bacteria – Jupiter Broadcasting https://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com Open Source Entertainment, on Demand. Mon, 22 Feb 2016 02:46:57 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.5.3 https://original.jupiterbroadcasting.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/cropped-favicon-32x32.png bacteria – Jupiter Broadcasting https://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com 32 32 Strange Bacteria & Higgs-Boson | SciByte 85 https://original.jupiterbroadcasting.net/33356/strange-bacteria-higgs-boson-scibyte-85/ Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:45:31 +0000 https://original.jupiterbroadcasting.net/?p=33356 We take a look at dinosaur fight scars, possible sub-glacial bacteria, a robot that can throw, update on the Higgs-Boson, and more!

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We take a look at dinosaur fight scars, possible sub-glacial bacteria, a robot that can throw, update on the Higgs-Boson, Curiosity news, and as always take a peek back into history and up in the sky this week.

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Show Notes:

Dino-Eat-Dino World

  • Scientists say that a scar recently found on the face of a duckbill dinosaur received after a close encounter is the first clear case of a healed dinosaur wound
  • The lucky dinosaur was an adult species of duck billed dinosaur, Edmontosaurus annectens, that lived about 65 to 67 million years ago
  • The Scar
  • A teardrop-shaped patch of fossilized skin about 5×5 inches (12×14 centimeters) that was discovered with the creature\’s bones and is thought to have come from above its right eye
  • Some scientists say that the scar pattern is nearly identical to those found on modern reptiles, including iguanas
  • Other scientists are not convinced, however, they say that the skin injury was not caused by a predator attack
  • They say the size of the scar is relatively small, and it would also be consistent with the skin being pierced in some other accident such as a fall.
  • Skull Injury
  • Paleontologist at the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History say the skull also showed signs of trauma, and from the size and shape of the marks on the
  • They determined that the marks on the skull, are more consistent with Tyrannosaur-bitten bones
  • Prior to this discovery, scientists knew of one other case of a dinosaur wound
  • In that case however, it was an unhealed wound that scientists think was inflicted by scavengers after the creature was already dead
  • Escape
  • Although escaping from a T. rex is something that we wouldn\’t normally think might happen, duckbill dinosaurs were not without defenses.
  • They travelled in herds, grew up to 30 feet (9 meters) in length, and could swipe their hefty tail or kick its legs to take down predators, and traveled in herds
  • They also had very powerful running muscles, which would have made them difficult to catch once they\’d taken flight
  • The Puzzle Pieces
  • Figuring out the details of the story is part of what makes paleontology exciting
  • Though still unproven, it is thought that both the skin wound and the skull injury were sustained during the same attack, possibly a T. Rex
  • The wound \”was large enough to have been a claw or a tooth,\”
  • It\’s very likely that this particular dinosaur wasn\’t the only dinosaur to have scars, whether from battle wounds or accidents
  • Further Reading / In the News
  • Scarred Duckbill Dinosaur Escaped T. Rex Attack | News.NationalGeographic.com

— NEWS BYTE —

Strange Bacteria From Under the Polar Cap? … Or Momentary Hope

  • Last Time on SciByte
  • SciByte 33 | Sub Glacial Lakes & Updates – Sub Glacial Lakes (February 14, 2012)
  • Collecting the Sample
  • This discovery comes from samples collected in an expedition in 2012 where a Russian team drilled down to the surface of Lake Vostok, the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica
  • Last year the Russian team drilled almost 2.34 miles (4 kilometers) to reach the lake and take the samples.
  • The lake is believed to have been covered by ice for more than a million years but has kept its liquid state.
  • The Sample, the Truth and Fiction
  • A Russian scientist at the genetics laboratory at the Saint Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics had believed they have found a wholly new type of bacteria in the mysterious subglacial Lake Vostok in Antarctica
  • He claimed that one particular form of bacteria whose DNA was less than 86 percent similar to previously existing forms, as far as DNA goes, basically zero
  • The head of the genetics laboratory at the same institute said on Saturday that the strange life forms were in fact nothing but contaminants.
  • New samples of water will be taken from Lake Vostok during a new expedition in May, if the same bacteria are found then the team will be sure that they have found new life on Earth that exists in no database
  • On the “Extra-Terrestrial” Scale
  • \”If this had been found on Mars everyone would have undoubtedly said there is life on Mars. But this is bacteria from Earth.\”
  • Exploring environments such as Lake Vostok allows scientists to discover what life forms can exist in the most extreme conditions
  • Whether life could exist on some other bodies in the solar system.
  • Saturn\’s moon Enceladus and the Jupiter moon Europa as they are believed to have oceans, or large lakes, beneath their icy shells.
  • Further Reading / In the News
  • Russia admits no new life form found in Antarctic lake | phys.org
  • Russia finds \’new bacteria\’ in Antarctic lake | Phys.org

