Heavens

Today, Neptune has arrived at the same location in space where it was discovered nearly 165 years ago. To commemorate the event, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken these "anniversary pictures" of the blue-green giant planet.

URBANA – As children become teenagers, it may be more challenging to regularly include them in family meals, but doing so is key to heading off such problems as eating disorders, obesity, and inadequate nutrition in adolescence, said Barbara Fiese, a University of Illinois professor of human development and family studies and director of the U of I's Family Resiliency Center.

A University of Connecticut scientist has perfected a method for creating quick-changing, variable colors in films and displays, such as sunglasses, that could lead to the next hot fashion accessory.

The new technology also has captured the interest of the U.S. military as a way to assist soldiers who need to be able to see clearly in rapidly changing environments.

According to the researchers from the University of Bologna (Italy) who designed the app, this automatic accident detection system could reduce the number of vehicles involved in pile-ups by up to 40 percent. For now, at least, that's what it does on paper and in computer simulations, as is described in an article published in the scientific journal Computer Networks. Road tests will be carried out this summer, on the streets and highways of Los Angeles, around the campus of the University of California.

New York, NY — July 10, 2011 — Researchers at Columbia Engineering School have built optical nanostructures that enable them to engineer the index of refraction and fully control light dispersion. They have shown that it is possible for light (electromagnetic waves) to propagate from point A to point B without accumulating any phase, spreading through the artificial medium as if the medium is completely missing in space. This is the first time simultaneous phase and zero-index observations have been made on the chip-scale and at the infrared wavelength.

SAN DIEGO, CA – Lace-up ankle braces can reduce the occurrence of acute ankle injuries in male and female high school basketball players, according to research presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Annual Meeting in San Diego. The study demonstrated that the braces are effective for athletes both with and without a history of ankle injury.

ESA's Herschel Space Observatory is helping unravel the mystery of where cosmic dust comes from. Thanks to the resolution and sensitivity of Herschel, astronomers have been able to detect cosmic dust from a supernovae, adding weight to the theory that these cosmic fireworks are responsible for its creation.

Brussels, 7 July 2011 – Intelligent electricity networks – smart grids – are a key component in the EU energy strategy, but substantial investments are needed to make them a reality. A new study from the European Commission's in-house science service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), presents a review of 219 smart grid projects Europe-wide. The vast majority of investments, amounting to about €5.5 billion, were made in old Member States ("EU15"), while new Member States ("EU12") tend to lag behind.

The discovery potential of the future international SKA radio telescope has been glimpsedfollowing the commissioning of a working optical fibre link between CSIRO's Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope in Western Australia, and other radio telescopes across Australia and New Zealand.

The achievement will be announced at the 2011 International SKA Forum, taking place this week in Banff, Canada.

SAN DIEGO, CA – Creating a baseline for each youth athlete is a critical part of accurate future concussion assessment, according to researchers presenting their study at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Annual Meeting in San Diego. Differences in how females and males scored on a standardized concussion assessment tool were also investigated.

The research will be presented today [Thursday 7 July] at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society of Academic Primary Care, hosted this year by the Academic Unit of Primary Health Care, University of Bristol. The research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research (NSPCR).

Tel Aviv — We know that physical education teaches children about fitness and encourages them to live a healthy lifestyle. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher has statistical evidence that sports participation is also beneficial to a child's cognitive, emotional and behavioral well-being.

Landsat 5 captured an image of flooding occurring along the Iowa/Nebraska border on June 30, 2011. Flooding is still occurring on July 6, and Flood Warnings are still in effect from the National Weather Service.

The Landsat 5 image captured was an enlargement of the area just north of Omaha. The flood waters show up as very dark blue and, where the water is shallow, medium blue. In the image, the Interstate is cut off by flood waters, just south of Missouri Valley, Iowa, and about 20 miles north of Omaha.