Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
NASA probe reveals organics, ice on Mercury
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) – Despite searing daytime
temperatures, Mercury, the planet closest to the sun, has ice
and frozen organic materials inside permanently shadowed
craters in its north pole, NASA scientists said on Thursday.
Earth-based telescopes have been compiling evidence for ice on
Mercury for 20 years, but the finding of organics was a
surprise, say researchers with NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft, the
first probe to orbit Mercury.
Scientists measure sea rise from polar ice melt
LONDON (Reuters) – The melting of the Antarctic and
Greenland ice sheets has raised sea levels by 11.1 millimeters
since 1992, a fifth of the total rise which threatens low-lying
regions around the globe, a new study published on Thursday
said. The results of the study involving 47 researchers from 26
laboratories which was supported by the European Space Agency
and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration give the
most accurate measurements of ice loss to date, they said in
the journal Science.
South Korean civil rocket launch called off, again
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea canceled the launch of its
first space rocket on Thursday after a glitch in the propulsion
system halted the countdown just minutes before the scheduled
lift-off. It was South Korea’s third attempt to put a rocket
into orbit and the second time this particular mission has
failed.
Japanese man’s childhood dreams give birth to giant robot
TOKYO (Reuters) – Like many Japanese, Kogoro Kurata grew up
watching futuristic robots in movies and animation, wishing
that he could bring them to life and pilot one himself. Unlike
most other Japanese, he has actually done it. His 4-tonne,
4-meter (13 feet) tall Kuratas robot is a grey behemoth with a
built-in pilot’s seat and hand-held controller that allows an
operator to flex its massive arms, move it up and down and
drive it at a speed of up to 10 kph (6 mph).
British company claims biggest engine advance since the jet
LONDON (Reuters) – A small British company with a dream of
building a re-usable space plane has won an important
endorsement from the European Space Agency (ESA) after
completing key tests on its novel engine technology. Reaction
Engines Ltd believes its Sabre engine, which would operate like
a jet engine in the atmosphere and a rocket in space, could
displace rockets for space access and transform air travel by
bringing any destination on Earth to no more than four hours
away.
Scientists make wheat genetic code breakthrough
LONDON (Reuters) – Scientists from Britain, Germany and the
United States have unlocked key components of the genetic code
for wheat, helping to create varieties that are more productive
and better able to cope with disease, drought and other crop
stresses. The identification of around 96,000 wheat genes, and
insights into the links between them, comes just two years
after UK researchers published the raw data of the wheat
genome.
Antarctic bacteria a clue to different kinds of life: study
2012-11-28T202500Z_1_BRE8AR19F_RTROPTC_0_US-USA-BACTERIA-ANTARC
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Higgs confident CERN particle is one he forecast in 1960s
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The physicists who theorized the
existence of a basic subatomic particle half a century ago are
confident recent data is proving they were right all along.
Peter Higgs, whose eponymous “Higgs boson” is the long-sought
target of the $10 billion Large Hadron collider in Switzerland,
told reporters on Tuesday he was sure a particle detected last
July was one he had predicted in 1964.
NASA ponders new missions for spare spy telescopes
2012-11-27T184947Z_1_BRE8AQ13R_RTROPTC_0_US-USA-SPACE-TELESCOPE
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Gimme shelter and light therapy at Swedish bus stops
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Commuters in the northern Swedish
town of Umea are being treated to ultra-violet light therapy as
the long, dark winter for which the Nordic state is renowned
draws in. Energy company Umea Energi has decided to install
ultra-violet lights at about 30 bus stops for people, which
will be in place for the next three weeks.