Cheap Interplanetary Satellites

  • Two CubeSats, designed by NASA\’s JPL and three university partners, are soon to go where no CubeSats have gone before: beyond Earth orbit.
  • CubeSats are tiny satellites, some no bigger than four inches (10 cm) on each side, sent into orbit as secondary payloads on other launch vehicles
  • The Mission
  • The space agency’s twin satellites will be the first CubeSats to leave Earth\’s orbit for interplanetary space
  • If the interplanetary test launch succeeds, CubeSats could someday blanket the solar system, conducting cheap, high-risk missions to comets, asteroids, moons and planets
  • The INSPIRE project has been approved by NASA to launch sometime between 2014 and 2016, but a specific launch vehicle hasn\’t been selected.
  • Just where the pioneering CubeSats will go is still unclear, however, since it’s not known yet which model rocket will be used for launch
  • The first mission will be basically an escape trajectory in some unknown direction
  • Since they won\’t have much propulsion or scientific instrumentation, the INSPIRE craft are mainly just a test of whether tiny machines can survive the harsh environment of space.
  • The Challenges
  • One of the challenges of the project is figuring how the tiny satellites will communicate with Earth.
  • CubeSats are far cheaper than a traditional space mission but they lack room for complex communications systems or large power sources.
  • As they away from Earth they need larger antennas to communicate with the low-powered craft
  • In addition once they spacecraft leaves the protective magnetic field surrounding Earth, it\’s at risk of failure from solar radiation
  • Traditional satellites are built with more expensive \”radiation-hardened\” components
  • Further Reading / In the News
  • Tiny Satellites\’ Big Mission: Going Beyond Earth Orbit | Space.com

— TWO-BYTE NEWS —

“BigDog” Can Throw Things Now Too

— Updates —

Higgs-Boson

  • Last time on SciByte
  • SciByte 53 | Higgs-Boson (July 10, 2012)
  • SciByte 37 | Solar Storms and Higgs Boson
  • Physicists told a conference in La Thuile, Italy, that more analysis is needed before a definitive statement can be made on the Higgs-Boson
  • Inch-by-Inch
  • Since scientists\’ announcement last July that they had found a particle likely to be the Higgs, much data has been analysed, and its properties are becoming clearer
  • Key to a positive identification of the particle is a detailed analysis of its properties and how it interacts with other particles
  • Spin-Zero?
  • The existence of spin angular momentum is where particles are observed to possess angular momentum that cannot be accounted for by orbital angular momentum alone
  • Experiments indicate that the elementary particles are not made up of smaller particles rotating around a center point so the spin of an elementary particle is therefore seen as a truly intrinsic physical property, akin to the particle\’s electric charge and rest mass.
  • Current theories are that these elementary particles spin is simply a physical property, like electrical charge and mass
  • Rotating a spin-1/2 particle by 360 degrees does not bring it back to the same quantum state, but to the state with the opposite quantum phase; this is detectable, in principle, with interference experiments. To return the particle to its exact original state, one needs a 720 degree
  • Rotating a spin-2 particle 180 degrees can bring it back to the same quantum state and a spin-4 particle should be rotated 90 degrees to bring it back to the same quantum state.
  • A spin 0 particle can be imagined as sphere which looks the same after whatever angle it is turned through.
  • Several teams researching the particle determining the Higgs-Boson spin say it must be spin-zero
  • All the analysis conducted so far strongly indicates spin-zero, but it is not yet able to rule out entirely the possibility that the particle has spin-two
  • The Future …?
  • Until physicists can confidently observe the particle\’s spin, the particle will remain Higgs-like
  • New research will have to stop as the Large Hadron Collider is upgraded, but physicists will still have plenty of data to analyze
  • Further Reading / In the News
  • Particle looking \’more and more\’ like Higgs, LHC scientists say | Phys.org

