Heavens | Page 424 | Science Codex

NASA observes the Waldo Canyon Fire, Colorado

NASA satellites continue to provide coverage of the smoke and heat signatures generated from wildfires raging in the western United States. The Waldo Canyon Fire is threatening populated areas, and is located near Colorado Springs, Colo.

The Waldo Canyon Fire was discovered on June 23, 2012, burning in Pike National Forest near Colorado Springs, Colorado. By June 27, it had burned 15,517 acres (6,280 hectares), was 5 percent contained, and had forced at least 32,000 people to evacuate their homes.

New animal model for rheumatoid arthritis

(CHICAGO) - Researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have created the first animal model that spontaneously develops rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is predisposed towards atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

This model is considered of critical importance because patients with RA are at increased risk for heart attack and other premature cardiovascular events, but scientists don't know why.

Picking the pig with the perfect pins

Move over Elle Macpherson – the search is now on for the pig with the best legs as part of a new research project to improve the health and welfare of pigs on farms across the UK.

The study, being led by Newcastle University, UK, was set up to see if we can predict from an early age whether a pig is at risk of becoming lame, simply by analysing the way it walks.

New way of probing exoplanet atmospheres

The planet Tau Bootis b [1] was one of the first exoplanets to be discovered back in 1996, and it is still one of the closest exoplanets known. Although its parent star is easily visible with the naked eye, the planet itself certainly is not, and up to now it could only be detected by its gravitational effects on the star. Tau Bootis b is a large "hot Jupiter" planet orbiting very close to its parent star.

Innovative technique enables scientists to learn more about elusive exoplanet

One of the first planets discovered outside of the Solar System, Tau Bootis b, has eluded numerous attempts to measure the light coming from its atmosphere and so has remained something of a mystery. Now, for the first time, an international team has used an innovative technique to unravel direct light from the exoplanet itself to reveal its mass and orbit. Their results will be reported in Nature on June 28.

New planet-weighing technique found

Washington, D.C.—Although there have been about 800 extra-solar planets discovered so far in our galaxy, the precise masses of the majority of them are still unknown, as the most-common planet-finding technique provides only a general idea of an object's mass. Previously, the only way to determine a planet's exact mass was if it transits—has an orbit that periodically eclipses that of its host star. Former Carnegie scientist Mercedes López-Morales has, for the first time, determined the mass of a non-transiting planet. The work is published by Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Healthy eating advice for new mothers can help cut child obesity

Teaching new mums about healthy eating and active play can help cut the risk of their child being overweight or obese, a study published today on bmj.com finds.

Who has power over food?

Addressing the twin crises of malnutrition around the world—hunger and obesity— demands that we ask who has power over food, rather than question just the mere presence or absence of food.

Lab-on-a-chip detects trace levels of toxic vapors in homes near Utah Air Force Base

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---A lab-on-a-chip technology that measures trace amounts of air contaminants in homes was successfully field-tested by researchers at the University of Michigan.

Even in the presence of 50 other indoor air contaminants, the U-M-built microsystem found levels of the targeted contaminant so low that it would be analogous to finding a particular silver dollar in a roll stretching from Detroit to Salt Lake City.

NASA satellite spots newborn Tropical Depression Doksuri in W. Pacific

Another tropical depression was born in the western North Pacific, and NASA's Terra satellite captured an infrared image of the newborn cyclone. Tropical depression Doksuri, known in the Philippines as Dindo, was born during the early hours of June 26, 2012 in the western North Pacific Ocean.

NASA's Hubble spots rare gravitational arc from distant, hefty galaxy cluster

Seeing is believing, except when you don't believe what you see.

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found a puzzling arc of light behind an extremely massive cluster of galaxies residing 10 billion light-years away. The galactic grouping, discovered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, was observed when the universe was roughly a quarter of its current age of 13.7 billion years. The giant arc is the stretched shape of a more distant galaxy whose light is distorted by the monster cluster's powerful gravity, an effect called gravitational lensing.

Research suggests denser development is good for single-family home values

How do denser neighborhoods affect property values? And what's the economic value of walkable neighborhoods?

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington College of Built Environments and a South Korean university shows that, contrary to popular belief, there's a positive association between higher neighborhood density and the value of single-family residential properties.

University of Florida astronomer reports rare case of gravitational lensing

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- You could say that the odds of seeing it were astronomical.

Yet there it was, 10 billion light-years from Earth, the most massive galaxy cluster ever seen at such a distance – with a gravity field so strong that it distorted the light of the galaxy behind it in a rare display called gravitational lensing.

Duplicate spending on veterans' care costs billions

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — A new study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that the federal government made about $13 billion in duplicative payments to provide health-care services to veterans who were simultaneously enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans from 2004-2009. The study was conducted by researchers at Brown University, VA Palo Alto Medical Center and the Institute for Population Health Improvement at UC Davis Health System.

Caltech scientists find new primitive mineral in meteorite

PASADENA, Calif.—In 1969, an exploding fireball tore through the sky over Mexico, scattering thousands of pieces of meteorite across the state of Chihuahua. More than 40 years later, the Allende meteorite is still serving the scientific community as a rich source of information about the early stages of our solar system's evolution. Recently, scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) discovered a new mineral embedded in the space rock—one they believe to be among the oldest minerals formed in the solar system.