained winds of 45 knots (51.7 mph/83.3 kph). It was located about 470 nautical miles (541 miles/870.4 km) south-southeast of Tokyo, Japan, near 29.4 North and 143.1 East. Maliksi was speeding to the north-northeast at 21 knots (24.1 mph/38.8 kph).

MAYWOOD, Ill. – Gender-specific group therapy is effective for treating depressed women with Type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the latest issue of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine and funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research. Evidence suggests that antidepressants may disrupt blood-sugar control and can be associated with increased weight gain; therefore, other treatment options are needed for depression.

Pasadena, CA— A team of astronomers, led by Wendy Freedman, director of the Carnegie Observatories, have used NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to make the most accurate and precise measurement yet of the Hubble constant, a fundamental quantity that measures the current rate at which our universe is expanding. These results will be published in the Astrophysical Journal and are available online.