Atacama rover helps NASA learn to search for life on Mars
A dedicated team of scientists is spending the next four weeks in northern Chile's Atacama Desert. They are studying the scarce life that exists there and, in the process, helping NASA learn more about how primitive life forms could exist on Mars.... ...The NASA-funded researchers are studying the Atacama Desert, described as the most arid region on Earth, to understand the desert as a habitat t...NASA satellites detect 'glow' of plankton in black waters
For the first time, scientists may now detect a phytoplankton bloom in its early stages by looking at its red "glow" under sunlight, due to the unique data from two NASA satellites. According to a study conducted in the Gulf of Mexico, this phenomenon can forewarn fishermen and swimmers about developing cases of red tides that occur within plumes of dark-colored runoff from river and wetlands, so...Workforce achievements celebrated at NASA Marshall Center Awards ceremony
Today, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., recognized its workforce for outstanding achievements and contributions to America's space program. ... ...William Readdy, NASA associate administrator for the Office of Space Flight in Washington, joined Marshall Center Director David King at Marshall's annual NASA Honor Awards ceremony to salute more than 240 employees for special...NASA scientists get global fix on food, wood & fiber use
NASA scientists working with the World Wildlife Fund and ...others have measured how much of Earth's plant life humans ...need for food, fiber, wood and fuel. The study identifies ...human impact on ecosystems.... ...Satellite measurements were fed into computer models to ...calculate the annual net primary production (NPP) of plant ...growth on land. NASA developed models were used to e...NASA data shows hurricanes help plants bloom in 'ocean deserts'
Whenever a hurricane races across the Atlantic Ocean, chances are phytoplankton will bloom behind it. According to a new study using NASA satellite data, these phytoplankton blooms may also affect the Earth's climate and carbon cycle. ... ...Dr. Steven Babin, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins University in Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, Maryland studied 13 North Atlantic hurricanes between 1998 a...NASA researchers customize 'lab-on-a-chip' technology
With a microscope and computer monitor, researchers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., watch fluorescent bacteria flow through tiny, fluid highways on a dime-sized lab on a chip. ... ...Lab-on-a-chip technology allows chemical and biological processes -- previously conducted on large pieces of laboratory equipment -- to be performed on a small glass plate with fluid chan...NASA-inspired technology may help preserve women's future fertility after cancer treatment
PITTSBURGH, April 29 Using technology borrowed from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), scientists at the University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine have taken the first steps toward successfully preserving ovarian tissue from rats and mice in culture, including immature egg follicles, according to a study in the current issue of the journal Tiss...From neighborhoods to globe, NASA looks at land
Satellites and computers are getting so good, that now they can help study human activity on scales as local as ones own neighborhood, and may answer questions concerning how local conditions affect global processes, like water and energy cycles. ... ...NASA's Land Information System (LIS) uses computer models to predict impacts that cities and other local land surfaces might have on regional and...NASA scientists discover spring thaw makes a difference
Using a suite of microwave remote sensing instruments aboard satellites, scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., and the University of Montana, Missoula, have observed a recent trend of earlier thawing across the northern high latitudes.... ...This regional thawing trend, advancing almost one day a year since 1988, has the potential to alter the cycle of...atmosp...NASA learning to monitor coral reef health from the sky
Coral reef health may be accurately estimated from sensors on airplanes and satellites in the future, according to a NASA scientist who is the principal investigator in a collaborative project to develop a method to remotely sense coral health.... ...Sometimes called the "bellwether of the seas," coral reefs can give first indications of marine ecosystem health. "Scientists can use coral health...New NASA facility will help protect space crews from radiation
Imagine a human spacecraft crew voyaging through space. A satellite sends a warning; energetic particles are being accelerated from the sun's corona, sending dangerous radiation toward their spacecraft, but the crew isn't worried. Long before their journey, researchers on Earth conducted experiments to accurately measure the hazards of space radiation and developed new materials and countermeasur...Nasal contribution to breathing with exercise: The effect of race and gender
(Bethesda, MD) The mode of breathing -- via the mouth (oral) or the nose (nasal) -- is an important determinant of a deposited dose of inhaled particles and gases to the lungs. The nose can act as an effective filter to prevent penetration of particles and gases to the lower respiratory tract. Gases that are very water soluble or reactive (such as ozone) can be extracted in the nose by as much...NASA announces space radiation research grants
NASA has selected 28 researchers to conduct ground-based research in space radiation biology and space radiation shielding materials....... Sponsored by NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research (OBPR), this research will use the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (SRL) and the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron at the Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, N.Y....Indiana University to become NASA base for space biology studies