— CURIOSITY UPDATE —

SCIENCE CALENDAR

Looking back

  • March 16, 1867 : 146 years ago : Antiseptic surgery : The Lancet published a paper by Joseph Lister, the first of a series of articles in the Lancet on his discovery of antiseptic surgery: On a New Method of Treating Compound Fractures, Abscess, &c. Lister applied Louis Pasteur\’s idea that the microorganisms causing gangrene might be controlled with chemical solutions. Since the use carbolic acid (phenol) was known as means of deodorizing sewage, Lister tested the results of using a solution of it for spraying instruments, on surgical incisions, and applied to dressings. Upon finding this procedure substantially reduced the incidence of gangrene, Lister published his results in series of articles in the Lancet on the Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery

Looking up this week

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]]> Baby Mammoths & Feathered Dinosaurs | SciByte 41 https://original.jupiterbroadcasting.net/18692/baby-mammoths-feathered-dinosaurs-scibyte-41/ Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:03:30 +0000 https://original.jupiterbroadcasting.net/?p=18692 We take a look at baby mammoth hair color, feathered dinosaurs, plasma, NASA funding, Apollo 13 and as always take a peek back into history and up into the sky.

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We take a look at baby mammoth hair color, feathered dinosaurs, plasma, NASA funding, Apollo 13 and as always take a peek back into history and up in the sky this week.

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Show Notes:

Well preserved mammoth discovered in Siberia



Left Image/Video Credit: BBC YouTube Channel || Right Image/Video Credit: news.bbcimg.co.uk

  • Thanks Peregrine Falcon for making sure I saw this
  • The low down
  • Extinct animals are mostly studied from bones, teeth and tusks, because these parts decompose over a relatively long time
  • Soft tissues like muscle, skin, and internal organs are rarely found on older carcasses because they decompose much quicker
  • Because of this information about a species or specimen is constrained to the slowly decomposing parts, vital information is unavailable
  • Most permafrost-preserved mammoth specimens consist solely of bones or bone fragments that currently provide little new insight into the species’ biology in life
  • Now a remarkably well preserved frozen juvenile mammoth carcass, nicknamed “Yuka,” was found entombed in Siberian ice
  • Although carbon dating is still in the works, it is believed to be at least 10,000 years old, it was found as part of a BBC/Discovery Channel-funded expedition
  • The mammoth was in such good shape that much of its flesh is still intact
  • The skin retained its pink color, and the blonde-red hue of the woolly coat also remains.
  • Significance
  • Yuka is the first mammoth carcass with soft tissues preserved it was also the first to show human interaction in the region
  • The soft tissues actually included strawberry-blonde hair, which could help reveal whether or not mammoths had all of the same hair colors that humans do
  • Analysis of the tusks and teeth researchers estimate that the animal was about 2.5 years old when it died.
  • Healed scratches found on the skin indicate a lion attack that Yuka survived earlier in its relatively short life
  • Judging by deep, unhealed scratches in the hide and bite marks on the tail suggest it was most likely pursued by one or more lions right before its death
  • Based on evidence of a freshly broken leg it probably took a bad fall and broke a lower hind leg
  • Scientists have guessed that the extinct subspecies of the African lion (Panthera leo spelea) were present in the area at the same time as the mammoths, and that they hunted mammoths.
  • Yuka provides fairly solid evidence that that was correct
  • Fifteen to thirty scalloped marks on the skin are an indication of possible saw-like motion of a human tool
  • Humans may have moved in either right before or after it died, suggesting that humans at that time ‘stole’ kills from hunting lions
  • The removed parts that could be of use immediately, and probably buried the rest of the body for possible later use
  • No longer with the animal are the main core mass of Yuka’s body, including the skull, spine, pelvis, organs, vertebrae, ribs, associated musculature, and some of the meat from upper parts of the legs
  • The skull and pelvis were found nearby
  • * Of Note*
  • The scientist to publish the genetic code of mammoth hemoglobin a few years ago
  • Both this specimen and the near complete specimen of a baby mammoth discovered in 2007 will help researchers with genotype (DNA sequences) which could lead the application of cloning to bring a mammoth back to life
  • The ability to bring it back the mammoth from extinction using cloning would probably take years to decades
  • Watch for Woolly Mammoth: Secrets from the Ice on BBC Two at 21:00 BST on Wednesday 4 April and will be shown on the Discovery Channel in the US at a future date.
  • Multimedia
  • YouTube VIDEO : The Perfectly Preserved Frozen Yuka Mammoth Mummy – Woolly Mammoth: Secrets from the Ice
  • Further Reading / In the News
  • Well-preserved strawberry-blond mammoth discovered in Siberia | Fox News
  • Woolly mammoth carcass may have been cut into by humans | BBC

