Wi-Fi may allow ISS robots to move around freely

Robots at the International Space Station may soon be able to move around freely with help from the ISS's existing Wi-Fi.

Astronauts have shared the ISS with three small robots called SPHERES since 2006.
The robots are there to test whether menial tasks on the station can be automated, freeing up astronauts to do more interesting things.

At the moment, the bots are confined to a 2-metre-wide cube marked out by five ultrasound beacons, which transmit a locating signal that works like GPS does on Earth, 'New Scientist' reported.

If the SPHERES could travel around the whole station it would be much more useful, so Terry Fong at the NASA Ames Research Center in California and colleagues are trying to guide them using the ISS's existing Wi-Fi.

In an experiment, an astronaut floated around the US section of the station with a smartphone, measuring the varying signal intensity from two Wi-Fi routers at different points.

The team turned this data into a map capable of locating a SPHERE robot to within 1.59 metres, accurate enough to identify which ISS module it is in.

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Unknown 09:19  No comment

New Microscopic Motion Detector Could Find Alien Life?? 

Swiss researchers have tested a new kind of life-detection device that's sensitive to motion rather than organic chemistry — and they say it could be used on future space missions to look for alien life. Closer to home, the mechanical nanosensor could verify whether a given drug has really, truly killed off cancer cells or nasty bacteria. "The system has the benefit of being completely chemistry-free," Giovanni Dietler of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, or EPFL, said in a news release.

The sensor is basically a 200-micron-long cantilever. The stuff to be analyzed is deposited on the cantilever, and then a laser scans the surface for signs of motion. Scientists say one of the common signatures of life is movement: Even small microorganisms vibrate in response to their metabolic activity.

Dietler and his colleagues tested the system with bacteria, yeast and living cells, as well as soil and water from EPFL and its environs. The motion detector was triggered by the cells' vibrations. When the cells were killed off, the signals stopped. Dietler said the technology is most likely to be used for drug testing, "but we're still calling ESA and NASA to see if they're interested."

SOCIAL

Using motion to find #aliens http://t.co/MBiR6u1GAX pic.twitter.com/OQGwgFyD9N
— Sinpetru Laura (@SinpetruLaura) December 30, 2014

So vibrations can be useful when it comes to detection of life http://t.co/4mxWG1xSwH
— Chan Arbon (@chanarbon) December 30, 2014

— Alan Boyle

The research paper, "Detecting Extraterrestrial Life Through Motion," was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In addition to Dietler, authors include Sandor Kasas, Francesco Simone Ruggeri, Carine Benadiba, Caroline Maillard, Petar Stupar, Helene Tournu and Giovanni Longo.

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Unknown 09:17  No comment

The smallest goanna of the world

The smallest goanna of the world Found 

The discovery of the world's smallest species of goanna, currently on display at the Western Australian Museum. It has been described as an evolutionary marvel by scientists.

At a maximum length of 23 centimetres and weighing just 16 grams, the world's smallest species of goanna has been discovered in the Kimberley.

"The biggest mass of the largest [Dampier Peninsula goanna] was 16 grams, with a length of about 23 centimetres, whereas a komodo dragon is about 80 kilos at least, and over three metres long," Dr Doughty said from the WA Muesum.

Dr Doughty said this goanna diverged from its closest living relative - the short-tailed monitor - around six to seven million years ago, about the same time humans and chimpanzees split off from their common ancestor.

This particular goanna's nick name is Pokey. This goanna is only known from the peninsula north of Broome and Derby in Western Australia's Kimberley region, which is not the case with its relatives that are often found over a widespread area.

This goanna is currently on display at the WA Museum where visitors will be able to observe her small head, tiny legs, stretchy body and short tail, which Dr Doughty described as a "funky" shape for a goanna.

“We estimate from the genetic information [that the species] diverged roughly about the same time that chimpanzees diverged from human beings,” said Dr Paul Doughty from the WA Museum.

Museum visitors will be able to observe her small head, tiny legs, stretchy body and short tail, which Doughty described as a “funky” shape for a goanna.

Paul Doughty, said the discovery of the Dampier Peninsula goanna was a "eureka" moment because it's a completely new species.

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Unknown 09:10  No comment

Mangalyaan Completes 100 Days in Mars Orbit

The first day of the New Year saw a milestone being achieved. Mangalyaan which has been orbiting the planet Mars has successfully completed 100 days of its orbit.

This achievement makes India the first country in the world to do this on its very first attempt.

ISRO said that the satellite is functioning well. Later in the day ISRO will be conducting a seminar to analyse the achievements and also the lessons learnt so far from this mission.

Former chairman of ISRO, K Radhakrishnan, said that MOM which has been powered by satellites has paved the path for the rest of the world to get things done differently without necessarily sacrificing on the quality of the mission.

This is India’s very first interplanetary mission to this planet and is actually just a technical one. India happens to be the first country in Asia to send a satellite to Mars making ISRO the fourth space agency in the world.

This craft has been specifically designed to facilitate its orbit around the Red Planet in an elliptical orbit. Developing the technology which is required for a mission like this was one of the main reasons for carrying it out. It was to know the requirements in the field of planning, design, management and also the operations.