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University Bloomington will soon be the headquarters of one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's new Astrobiology Institute "lead teams," which are research institutes working on projects related to the search for life beyond Earth.... ...Based at IU and involving 18 scientists from eight research institutions, the new Indiana-Princeton-Tennessee Ast...NASA biotechnology activities enhancing quality of life
What do an anthrax-killing device, soybeans in space, artificial bone replacement materials, light-emitting diodes for wound healing, a new medicine to treat bone loss, a water bottle that filters out bacteria, a perfume, and advanced techniques for pharmaceutical drug design have in common?... ...These technologies and others have or are being developed by more than 150 companies that are partne...Carnegie Mellon, NASA to develop robot illustrating how to seek life on distant planets
PITTSBURGH--A team of Carnegie Mellon University and NASA scientists will travel to the Atacama Desert in northern Chile in April to conduct research that will help them develop and deploy a robot and instruments that may someday enable other robots to find life on Mars. ...The researchers will be using the Atacama, described as the most arid region on Earth, as a Martian analog.... ...The group...UCLA and NASA partner to form new institute for Cell Mimetic Space Exploration
UCLA and NASA have partnered to combine the latest advances in biology and engineering at the Institute for Cell Mimetic Space Exploration (CMISE), which officially opens on Monday, Feb. 10. CMISE will meld the molecular world with aerospace technology to create minuscule monitoring systems, or a "lab on a chip," that could make research safer and more efficient on earth and in space. ......UCLA...Carnegie Mellon University receives NASA award to develop probes to detect life on Mars
PITTSBURGH--Carnegie Mellon University scientist Professor Alan Waggoner has received a three-year $900,000 award from NASA to develop fluorescent-dye-based systems to be used in remote operations to detect life on Mars and in other hostile or distant environments. ... As part of the grant, Waggoner's team will develop new fluorescent dyes that bind to the common building blocks of life DNA, lip...New CU-NASA research belies previous idea that Mars was once warm, wet planet
A new study led by University of Colorado at Boulder researchers indicates Mars has been primarily a cold, dry planet following its formation some 4 billion years ago, making the possibility of the evolution of life there challenging at best.... ...Led by CU-Boulder doctoral candidate Teresa Segura and her adviser, Professor Owen B. Toon, the team used Mars photos and computer models to show that...Pennsylvania's West Nile Virus surveillance system gets an assist from NASA data
Recently, NASA has contributed weather and climate data to assist Pennsylvania state agencies in their response to the incidence of West Nile Virus throughout the Keystone state. ... ...Multiple state agencies in Pennsylvania are working with NASA, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, and other federal agencies in an environmental and public health alliance that is focusing on re...NASA researchers developing tools to help track and predict West Nile Virus
... ......that may one day allow public health officials to better...track and predict the spread of West Nile Virus. NASA's goal...is to provide people on the front lines of public health with...innovative technologies, data and a unique vantage point from...space through satellites, all tailored into useful tools and...databases for streamlining efforts to combat the disease.... ......NASA's Pu...UNC, other universities will help NASA develop space-age materials
CHAPEL HILL -- Imagine materials used in spacecraft and other applications that could repair themselves similarly to the way cuts heal on a sugar maple tree or a skateboarder's knobby knees, except more quickly. Or change shape somewhat without the great weight that hydraulic systems add. ...Science fiction? So far yes, but scientists and officials at the National Aeronautics and Space Administra...NASA turns to universities for research in space-age materials
NASA has selected a consortium of research institutions to develop new generations of materials that could revolutionize civil aviation and space travel. The award will establish an Institute for Biologically Inspired Materials to investigate and design materials that simulate repair mechanisms used by biological organisms to heal wounds. ... ...The institute consists of Princeton University, th...Media invited to watch NASA Materials Science Conference on national webcast next week
...Scientists will gather in Huntsville, Ala., beginning Tuesday, June 25, to discuss hot topics in their field -- from materials for advanced spaceships to biomaterials used in medicine. ...... But you dont have to be in Huntsville to catch up on the latest materials science news....... News media are invited to learn about existing and future research by attending the conference or watching a...Nasal antibiotic ointment reduces infection risk after surgery
In what may be the largest clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of antimicrobial agents in preventing surgical wound and hospital-based infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus, scientists at the University of Iowa and Johns Hopkins found that an antibiotic ointment, called mupirocin (moo-PIE-roe-sin), smeared inside the nose cut infection rates in half or better....... "Our results car...NATO picks promising pollution solution at NASAs Marshall Center for pilot study program
A project to treat groundwater and soil contamination at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has attracted international attention and been added to a pilot program sponsored by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)....... The NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society has picked one of the Marshall Centers in-situ remediation projects as one of just four worl...Stanford scientist seeks participants in NASA hypergravity study
If you`ve ever wanted to experience the sensation space shuttle astronauts feel during liftoff and landing - or if spinning around in circles all day inside a large NASA centrifuge is your idea of a good time - then Malcolm Cohen wants to hear from you....... A consulting professor in Stanford`s Department of Human Biology and chief of NASA`s Human Information Processing Branch, Cohen is looking...Multimillion dollar immunology research directed at edible or nasally delivered vaccines