*— NEWS BYTE — *

More Fine Feathered Dinosaurs



Left Image Credit: Zhang Hailong | Right Image Credit: Zhang Hailong

  • * Last time on SciByte*
  • Solar Storms & Higgs Boson | SciByte 37 [March 13, 2012] – More Dinosaur feathers get color
  • Feedback & Space Lego’s | SciByte 31 [Jan 31, 2012] – Dinosaur feather colors
  • The low down
  • New fossils of one adult and two younger dinosaurs show evidence of an extensively feathers dinosaur, the largest species to date
  • The region the new discoveries have been made is well known for keeping soft tissues of ancient animals well-preserved
  • Significance
  • Yutyrannus hauli, Y.huali, a mix of latin and mandarin translated into “beautiful feathered tyrant”, weighed up to about 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) and stretched 30ft (9m) from nose to tail
  • The species had include a high, bumpy nose plate, known as a midline crest and likely stood 8ft (2.5m) tall, although its posture is unknown
  • Y.huali, although differs in growth strategy, has the type of skeletal features that make it in the same family as the Tyrannosaurus Rex, and would have reached T. rex’s chest.
  • The feathers of the Y.Hauli were at least 6in (15cm) long, although the color of the feathers is not known
  • There is some evidence that shows the coverage was a bit patchy which, might have given the dinosaur a shaggy appearance
  • Although its appears that the feathers might have entirely covered the dinosaurs skin, scientists are unable to confirm because the specimens aren’t complete.
  • * Of Note*
  • Some scientists hypothesize that smaller dinosaurs used a fluffy layer of feathers to stay warm
  • Other dinosaur specimens have shown evidence of being fully feathered, however all of those were far have been much smaller
  • Thanks to small surface-to-volume body ratios, large-bodied animals tend to maintain heat easily.
  • This hypothesis further goes on to suggest that the larger species found lost their feathers the bigger they got or were just not as extensively covered.
  • Other scientists point out that in warmer climates animals like the modern giraffes and wildebeests, have external covering but don’t need it for insulation
  • Another hypothesis is that the feathers were simply used to show off and attract mates.
    • Either hypothesis has some scientists reimagining the appearance of the Tyrannosaurus rex, and other dinosaurs
  • Multimedia
  • YouTube VIDEO : T-Rex Relative had Soft, Downy Feathers | NewsyScience
  • Further Reading / In the News
  • T. rex has another fine, feathered cousin | ScienceNews.org
  • A gigantic feathered dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of China | Nature.com
  • Warm and fuzzy T. rex? New evidence surprises | Phys.org
  • Giant Feathered Tyrannosaur Found in China | Wired.com

Killing bacteria with plasma

  • The low down
  • Plasma is the fourth state of matter (solids, liquids and gases) has previously shown its worth in the medical industry by effectively killing bacteria and viruses on the surface of the skin and in water.
  • Plasmas are produced in electrical discharges, these gases of free electrons and ions
  • Medical science has high hopes for plasmas. and they have already been shown to destroy pathogens, help heal wounds, and selectively kill cancer cells
  • It seems that the highly reactive oxygen species generated oxidized cell membranes and damage DNA.
  • These oxygen species are also found in our immune system
  • Significance
  • Killing harmful bacteria in hospitals is difficult; out in the field, it can be an even bigger problem
  • Now researchers may have found a remote disinfection in a portable “flashlight” that shines a ray of cold plasma to kill bacteria in minutes.
  • In an experiment the ‘flashlight’ was put over a thick biofilm of one of the most antibiotic- and heat-resistant bacteria which often infects the root canals during dental treatments.
  • Biofilms created in this experiment were incubating bacteria for seven days, and were around 0.0001 in (25 micrometres) thick and consisted of 17 different layers of bacteria.
  • After five minutes of treatment the plasma not only inactivated the top layer of cells, but penetrated deep into the very bottom of the layers to kill the bacteria.
  • * Of Note*
  • Adding to the safety of the device was that the UV radiation in the jet created by the plasma flashlight was so low
  • In addition temperature of the plume of plasma in the experiments was between 20–230C, which is very close to room temperature and therefore prevents any damage to the skin
  • The device now costs less that $100 so produce, before making it ready for commercialisation
  • Further Reading / In the News
  • Plasma Flashlight Zaps Bacteria | sciencemag.org
  • Handheld plasma flashlight rids skin of notorious pathogens | phys.org

