Three ‘Super-Earths’ Found Orbiting One Star

It’s not a bird, it’s not a planet, it’s not Jupiter… it’s super earth. Actually, there’s 3 of them. What are they? Well they’re three planets that astrophysicists have found orbiting the same star. They were located with the HARPS instrument on the European Southern Observatory’s 3.6-meter telescope at La Silla, Chile.These Super Earths are more massive than our planet, but they are smaller than Neptun or Uranus. They are believed to be rocky, and resemble in many ways the planet we call home. It’s very hard to detect planets with current technology, but scientists believe this discovery is a sign that finding planets similar to our own is just a matter of time.

The star around which these planets revolve is just slightly more massive than the Sun, and it’s located 42 light-years away toward the southern Doradus and Pictor constellations. These planets weigh 4.2 Earth masses, 6.7 Earth masses and 9.4, and in the same order they have a period of orbiting of 4.3 Earth days, 9.6-days and 20.4-days.

The same team of scientists also found 45 new candidate planets with a mass below 30 Earth masses and an orbital period shorter than 50 days, which is a huge step forward.

“We have made very precise measurements of the velocity of the star HD 40307 over the last five years, which clearly reveal the presence of three planets,” said team member Michel Mayor of the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland.

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Healthy lifestyle triggers genetic changes

We all know (or really should know) the benefic impact a healthy lifestyle has on your body and mind. But according to a study led by U.S. researchers, exercising and having a balanced diet can not just keep you fit, but it can also lead to some swift and dramatic changes at the genetic level.In this small study, the researchers tracked 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided not to follow conventional treatment. These men underwent three month in which they kept a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products, moderate exercise such as walking for half an hour a day, and an hour of daily stress management methods such as meditation.

As it was expected, they lost some weight, lowered their blood pressure and felt other physical improvements, but that’s not the main attraction here. The researchers found more profund changes at a genetic level when they did a biopsy of the prostate. After these 3 months, the men had changes in activity in about 500 genes.

What’s the most interesting thing here is that the genes which prevent you from getting sick were turned on, while the other ones were shut off. Here’s what the study leader, Dr. Dean Ornish, head of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, and a well-known author advocating lifestyle changes to improve health had to say:

“It’s an exciting finding because so often people say, ‘Oh, it’s all in my genes, what can I do?’ Well, it turns out you may be able to do a lot,” Ornish, who is also affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco, said in a telephone interview.
“‘In just three months, I can change hundreds of my genes simply by changing what I eat and how I live?’ That’s pretty exciting,” Ornish said. “The implications of our study are not limited to men with prostate cancer.”

5 Mythical Heroes we all want to be like

The salt and pepper of any religion, mythology or folklore is represented by legendary figures, known to us, mortals, as heroes; and with all the fascinating legends and myths, it’s really hard to choose just five of them, which is why there will probably be an epic sequel to this.

Heracles

Heracles or Hercules (meaning glory of Hera) is probably the best known hero. In Greek myths, he was the son of Zeus and Alcmene. Many stories surround him in a magnificent aura, but the most popular is that of the The Twelve labors of Heracles. Naming just some of them sheds light on how big his tasks were (killing the Lernaean Hydra, capturing the dreaded hell hound Cerber, and probably the best known, getting the Apples of Hesperides). Both respected and celebrated by the Greeks and Romans, he’s still a model of courage, bravery, and even wits (despite that’s not the best thing he’s known for). Alas, he did die, killed by Nessus who tricked his wife into giving him a poisonous blood soaked tunic. That wasn’t as bad as you’d think though, as after that, he became a god and joined his father in Olympus.

Gilgamesh

The legend of Gilgamesh is the oldest one around. This epic tale has been told for thousands of years, and hasn’t lost anything of its charm (as a legend it’s actually considered the precursor of Heracles and other folk heroes by some). He was the fifth king of Uruk, and his mother was a goddess, and he is considered to be 2/3 god and 1/3 human. The epic of Gilgamesh is centered around his relationship as a distracted and disheartened king with his brave and wild friend Enkidu, who undertakes dangerous quests with Gilgamesh. Being credited by historians as perhaps the first literary work, it later shows the king changing for the better and searching immortality after the death of Enkidu. These Sumerian legends have been around for thousands of years, and they’ll be here for thousands more; and there’s a good reason for that.

Beowulf

More than 1000 years ago, a man who’s name has been lost in history put pen to paper and transcribed an epic that had already been circulating for about two centuries. Thus, he became the author of the oldest piece of English literature extant today. The epic poem with the same name describes his adventures in which he goes in this area to prove his strength in almost impossible situations, against all sort of demons and malicious gods. Just naming all his accomplishments would take to long. Still, after many fights, when he becomes king, he is cursed because he took a piece of treasure he wasn’t supposed to, and has to fight a dragon. He manages to kill the dragon in what may just be the best known fight in all literature, but dies from the wounds. After he is cremated, Beowulf is buried in Geatland on a cliff overlooking the sea, where sailors are able to see his barrow. The dragon’s treasure is buried with him, rather than distributed to his people, as was Beowulf’s wish, because of the curse associated with the hoard.