BLACKSBURG, VA, March 19, 2002 -- The Commonwealth Technology Research Fund has awarded a total of $3.6 million to Virginia Tech and two other universities to support collaborative work on mucosal immunology. Research will take place at the medical schools of the University of Virginia (UVa) and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) as well as on the Virginia Tech campus. ...... The $1.8 milli...Purdue to help NASA create life-supporting ecosystem in space
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced today (Tuesday, 3/12) that Purdue University will head a center to develop "advanced life support" technologies for sustaining human colonies on Mars and elsewhere in space.... ...Purdue received a $10 million, five-year grant to lead the NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training for Advanced Life Support. Th...Subjects lying face up reveal a reduced ability for 'nasal air conditioning'
... ...January 3, 2002 -- Bethesda, MD -- The nose warms and humidifies air. Previous research efforts have led to an ability to measure how the nose conditions cold, dry air (CDA). The consensus is that the two most important predicting parameters of the nasal air-conditioning process are the blood temperature distribution along the airway walls, or the nasal mucosal temperature, and the volum...Gender issues related to spaceflight: A NASA perspective
November 25, 2001 -- Bethesda, Md. Twenty-two percent of the active astronaut corps are women (35 of 158). The average female astronaut is 42 years old (vs. 43 years for men) and weighs 60.7 kg (vs. 81.2 kg for men). Insufficient data exist in most of the discipline areas at the present time to draw valid conclusions about gender-specific differences in astronauts or to determine their impact on...NASA unveils spectacular suite of new global data products
A new collection of Earth science data is now publicly available to advance global studies of how our planet's lands, oceans, atmosphere and life all interact to define our world's water cycle, carbon cycle and climate system. These data are courtesy of the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), flying aboard NASA's Terra satellite. Whereas good MODIS data have been available sin...NSF program director press statement on dinosaur nasal discovery
Statement by ......DR. JACK HAYES ...PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR ECOLOGICAL AND ...EVOLUTIONARY PHYSIOLOGY, ...NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION... ...On dinosaur nasal discovery... ......The National Science Foundation (NSF) is proud to have funded this research by Lawrence Witmer of Ohio University. Witmer's work is important because it helps biologists to more realistically depict the soft tissue biolog...NASA helps conservation biologists get the big picture
NASA's views of Earth -- from satellite images to photographs ...taken by astronauts -- can give conservation biologists the ...big picture of how our planet and the life on it are ...changing, from forest fragmentation to the possible link ...between UV-B radiation and amphibian declines. ... ...To explore NASA's role in conservation, the August issue of ...Conservation Biology includes a 12-pap...First experiments from NASA Commercial Space Centers get started on International Space Station
.Three new commercial experiments are getting started on the International Space Station, marking a major milestone for NASA's Commercial Space Centers - 17 centers across the United States that help industry conduct space experiments.. .The experiments were launched into orbit on April 19 on the Space Shuttle Endeavor on the STS-100 mission, Space Station Flight 6A. The Space Station Expedition...NASA satellite spots unique ocean eddy
.Scientists using NASA and other satellite data discovered an unusual long-lasting, whirlpool-like ocean eddy that generated a dramatic increase in the marine food supply off the Hawaiian coast in 1999.. .The eddy, named Loretta, began spinning up in the Alenuihaha Channel between the islands of Hawaii and Maui during mid-May 1999 and maintained a presence in the lee of the Hawaiian Islands unti...UW astrobiology research gets huge boost from $4.9 million NASA award
.The University of Washington's research into understanding and finding life in the universe received a major boost today with a multimillion-dollar grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and membership in NASA's Astrobiology Institute.. .The 5-year, $4.9 million renewable grant will support a variety of research, including the study of life forms that thrive in extreme Ear...NASA satellite tracks hazardous smoke and smog partnership
. New research sponsored by NASA may soon help scientists do a better job of tracking pollution plumes around the world and help provide people more advance warning of unhealthy air.. .Researchers have discovered that smoke and smog move in different ways through the atmosphere. A series of unusual.events several years ago created a blanket of pollution over.the Indian Ocean. In the second h...NASA space technology shines light on healing
.Doctors at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee have discovered the healing power of light with the help of technology developed for NASA's Space Shuttle. Using powerful light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, originally designed for commercial plant growth research in space, scientists have found a way to help patients here on Earth.. .Doctors are examining how this special lighting technolog...NASA Materials Conference Features Science Results, Experts on Technologies for Exploration
.Research contributing to better materials on Earth and seeking resources in space to fuel future exploration will be featured at NASA's Microgravity Materials Science Conference in the North Hall of the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Ala., June 6-8.. .For three days, experts from across the nation will discuss current hot topics in their fields - such as nanotechnology and biomaterials. Media...