*— Updates — *

James Cameron makes a Titanic correction

SPACECRAFT UPDATE

Extended funding for a few NASA programs



Credit: NASA

  • The low down
  • Because of tight budgets a number of programs including Kepler were slated to run out of funds this November
  • Scientists were particularly worried about Kepler Since it requires several years of observations are required in order for Kepler to confirm a repeated orbit as a planet transits its star
  • Other planets to receive additional funding are Hubble, Fermi and Swift
  • Only the Spitzer infrared telescope, as of right now, will be closed out in 2015, which is sooner than requested.
  • Hubble Space Telescope will continue at the currently funded levels
  • Kepler
  • The Kepler mission, launched in 2006 has discovered more than 2,300 potential alien planets to date, and 61 confirmed alien planets
  • The Kepler Mission is designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to discover Earth-size planets in the habitable zone.
  • Hubble Space Telescope
  • Is the first major optical telescope to be placed in space,
  • Scientists have used Hubble to observe the most distant stars and galaxies as well as the planets in our solar system.
  • Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, formerly GLAST
  • NASA’s Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST) studies the extreme energy universe!
  • Explore the most extreme environments in the Universe, where nature harnesses energies far beyond anything possible on Earth
    • Search for signs of new laws of physics and what composes the mysterious Dark Matter
    • Explain how black holes accelerate immense jets of material to nearly light speed.
    • Help crack the mysteries of the stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts.
    • Answer long-standing questions across a broad range of topics, including solar flares, pulsars and the origin of cosmic rays.
  • Swift
    ultraviolet, and optical wavebands.
  • A multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science.
    • Determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts
    • Classify gamma-ray bursts and search for new types
    • Determine how the blastwave evolves and interacts with the surroundings
    • Use gamma-ray bursts to study the early universe
    • Perform the first sensitive hard X-ray survey of the sky
  • Social Media
  • NASA Kepler @NASAKepler
  • NASAFermi NASAFermi
  • NASA Swift mission @NASASwift
  • Hubble @NASA_Hubble
  • Further Reading / In the News
  • FREE Kepler Explorer App By OpenLab
  • NASA Extends Kepler, Spitzer, Planck Missions | NASA.gov
  • Kepler Mission Extended to 2016 | UniverseToday.com
  • NASA Extends Planet-Hunting Kepler Mission Through 2016

SCIENCE CALENDER

Looking back

  • April 11, 1970 : 42 years ago : Apollo XIII Launch : The mission began with a little-known smaller incident: during the second-stage boost, the center (inboard) engine shut down two minutes early. The four outboard engines burned longer to compensate, and the vehicle continued to a successful orbit. The third manned lunar landing mission, was launched from Cape Canaveral with crew James Lovell, Fred Haise, and John Swigert. Swigert was a late replacement for the original CM pilot Ken Mattingly, who was grounded by the flight surgeon after exposure to German measles.
  • April 13, 1970 : 42 years ago : Apollo XIII Rescue : Disaster struck 200,000 miles from earth. A liquid oxygen tank exploded, disabling the normal supply of oxygen, electricity, light, and water. Swigert reported: “Houston, we’ve had a problem.” The lunar landing was aborted. After circling the moon, the crippled spacecraft began a long, cold journey back to earth with enormous logistical problems in providing enough energy to the damaged fuel cells to allow a safe return.
  • April 17, 1970 : 42 years ago : Apollo XIII Return : Apollo 13 landed safely with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, four days after the spacecraft aborted its mission while it was four-fifths of the way to the moon. Upon his return, astronaut A. J. Lovell, Jr. was the first American astronaut to travel over 700 hours in space.

Looking up this week

The post Baby Mammoths & Feathered Dinosaurs | SciByte 41 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

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