Robin Hood

We stray a bit from these early times and go nearer to our days; actually, let’s say we go less further. Robin hood is an archetypal figure in English folklore - we all know him, we all love him. He steals from the rich and gives to the poor, what more can you want? Along with his “seven score” group of fellow outlawed yeomen (known as Merry Men), he brought havoc to the rich tirans from Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire. There are many versions to this. In some he is known as Robin of Loxley, a nobleman who was unfairly robbed of his riches and now seeks justice; in some he fights against the Sheriff of Nottingham, a despotic figure, or against Prince John, based on the historical John of England. Still, one thing’s fore sure: despite the fact that it hasn’t been yet proven that he did or didn’t exist, he’s one of the most loved characters throughout England and the world.

Thor

Despite the fact that gods aren’t really all that loved in mythologies, due to the fact that they abuse the powers and people can’t relate to them, Thor is without a single doubt one of the most cherished and respected figures in Norse mythology, and mythology in general. With his red hair and red beard, the god of thunder was loved because he was the protector against evil (and didn’t require sacrifices). The Norse believed that thunders appeared because he would throw his hammer (Mjollnir). He also wears a magical belt (Megingjard) which doubles his already fantastic strength. In the day of Ragnarok (meaning “Doom of the Gods”; the day when cosmos will end in Norse mythology with an enormous battle in which virtually every creature will take place) Thor will fight Jormungand, the serpent which is so big that it surrounds the entire world. The fight will be epic, Thor will kill the beast but die shortly after due to the wounds, leaving his hammer to his son.

Wisconsin Dells lake just… dissapeared

Photo by the Chicago Tribune

But there’s nothing abnormal about that, there’s a perfectly rational explanation for that. That doesn’t make it any less saddening though. Here’s what happened to one of the most scenic getaways for Chicagoans.

During the weekend, rained settled in over the surroundings of the lake; and it’s not just your average spring rain… it was way bigger than that. There was so much water that the lake practically burst its banks, releasing tens of thousands of lake water.On its path, the water took with it a roadway, several houses, boats, fish and lake bed.

It stopped just before Wisconsin river, but it was gone in a matter of hours. Now, about a day later, the lake is drained. It offers a desolating muddy landscape with fish that flap in the mud until they can move now more. Mounds of dead fish are piled high. The shoreline is jagged and cracked.

“Just this weekend it was full of fish, full of boaters, full of life and now it’s gone,” said Harland Tourdoy who has been fishing these waters for a half-century.

Is there something that can be done? I have no idea, but authorities could show a bit more interest in this matter, and save whatever’s left that can be saved.

Robofish work together

Kristi Morgansen, an aeronautics and astronautics engineer at the University of Washington presented the results of these amazing robofish. These new robots that feature tails and fins passed the test with flying colours.What makes it so amazing? Well, unlike most robots which receive instructions from a scientist or satellite, Robofish (as they are called) rely solely on each other and they work as a team by wirelessly communicating only with each other.

The fish are about two feet long and wiggle through the water by using their fish-like tails and fins. These fins are also a step forward, as scientists claim they are way better than usual propellants, as they produce less drag and noise and allow a better control for the fish taking turns.

Here’s what Morgensen has to say about how the fish “talk” to each other:
“One of them will send a message, and the rest of them know it’s not their turn to talk and so they are listening. There’s a time during which they know there is a signal coming. If they receive it, they use it; if they don’t, they keep following what they were doing.”
“If you have some sort of event going on like an underwater eruption, you’re not going to be able to get one vehicle to a bunch of places quickly and so the more underwater researchers, the better, as long as they don’t all flock to the same location.”

Test could give excuse for laziness

Ever wake up in the morning and just couldn’t get out of bed? Did you ever have something to do and just didn’t have what it takes to do it? Well, all you lazy people, rejoice! In may not be your fault after all. A simple test could show whether difficulty in defeating your laziness is genetic or… laziness.

Scientists are finding more and more things that genes are responsable; for example, they showed that some of us tend to be night owls, while others are just programmed to wake up early in the morning. They have developed a swab test that can identify a person’s natural tendency to wake early or late from cells collected from inside the cheek.

Now they are talking about creating something that could counter the effect of this and make you fight the urge to stay and procrastinate all day long. But the point here is mostly around sleeping issues. The test can reveal the activity of a number of different genes that control the “natural” pattern of wake and sleep - the circadian rhythm.

Here’s what the researchers say:

“But by taking samples at 4pm and 5pm to assess the activity of the REV-ERB gene, we will be able to see if patterns of peak gene expression are shifted forwards or back in time from the norm of 4pm. If your peak is earlier than 4pm it would indicate that you are a natural early bird, if you peak later than 5pm then you are more of a night owl.”

