Second Attempt at Pluto Launch Today

NASA will try again today to launch an Atlas V rocket carrying the New Horizons spacecraft. The launch window extends from 1:16 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. EST. The Atlas V is poised for liftoff from Launch Pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. During the first launch attempt on Jan. 17, the countdown was extended several times in hopes that excessive upper level and ground winds would die down. But ultimately, the winds surpassed limits during the final minutes, preventing a liftoff. The spacecraft and launch vehicle remained healthy throughout the countdown, with no technical issues.

In China, cloud-free days mean smog, not sun

China has darkened over the past half-century. Where has all the sunshine gone? The usual suspect, at least to a climatologist, would be cloud cover. But in the most comprehensive study to date of overcast versus cloud-free days in China, a team led by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, reporting in the current advance online issue of Geophysical Research Letters, has found that cloud cover has been decreasing for the past 50 years.

Tobacco- derived vaccines safeguard against deadly plague

Through an innovative feat of plant biotechnology and vaccine design, researchers in the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University have successfully turned tobacco plants into vaccine production factories to combat the deadliest form of plague. The vaccine elicits a protective immune response in guinea pigs. The results are considered to be a milestone in the future development of a new vaccine for human use.

Jack Skis the Moon

Now this is a ski report: Clear skies, no wind, sweet slopes and deep powder–not expected to melt for at least five billion years. Grab your poles and pack your bags. Just don’t forget your spacesuit, because you’re going to the moon.

Vitamin A analog is a potential lung cancer preventative

The ideal substance to prevent cancer would block tumor growth without causing unpleasant or dangerous side effects. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis now report that a compound related to vitamin A shows promise in preventing or slowing tumor growth in mice prone to lung cancer. The compound, called bexarotene, doesn’t cause the severe skin irritations that have limited the use of other vitamin A derivatives in cancer therapies.

Mutation that Protects Against HIV Infection May Raise Risk of West Nile Virus Illness

People who lack a cell surface protein called CCR5 are highly resistant to infection by HIV but may be at increased risk of developing West Nile virus illness when exposed to the mosquito-borne virus, report researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. The findings may have cautionary implications for physicians who are treating HIV-positive individuals with experimental CCR5-blocking drugs, say the scientists.

Lots of flowers and trees, not enough birds and bees

In biodiversity hot spots like tropical rainforests, a dearth of pollinators could be putting many species at risk of extinction, according to a new study. The finding is raising concerns that more may need to be done to protect the Earth’s most biologically rich areas. As the number of birds, bees, and other pollen transporters declines around the world, competition for their attention is becoming increasingly fierce for plants that need their services for reproduction–to the point where species in the most fertile areas of the world are struggling for survival.

Researchers say chromosome may harbor autism gene

Using technology that allows DNA from thousands of genes to be collected and surveyed on a 3 x 1½-inch chip, University of Utah medical researchers have confirmed that a region on a single chromosome probably harbors a gene that causes autism. The researchers at the U School of Medicine made the finding by tracing variations in the DNA of an extended Utah family that has a high occurrence of the disorder and whose members are descended from one couple.

Insecticides linked to risk of childhood leukaemia

Household insecticides may increase the risk of childhood leukaemia, suggests French research in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Leukaemia is the most common childhood cancer in France, affecting 43 in every million children every year. The findings are based on 280 children newly diagnosed with acute leukaemia and a further 288 children matched for sex and age, but free of the disease.

Researchers Develop Portable ‘Vein Finder’

When medics are treating trauma patients, every second counts. Yet bruises, burns, and other physical conditions often make it difficult to locate veins and administer lifesaving drugs or solutions. In response, a team of Georgia Institute of Technology researchers is developing an inexpensive, handheld device that uses Doppler ultrasound technology to find veins quickly.

Researchers developing nano-size battery to be implanted in eye

Researchers are developing a nano-size battery that one day could be implanted in the eye to power an artificial retina. They are seeking to design a class of devices for generating electric power — bio-batteries — for a wide array of implantable devices, starting with an artificial retina that has already been developed at the Doheny Eye Institute at the University of Southern California. The artificial retina and accompanying nanobattery will be used to correct certain types of macular degeneration.

Children with autism found to have specific memory problems

If children with autism can’t see the forest for the trees, that may be partly because the burden of processing all those trees at once makes it harder to lock in the scene. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System have found that children with autism differ from other children in two specific memory capabilities.