April 26, 2006

• A team of researchers working for IBM
  IBM
  International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
  
   publishes the results of a pattern discovery analysis of "junk DNA". In contrast to expectations, they discovered similar patterns in "junk DNA" and DNA
  DNA
  Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
  
   sections containing gene
  Gene
  A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
  
  s. (BBC)

April 21, 2006

• ESA
  European Space Agency
  The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
  
   scientists publish an analysis of Mars Express
  Mars Express
  Mars Express is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency . The Mars Express mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. "Express" originally referred to the speed and efficiency with which the spacecraft was...
  
   data in the journal Science
  Science (journal)
  Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
  
  that proposes three main geological ages for Mars
  Mars
  Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
  
  , named the phyllosian, theiikian, and siderikian eras. Only the first era (from 4.5 until 4.2 thousand million years ago) might have supported life on that planet
  Planet
  A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
  
  . (SpaceRef.com)
• The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
  Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
  The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program is an international marine research program. The program uses heavy drilling equipment mounted aboard ships to monitor and sample sub-seafloor environments...
  
   is the first drilling program to reach a hardened magma chamber
  Magma chamber
  A magma chamber is a large underground pool of molten rock found beneath the surface of the Earth. The molten rock in such a chamber is under great pressure, and given enough time, that pressure can gradually fracture the rock around it creating outlets for the magma...
  
   underneath the ocean crust
  Oceanic crust
  Oceanic crust is the part of Earth's lithosphere that surfaces in the ocean basins. Oceanic crust is primarily composed of mafic rocks, or sima, which is rich in iron and magnesium...
  
   and confirms the formation of gabbro
  Gabbro
  Gabbro refers to a large group of dark, coarse-grained, intrusive mafic igneous rocks chemically equivalent to basalt. The rocks are plutonic, formed when molten magma is trapped beneath the Earth's surface and cools into a crystalline mass....
  
   during the cooling process. The data are released in Sciencexpress. (IODP News Release)

April 20, 2006

• Multiple security flaws are discovered in the Mozilla
  Mozilla
  Mozilla is a term used in a number of ways in relation to the Mozilla.org project and the Mozilla Foundation, their defunct commercial predecessor Netscape Communications Corporation, and their related application software....
  
   software package used by programs like Mozilla Firefox
  Mozilla Firefox
  Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
  
   and Mozilla Thunderbird
  Mozilla Thunderbird
  Mozilla Thunderbird is a free, open source, cross-platform e-mail and news client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. The project strategy is modeled after Mozilla Firefox, a project aimed at creating a web browser...
  
  . Users are urged to download the latest updates. (BBC)
• An attempt to raise the orbit
  Orbit
  In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
  
   of the International Space Station
  International Space Station
  The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
  
   is cancelled when a rocket engine
  Rocket engine
  A rocket engine, or simply "rocket", is a jet engineRocket Propulsion Elements; 7th edition- chapter 1 that uses only propellant mass for forming its high speed propulsive jet. Rocket engines are reaction engines and obtain thrust in accordance with Newton's third law...
  
   fails to reach its correct configuration. (AFP/YahooNews)

April 19, 2006

• NASA
  NASA
  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
  
   scientists publish results of the first successful detailed computer simulation
  Computer simulation
  A computer simulation, a computer model, or a computational model is a computer program, or network of computers, that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system...
  
   of the merger of two black hole
  Black hole
  A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
  
  s. The model will be used to predict signals in gravitational radiation observatories
  Observatory
  An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
  
  . (BBC)

April 18, 2006

• The discovery of multiple fossil
  Fossil
  Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
  
  es of Mapusaurus roseae in close proximity provides evidence that they may have hunted in packs. (BBC)

April 15, 2006

• The six satellite
  Satellite
  In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
  
  s of the COSMIC
  COSMIC
  Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate is a program designed to provide advances in meteorology, ionospheric research, climatology, and space weather by using GPS satellites in conjunction with low Earth orbiting satellites...
  
   program (Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate), a joint United States-Taiwan
  Taiwan
  Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
  
  ese project, are launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base
  Vandenberg Air Force Base
  Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command ....
  
   in California
  California
  California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
  
  . COSMIC, known in Taiwan as FORMOSAT-3, is meant to provide advances in meteorology, ionospheric research, climatology, and space weather by using GPS
  Global Positioning System
  The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
  
   satellites in conjunction with Low Earth Orbit
  Low Earth orbit
  A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
  
   (LEO) satellites. (SPACE.com)

April 12, 2006

• Four million year old fossilized bones of Australopithecus anamensis
  Australopithecus anamensis
  Australopithecus anamensis is a stem-human species that lived approximately four million years ago. Nearly one hundred fossil specimens are known from Kenya and Ethiopia, representing over 20 individuals.- Discovery :...
  
  , belonging to a hominin
  Homininae
  Homininae is a subfamily of Hominidae, which includes humans, gorillas and chimpanzees, and some extinct relatives; it comprises all those hominids, such as Australopithecus, that arose after the split from orangutans . Our family tree, which has 3 main branches leading to chimpanzees, humans and...
  
   species that anatomically
  Anatomy
  Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
  
   falls between Ardipithecus ramidus and Australopithecus afarensis
  Australopithecus afarensis
  Australopithecus afarensis is an extinct hominid that lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. A. afarensis was slenderly built, like the younger Australopithecus africanus. It is thought that A...
  