The Future Is Now? Pretty Soon, at Least

When I read what Ray Kurzweil said about the future, I was just awed! I mean, coming from somebody else, it would seem ludacris (even from him, I find it really hard to believe), but c’mon, the man is one of the best futurists we have, so he HAS to know what he’s talking about. According to him, in his really optimistic view, many of the world’s current problems will be solved way sooner than 50 years.For example, if you’re worried about green gas emissions, fear no more! In 5 years, he claims solar power will be cost competitive with fossil fuels and within 20 years all of our energy will come from clean sources. That really would be nice, but could it really happen ?? Wait, that’s just the beginning. Having problems sticking to a diet or losing weight? In less than 10 years, he says, there will be a pill that will allow you to eat whatever you want without gaining weight! Sounds too good to be true? Could be, but the thing is that even critics agree that he is by no means your average sci-fi fantasits. In fact, he has just enought credibility that the National Academy of Engineering published his view of solar energy.What’s even more surprising for me (at least) is what he predicted about aging.

Well, fasten your seat belts: in 15 years, your life expectancy will rise every year faster than you are aging. Yeah, that means that your chances of dying get slimmer and slimmer every year, until about 50 years from now, when humans (and perhaps even machines) start evolving into everliving beings. Could this actually happen ? I have no idea, and I’m not sure how many people have - not that many, anyway. During the years he mande some predictions that awed the world by their accuracy and seemingly impossible odds of happening (such as the explosive growth of the Internet in the 1990s and a computer chess champion by 1998; with that he was off by a year - Deep Blue won in 1997).

Also, 20 years ago he predicted that “early in the 21st century” blind people would be able to read anything anywhere using a handheld device. In 2002 he actually narrowed the date to sometime in 2008. On thursday night at a festival, he pulled out a new gadget as big as your average cell phone, that had absolutely no problem reading out loud the text from a science magazine.“Certain aspects of technology follow amazingly predictable trajectories,” he said, and showed a graph of computing power starting with the first electromechanical machines more than a century ago. At first the machines’ power doubled every three years; then in midcentury the doubling came every two years (the rate that inspired Moore’s Law); now it takes only about a year.“My colleague Francis Crick used to say that God is a hacker, not an engineer,” Dr. Ramachandran said. “You can do reverse engineering, but you can’t do reverse hacking.”

“Scientists imagine they’ll keep working at the present pace,” he told NY Times after his speech. “They make linear extrapolations from the past. When it took years to sequence the first 1 percent of the human genome, they worried they’d never finish, but they were right on schedule for an exponential curve. If you reach 1 percent and keep doubling your growth every year, you’ll hit 100 percent in just seven years.”

245 Million Years Old Fossilized Burrows suggest Lizard-like Creatures In Antarctica

For the first time, scientists have found fossilized burrows of tetrapods (four legged vertebrates) in Antarctica dating from the Early Triassic epoch, about 245 million years ago. They’ve been conducted research there since early 2006, and it’s the first time they’ve actually found something of this calibre.

The fossils are created in a relatively simple process: fine sand from an overflowing river pours into the animals’ burrows and hardens into casts. The good thing is the fact that there are some quite big burrows (14 inches long, 6 inches wide and 3 inches deep), but no animal remains can be found there.

According to Christian Sidor, an assistant professor of biology at University of Washington and curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the UW, there are some scratch marks from the animals’ initial excavation.

“We’ve got good evidence that these burrows were made by land-dwelling animals rather than crayfish”

“We have documented that tetrapods were burrowing, making dens in Antarctica, back in the Triassic,” Sidor said. “There are lots of good reasons for burrowing at high latitudes, not the least of which is protection from the elements.”

It’s official - The Monk Seal is extinct

The Caribbean Monk seal (or West Indian seal) has been announced extinct on Friday. This comes as a shock (at least for me - and many others), as this is the first seal species announced extinct due to human activities; now, it will only be seen in drawings.After five years of futile efforts in which not even a single sighting has been reported, the U.S. declared extinct, and also declared that no other seal species has been extinct because of us. This probably (and sadly) opens the way for more such species to become extinct - unless something changes.

The Caribbean Monk Seal was a relatively small seal (6-9 feet) with rolls of fat around its neck and brown pelage that faded to a yellow-white color on the stomach. The last recorded sighting occurred in 1952.

Perhaps what’s even more important here is the lesson that must be learned. Humans left the population unsustainable due to overhunting. To how many other species have we done this? This will (and already is) ultimately affect us! Take just 10 seconds and think about that.

ZME science contest

It’s not a science contest or a fair, or anything like that; it’s way simpler than that. Here’s how it works:

What can you win:

Two great books: “Into Thick Air” and “Seven Wonders for a Cool Planet” - I really recommend them, as they’re a very good read.

How to win them:

All you have to do is leave a comment with the email you are subscribed with; if you haven’t subscribed, you’ve got to do it. Then, two weeks from now, on June 19th, we’ll randomly select the two winners.

So without further ado, may the contest begin!

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