NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has discovered an extraordinary planetary system with six rocky worlds capable of supporting life about 2000 light years from Earth.
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UF astronomers, NASA team find 6 closely packed planets orbiting same star
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A NASA team including three University of Florida astronomers has found six new planets in a distant solar system that in some ways resembles our own.
The NASA team, including UF associate professor Eric Ford, postdoctoral …
Targeted particle fools brain’s guardian to reach tumors
HOUSTON — A targeted delivery combination selectively crosses the tight barrier that protects the brain from the bloodstream to home in on and bind to brain tumors, a research team led by scientists from The University of Texas MD Anderson Ca…
NASA satellites capture data on monster winter storm affecting 30 states
It has already been called one of the largest winter storms since the 1950s and it is affecting 30 U.S. states today with snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain. NASA satellites have gathering data on the storm that stretches from Texas and the Rocki…
Aging safely at home? California’s disabled elderly are barely holding on
The network of public services that supports California’s low-income, disabled elderly is fragile, affecting the ability of these vulnerable residents to live independent lives in their own homes, according to a new study from the UCLA Center for He…
The science of bike-sharing
Tel Aviv — The new environmentally-friendly concept of municipal “bike-sharing” is taking over European cities like Paris, and American cities like New York are also looking into the idea. It allows a subscriber to “borrow” a bike from one of hun…
Scientists link protein to the insulation of the nervous system’s wiring
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have pinpointed a crucial function for a key player in the development of the nervous system. They found that this player — a protein called Erk — is necessary …
Research shows how pathogenic bacteria hide inside host cells
A new study into Staphylococcus aureus, the bacterium which is responsible for severe chronic infections worldwide, reveals how bacteria have developed a strategy of hiding within host cells to escape the immune system as well as many antibacterial …
Rogue storm system caused Pakistan floods that left millions homeless
Last summer’s disastrous Pakistan floods that killed more than 2,000 people and left more than 20 million injured or homeless were caused by a rogue weather system that wandered hundreds of miles farther west than is normal for such systems, ne…
Sharply focused on neurons, light controls a worm’s behavior
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 18, 2011 — Physicists and bioengineers have developed an optical instrument allowing them to control the behavior of a worm just by shining a tightly focused beam of light at individual neurons inside the organism.
The pion…
LCD projector used to control brain and muscles of tiny organisms such as worms
Researchers are using inexpensive components from ordinary liquid crystal display (LCD) projectors to control the brain and muscles of tiny organisms, including freely moving worms. Red, green and blue lights from a projector activate light-sensi…
New insights into sun’s photosphere reported by NJIT researcher at Big Bear
NJIT Distinguished Professor Philip R. Goode and the research team at Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) have reported new insights into the small-scale dynamics of the Sun’s photosphere. The observations were made during a period of historic in…