India has grabbed the attention of the world by successfully completing this mission at just $74 million which is just a quarter of what was required by the NASA. This may mean that other countries might just turn to India for help in their missions as well.

The Mars Orbiter was also lucky to capture the coma of comet 'Siding Spring' with the a colour camera on board for over 40 minutes as it made an appearance near the Red planet on October 19 last year.
The 1,350kg weighing (on Earth) craft has also taken pictures of one of the two Martian moons -- Phobos, while it was travelling west to east over Mars in its typical orbit.

Some of the pictures it took include the regional dust storm activities over northern hemisphere of Mars, full disc image of the planet, showing Elysium - the second largest volcanic province on the natural satellite. The first set of pictures of Mars sent by the orbiter from space was presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a day after the spacecraft entered the Martian orbit.

The spacecraft is now circling the red planet in an orbit whose nearest point to Mars (periapsis) is at 421.7 km and farthest point (apoapsis) at 76,993.6 km. In this orbit, the spacecraft takes 72 hours 51 minutes 51 seconds to go round the Mars once.

It is equipped with five instruments, including a sensor to track methane or marsh gas, a colour camera and a thermal imaging spectrometer to map the surface and mineral wealth of the red planet. MOM was also adjudged one of the 25 innovations made in 2014 by 'TIME' magazine, which described it as a technological feat that will allow India to flex its "interplanetary muscles."

"Nobody gets Mars right on the first try. The US didn’t, Russia didn’t, the Europeans didn’t. But on September 24, India did. That’s when the Mangalyaan …went into orbit around the Red planet, a technological feat no other Asian nation has yet achieved," the magazine said about Mangalyaan, calling it "The Supersmart Spacecraft".

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Unknown 09:06  No comment

App by Nasa gives a glimpse into International Space Station

App by Nasa gives a glimpse into International Space Station

A new app by Nasa will now enable you to gather more information about the International Space Station (ISS). The newly launched app gives one information about experiments being conducted by ISS, facilities and research results, interactive videos, photographs etc.

Also known as ' space station research explorer' , the app also has an 'Experiments' section which comes with six categories and sub categories, wherein experiments are represented in the form of dots within the category system, which gives a user an idea of the length of time spent on an experiment as well as other details. Users also have the option of searching for particular experiments by using the search option.

Another section, the 'Facilities' section gives a view of station modules- Kibo, Columbus, Destiny, whereas the 'Benefit' section is useful for information on Earth benefits, Global education, and human health. 

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Unknown 05:34  No comment

Researchers combine genetics with the physics of light to observe live neuron transmission

Researchers combine genetics with the physics of light to observe live neuron transmission.

Researchers have managed for the first time to observe as well as measure neuronal transmission in a live animal using a new technique that combines genetics with the physics of light. Researchers have published their findings in journal Neuron.

Studying different neuron types can help scientists understand higher brain functions such as thought, behaviour, language, memory or even mental disorders.

Neurons, the cells of the nervous system, communicate by transmitting chemical signals to each other through junctions called synapses.

This “synaptic transmission” is critical for the brain and the spinal cord, as it helps to process the huge amount of incoming stimuli and generate outgoing signals.

However, studying synaptic transmission in living animals is very difficult, and researchers have to generally use artificial conditions that do not capture the real-life environment of neurons.

In the new study, the researchers used a technique called “optogenetics”, that has been making significant inroads in the field of neuroscience in the past ten years.

This method uses light to precisely control the activity of specific neurons in living, even moving, animals in real time.

“This is a proof-of-concept study,” said Aurelie Pala from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne in Switzerland.

“Nonetheless, we think that we can use optogenetics to put together a larger picture of connectivity between other types of neurons in other areas of the brain,” Pala added.

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Unknown 05:32  No comment

Treat for UFO Enthusiasts, coffin-like object spotted on the surface of Mars.

Treat for UFO Enthusiasts, coffin-like object spotted on the surface of Mars.

A Maryland-based Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) hunter, Will Farrar has spotted an object that looks like a coffin on the Martian surface. The coffin was discovered by user WhatsUpintheSky37 as he was navigating through a library of pictures sent by Curiosity rover of NASA.

The UFO hunting group has now posted a video which features this coffin like object. The coffin is not easy to spot normally in the video. However, a closer inspection will reveal the anomaly.

"This little box sure does look like a modern coffin concrete liner", captioned Will Farrar on his official YouTube channel.

According to researcher Scott Waring of the UFO Sightings Daily, the object looks to be about one meter across and a foot-and-a-half high. It may simply be a stone formation. He even suggests NASA to turn the Curiosity rover around and take a closer look at the 'coffin'.

Many scientists are claiming that it is due to a psychological phenomenon called Pareidolia. It is a peculiar capability of human brain, which will make us see faces and significant objects in random places. According to them, rocks and their shapes can be interpreted in every way possible.

Earlier, a former NASA employee named 'Jackie' has claimed that she had witnessed suited men running on the red planet way back in 1997.

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Unknown 05:30  No comment