  , are found in Middle Awash
  Middle Awash
  The Middle Awash is an archaeological site along the Awash River in Ethiopia's Afar Depression. A number of Pleistocene and late Miocene hominid remains have been found at the site, along with some of the oldest known Olduwan stone artifacts and patches of fire-baked clay, disputed evidence of the...
  
  , Ethiopia
  Ethiopia
  Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
  
  . Scientists publish their conclusion that these species are demonstrating the evolution
  Evolution
  Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
  
   of hominids, since all three fossils types were found in the same geographic area. (AFP/YahooNews)

April 11, 2006

• The Venus Express
  Venus Express
  Venus Express is the first Venus exploration mission of the European Space Agency. Launched in November 2005, it arrived at Venus in April 2006 and has been continuously sending back science data from its polar orbit around Venus. Equipped with seven science instruments, the main objective of the...
  
  spacecraft of the European Space Agency
  European Space Agency
  The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
  
   arrives at Venus
  Venus
  Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
  
   approximately 5 months after it was launched and goes into orbit
  Orbit
  In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
  
   around the planet
  Planet
  A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
  
  . (BBC) (ESA)

8 April 2006

• Brazilian astronaut
  Astronaut
  An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
  
   Marcos Pontes
  Marcos Pontes
  Marco Pontes is a Brazilian Air Force pilot. He became the first Brazilian and the first Lusophone to go into space when he launched to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-8 on March 30, 2006...
  
   returns to Earth with Expedition 12
  Expedition 12
  Expedition 12 was the 12th expedition to the International Space Station, launched from Kazakhstan using the Russian Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft...
  
   crew William McArthur
  William S. McArthur
  William Surles McArthur, Jr. is a retired U.S. Army Colonel, a NASA astronaut, and a veteran of three space shuttle missions and one expedition to the International Space Station via the Russian Soyuz capsule.-Army career:...
  
   and Valery Tokarev
  Valery Tokarev
  Valeri Ivanovich Tokarev , Russian Air Force Colonel and test cosmonaut at the Yuri A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, was born October 29, 1952 in the town of Kap-Yar, Astrakhan Oblast and currently resides at Star City, Moscow Region. He has traveled to space twice and has performed two career...
  
   after leaving the International Space Station
  International Space Station
  The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
  
  . (BBC)

5 April 2006

• A new fossilized species
  Species
  In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
  
   is discovered that resembles a cross between a fish
  Fish
  Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
  
   and a crocodile
  Crocodile
  A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
  
  , called Tiktaalik roseae. It was found on Ellesmere Island
  Ellesmere Island
  Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada...
  
   and is estimated to be 375 million years old. (AP/YahooNews)

4 April 2006

• Researcher publish the result of X-ray
  X-ray
  X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
  
   images taken by Swift
  Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission
  The Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission consists of a robotic spacecraft called Swift, which was launched into orbit on 20 November 2004, 17:16:00 UTC on a Delta II 7320-10C expendable launch vehicle. Swift is managed by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and was developed by an international...
  
   of the Deep Impact collision with comet
  Comet
  A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
  
   Tempel 1
  9P/Tempel
  Tempel 1 , is a periodic comet discovered by Wilhelm Tempel in 1867. It currently completes an orbit of the Sun every 5.5 years. Tempel 1 was the target of the Deep Impact space mission, which photographed a deliberate high-speed impact upon the comet in 2005...
  
  . It reveals that the comet ejected material in large amounts for many days. (BBC)

2 April 2006

• The Navy Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (Iranian Navy) successfully test fires a high-speed "underwater missile", most probably a supercavitating
  Supercavitation
  Supercavitation is the use of cavitation effects to create a bubble of gas inside a liquid large enough to encompass an object traveling through the liquid, greatly reducing the skin friction drag on the object and enabling achievement of very high speeds...
  
   torpedo
  Torpedo
  The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
  
  . (Iran Daily) (AP)

1 April 2006

• The Soyuz
  Soyuz spacecraft
  Soyuz , Union) is a series of spacecraft initially designed for the Soviet space programme by the Korolyov Design Bureau in the 1960s, and still in service today...
  
   TMA-8
  Soyuz TMA-8
  -Back-up crew:-Docking with ISS:*Docked to ISS: April 1, 2006, 04:19 UTC *Undocked from ISS: September 28, 2006, 21:53 UTC -Mission highlights:29th manned flight to ISS...
  
   spacecraft
  Spacecraft
  A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
  
   docks with the ISS
  International Space Station
  The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
  
   and delivers the first Brazilian astronaut
  Astronaut
  An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
  
  , Marcos Pontes
  Marcos Pontes
  Marco Pontes is a Brazilian Air Force pilot. He became the first Brazilian and the first Lusophone to go into space when he launched to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-8 on March 30, 2006...
  
  , as well as the Expedition 13 crew Pavel Vinogradov and Jeffrey Williams. (BBC) (Spaceflight Now)